GOD FEARERS

Judaism's most extreme sect refer to themselves as God-fearers, Haredim. They spend their lives in fear of deviating from the word of God found in the Torah and as interpreted by the rabbis of the Talmud two thousand years ago.

In the aftermath of the Holocaust, the center of Jewish diasporic life shifted from Eastern Europe to America. The Haredim intensified their detachment and religiosity in the face of materialism in the new world. They rejected the opportunities offered to the Jews by enlightenment and emancipation, and instead chose to live secluded lives. The challenge of modern life, one with which other Jews engaged eagerly, was met with isolation and entrenchment: a modern form of Jewish fundamentalism.
In GOD FEARERS: On the New Frontiers of Jewish Fundamentalism, veteran journalist Anshel Pfeffer dives in to the rich and repressive traditions of the Haredim, the intricacies of individual and communal life in large families and sects that live as their forefathers did millennia ago. Pfeffer maps out the battle for the soul of the Jewish people.
With incredible access and investigative skill, Pfeffer leads us deep into the enclaves of Haredi communities the world over: from Jerusalem's grand courts of Hasidism to Bnei Berak's Torah Centers, recently ravaged by the Covid pandemic. He reports from the palace of Putin's rabbi in Moscow, from wild religious pilgrimages to Uman, and from the dining rooms of Haredi diamond- dealers in Dubai.
Pfeffer takes us to the Temple Mount, where fundamentalists are re-enacting 2000-year-old rituals in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Next, to the hilltops of the West Bank where they are rebuilding the kingdom of Judah. In Melbourne, a community faces fallout over allegations of sexual predation; in eastern Ukraine, brave rabbis are saving their communities from the ravages of the Russian invasion. From the townships of Orange County, where the Haredim are amassing civil power as a voting bloc, to the bleak Thames Estuary where pre-Holocaust Shtetls are being rebuilt. Pfeffer's expertise and electrifying writing offer an immersive and one-of-a-kind panorama of the evolving Haredi world.

ANSHEL PFEFFER has covered Israeli politics and global affairs for two decades. He is a senior correspondent and columnist for Haaretz and the Israel correspondent for The Economist. He is the author of BIBI: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu (Hurst). He lives in Jerusalem.