Milton Konvitz – författare

The nine American Jews of whom Milton Konvitz writes are philosophers, jurists, or rabbis, widely known and readily accepted as American Jewish thinkers. Their work reflects all essential Jewish values. Each person in his own way has dedicated his work to the betterment of life and the advancement of human ideals. In this sense, their Jewishness is not defined by religion alone. Americanism permeated all they thought and all they did.Konvitz argues that in the complex modern world, secularists often serve God more handsomely than do members of synagogues or churches. For example, when the Supreme Court in 1954 (with Felix Frankfurter playing a key role behind the scenes) agreed to outlaw segregation of the races in public schools, was the Court''s action secular or religious? When Congress passed the statute known as the Americans with Disabilities Act, requiring equal treatment of handicapped persons, was the action secular or religious? Is a minimum wage act secular or religious? Is Medicaid a secular or a religious act? Konvitz believes the distinction is not useful, or even possible.The book is divided into three parts, reflecting Konvitz''s range of intellectual interests. The nine essays offer concise intellectual biographies of three American Jewish philosophers, three Supreme Court Justices, and three rabbis. The philosophers-Horace M. Kallen, Morris Raphael Cohen, and Sidney Hook-are world-renowned. The jurists-Louis D. Brandeis, Benjamin N. Cardozo, and Felix Frankfurter-hold prominent places in American legal history. And the three rabbis-Leo Jung, Robert Gordis, and Jacob Agus-are known wherever Jewish thought is studied. By treating with equal seriousness the lives and writings of both religious and secularist thinkers, the author intentionally minimizes the conventional antagonism and frequent conflict between religion and secularism.An unusual feature of the book is the fact that the author was a close friend of six of the persons whose lives and work are examined, allowing him a perceptive insight into their character and thought. Although the book is about serious subjects, its graceful style makes the contents easily accessible to lay persons as well as scholars and students of Judaica.

The nine American Jews of whom Milton Konvitz writes are philosophers, jurists, or rabbis, widely known and readily accepted as American Jewish thinkers. Their work reflects all essential Jewish values. Each person in his own way has dedicated his work to the betterment of life and the advancement of human ideals. In this sense, their Jewishness is not defined by religion alone. Americanism permeated all they thought and all they did.Konvitz argues that in the complex modern world, secularists often serve God more handsomely than do members of synagogues or churches. For example, when the Supreme Court in 1954 (with Felix Frankfurter playing a key role behind the scenes) agreed to outlaw segregation of the races in public schools, was the Court''s action secular or religious? When Congress passed the statute known as the Americans with Disabilities Act, requiring equal treatment of handicapped persons, was the action secular or religious? Is a minimum wage act secular or religious? Is Medicaid a secular or a religious act? Konvitz believes the distinction is not useful, or even possible.The book is divided into three parts, reflecting Konvitz''s range of intellectual interests. The nine essays offer concise intellectual biographies of three American Jewish philosophers, three Supreme Court Justices, and three rabbis. The philosophers-Horace M. Kallen, Morris Raphael Cohen, and Sidney Hook-are world-renowned. The jurists-Louis D. Brandeis, Benjamin N. Cardozo, and Felix Frankfurter-hold prominent places in American legal history. And the three rabbis-Leo Jung, Robert Gordis, and Jacob Agus-are known wherever Jewish thought is studied. By treating with equal seriousness the lives and writings of both religious and secularist thinkers, the author intentionally minimizes the conventional antagonism and frequent conflict between religion and secularism.An unusual feature of the book is the fact that the author was a close friend of six of the persons whose lives and work are examined, allowing him a perceptive insight into their character and thought. Although the book is about serious subjects, its graceful style makes the contents easily accessible to lay persons as well as scholars and students of Judaica.

This dramatic personal narrative is a unique contribution to understanding past and current events in the Near East. These memoirs of an American Protestant clergyman reveal little known aspects of major events in Asia Minor in the early twentieth century, give valuable insights to their background, and describe pivotal interrelationships with the western world. Those perceptions are woven into the story of the author''s protracted genocidal experiences. Dispassionately rendered, Judgment Unto Truth is a call for truth and justice.

In the Hamidian massacres of 1895. Jernazian, a five-year orphan, loses two brothers. When all the Armenian Protestant clergy of Cilicia are killed in the Young Turks'' "Adana massacre" of 1909, Jernazian answers the call to replenish the vacant pulpits. In 1915, when the "final solution to the Armenian question" is in progress, the author, an interpreter of the Turkish government, is in a unique position to observe the genocidal process. Afterwards, he and his new bride work to rehabilitate destitute survivors. He serves as liaison and advisor during the British and French occupations (1919-21). And during the Kemalist revolution (1921-23), Jernazian loses his remaining family and nearly his own life. Only through a miraculous escape after twenty-one months in a Turkish prison is he reunited with his wife, her mother, a daughter, and a son born three months after his arrest.

An unusual blend of religious idealism and pragmatic politics, his memoirs provide a singular emotional experience. As Vahakn Dadrian observes in his Introduction, "This volume is a unique document of historical significanceaThe author presents comments and interpretations which portray him as an acute observer of intricate events." The book will appeal to historians of the period, educators, and professionals with an interest in the use and abuse of state power, and specialists interested in human behavior in extreme conditions.

This dramatic personal narrative is a unique contribution to understanding past and current events in the Near East. These memoirs of an American Protestant clergyman reveal little known aspects of major events in Asia Minor in the early twentieth century, give valuable insights to their background, and describe pivotal interrelationships with the western world. Those perceptions are woven into the story of the author''s protracted genocidal experiences. Dispassionately rendered, Judgment Unto Truth is a call for truth and justice.

In the Hamidian massacres of 1895. Jernazian, a five-year orphan, loses two brothers. When all the Armenian Protestant clergy of Cilicia are killed in the Young Turks'' "Adana massacre" of 1909, Jernazian answers the call to replenish the vacant pulpits. In 1915, when the "final solution to the Armenian question" is in progress, the author, an interpreter of the Turkish government, is in a unique position to observe the genocidal process. Afterwards, he and his new bride work to rehabilitate destitute survivors. He serves as liaison and advisor during the British and French occupations (1919-21). And during the Kemalist revolution (1921-23), Jernazian loses his remaining family and nearly his own life. Only through a miraculous escape after twenty-one months in a Turkish prison is he reunited with his wife, her mother, a daughter, and a son born three months after his arrest.

An unusual blend of religious idealism and pragmatic politics, his memoirs provide a singular emotional experience. As Vahakn Dadrian observes in his Introduction, "This volume is a unique document of historical significanceaThe author presents comments and interpretations which portray him as an acute observer of intricate events." The book will appeal to historians of the period, educators, and professionals with an interest in the use and abuse of state power, and specialists interested in human behavior in extreme conditions.

Democracy is a fine political system, but an expensive economic venture. Political parties and election campaigns cost money. Where does the money come from and at what sacrifice? Issues connected with political finance are significant but often neglected aspects of the process of democratization. Funding Democratization examines how money and politics interact in emerging democracies. The contributors investigate the funding of political parties in early North America, financial uncertainties of party formation in European countries, funding of democratization in new democracies, and the influence of funding on contenders for power. They also address the nature of political competition in countries that are seeking to embrace, often for the first time, the rules of democracy. They question in what ways politicians can help make democracy affordable. The volume compares important democratizing countries, such as Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Spain, and the regions of East Asia and East/Central Europe. It also investigates the lessons that emerging democracies can learn from the history of political finance in today''s more established democracies. Funding Democratization will be of interest to political scientists and specialists in international social and political development.

Democracy is a fine political system, but an expensive economic venture. Political parties and election campaigns cost money. Where does the money come from and at what sacrifice? Issues connected with political finance are significant but often neglected aspects of the process of democratization. Funding Democratization examines how money and politics interact in emerging democracies. The contributors investigate the funding of political parties in early North America, financial uncertainties of party formation in European countries, funding of democratization in new democracies, and the influence of funding on contenders for power. They also address the nature of political competition in countries that are seeking to embrace, often for the first time, the rules of democracy. They question in what ways politicians can help make democracy affordable. The volume compares important democratizing countries, such as Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Spain, and the regions of East Asia and East/Central Europe. It also investigates the lessons that emerging democracies can learn from the history of political finance in today''s more established democracies. Funding Democratization will be of interest to political scientists and specialists in international social and political development.

One of the most important modern developments in American constitutional law has been the extension of the Bill of Rights to the states. The most important guarantees of the first eight amendments have been incorporated into the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, along with the doctrine that these are rights that are so "fundamental" that any restriction is subject to judicial "strict scrutiny." The process has nationalized fundamental rights, giving them a preferred dignity and majesty. In this volume, the renowned constitutional scholar, Milton Konvitz, traces the development of fundamental rights from the early days of American jurisprudence through twentieth-century cases involving the right to privacy, racial discrimination, voting rights, censorship, and abortion laws.

In Konvitz''s astute view, the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States, like the Ten Commandments, places no priority among protected or guaranteed rights. He argues that values, ideals, rights, liberties, and privileges need to be placed in a hierarchical order or scale. The Supreme Court, acting on a case-by-case basis, has slowly and cautiously moved to designate some rights as superior to others. This idea that some rights are of a "fundamental" nature, while others are not, can be traced back to the early days of the nation''s government. Konvitz shows that there may be said to be not one, but two or even three bills of rights, one for the Federal government and one for the States. Still another, may be an unwritten but evolving Bill of Rights. The Court has recognized rights or liberties that are in no written constitution, as for example, a right to marry, a right to have a family, a right to choose education of one''s children in a private, even a religious, school, rather than a public school. In an illuminating fashion, Konvitz, whose writings have been cited in Supreme Court decisions, traces the controversial and very uneven line of development of

One of the most important modern developments in American constitutional law has been the extension of the Bill of Rights to the states. The most important guarantees of the first eight amendments have been incorporated into the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, along with the doctrine that these are rights that are so "fundamental" that any restriction is subject to judicial "strict scrutiny." The process has nationalized fundamental rights, giving them a preferred dignity and majesty. In this volume, the renowned constitutional scholar, Milton Konvitz, traces the development of fundamental rights from the early days of American jurisprudence through twentieth-century cases involving the right to privacy, racial discrimination, voting rights, censorship, and abortion laws.

In Konvitz''s astute view, the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States, like the Ten Commandments, places no priority among protected or guaranteed rights. He argues that values, ideals, rights, liberties, and privileges need to be placed in a hierarchical order or scale. The Supreme Court, acting on a case-by-case basis, has slowly and cautiously moved to designate some rights as superior to others. This idea that some rights are of a "fundamental" nature, while others are not, can be traced back to the early days of the nation''s government. Konvitz shows that there may be said to be not one, but two or even three bills of rights, one for the Federal government and one for the States. Still another, may be an unwritten but evolving Bill of Rights. The Court has recognized rights or liberties that are in no written constitution, as for example, a right to marry, a right to have a family, a right to choose education of one''s children in a private, even a religious, school, rather than a public school. In an illuminating fashion, Konvitz, whose writings have been cited in Supreme Court decisions, traces the controversial and very uneven line of development of