Judith Civan (1937–2019)

Judith Civan builds a compelling case for mythical deicide as the cause of anti-Semitism in Western history in her book, Abraham’s Knife. Her study presents an impressive treatment of prior research into the root causes of anti-Semitism. She also discusses the literary context of the characters of Abraham, Isaac, Jesus, Judas and Shylock and weaves biblical and historical scholarship of subsequent periods into her analysis.
She starts with the story of the sacrifice of Isaac and discusses show more its possible meaning for both Judaism and Christianity, particularly in the context of the crucifixion of Jesus. Since communion is thought to transform the host into the body of Jesus and the wine into his blood, she studies this belief in the context of death and resurrection myths in pagan religions in the Roman world and into what became the blood libel in the medieval period. She traces the development of Christianity and the history of the writing of the letters of Paul and the Gospels to show the parallel development of anti-Semitism in the ancient world and later.
I have read a number of works about the development of anti-Semitism, among them James Carroll’s Constantine’s Sword, Netanyahu’s The Origins of the Inquisition, and Joshua Trachtenberg’s The Devil and the Jews, but none of them is as cogent, compelling, and concise as Judith Civan’s. A fascinating treatment of a deadly concept, a must read! show less

Judith Civan’s Leaving Egypt is a delightful debut novel that weaves together the theme of the exodus from Egypt with a young woman’s search for her Jewish identity. As the book opens, Anne Tepper, a sophomore at Radcliffe in the 1950’s, is dating Bruce Fielding. Bruce is a nice enough Jewish fellow and clearly dotes on Anne, but something seems off. Every time something about Judaism or Jews comes up, Bruce bristles. Anne’s growing curiosity about Judaism angers Bruce and he show more pressures Anne to marry him and adopt his leave-it-alone attitude to Judaism. Anne rejects Bruce and meets Daniel, the brother of one of Anne’s girl friends. Daniel’s interest in Judaism is more intense than Anne’s , particularly in Holocaust studies. As Anne pursues her curiosity, her Jewish identity and its place in her life take center stage. Anne’s journey parallels the stages of the exodus from Egypt reflected in the titles of the three parts of the book—Bondage, The Red Sea, and In the Wilderness. Leaving Egypt compels the reader to turn the pages to find out what Anne will discover next. Civan’s first novel is a great start. Looking forward to the next! show less

Judith Civan’s latest novel, Choosing, portrays a love story set against the backdrop of the Six Day War. Kenneth Hopkins pursues a successful career in journalism, but is caught in an unhappy marriage. Maggie Preston functions as a girl reporter who is given in consequential stories to write despite her grand ambitions. After the ending of Maggie’s love affair with James, she decides to take a vacation in the Greek Islands--her first in years. Kenneth is in the Greek Islands too. When show more he meets Maggie, he invites her to come with him to cover the tense situation in Israel in May 1967.
While the Middle East is hurtling towards war, Kenneth and Maggie find more and more reasons to need one another, but Kenneth has been burned by his ex-wife and is reluctant to commit to a relationship. Choosing is a page-turner. Deftly written, engaging, difficult to put down-this is a must-read for lovers of historical fiction and romance. show less