But Who is a Kosher Candidate? The Merging of Jewish Identity Politics and Electoral Politics in Los Angeles, 1969-1973
Department: Jewish Studies
Date and Time: May 16, 2018 | 6:30 PM-8:00 PMEvent Location: Humanities Instructional Building 135
Event Details
Max Baumgarten
Winner of the 2018 "New Horizons in Jewish Studies Graduate Essay Prize"
But Who is a Kosher Candidate? The Merging of Jewish Identity Politics and Electoral Politics in Los Angeles, 1969-1973
Response by Allison Perlman, Associate Professor of History at UCI
Wednesday, May 16, 6:30pm
Humanities Instructional Building (HIB) 135
Dr. Baumgarten's lecture will examine how the concept of Jewishness and perceived Jewish interests became an explicit part of the electoral discourse in Los Angeles. By the late 1960s, many activists and politically engaged Jews had begun to develop new identity-based political models that placed a self-conscious emphasis on ethnic pride and ethnic awareness. Privy to the shifting demands of the political environment, politicians seeking public office employed the new ethnic politics as a tool to establish an aura of authenticity among Jewish voters and lay claim to representing “authentic” communal interests. Such strategies not only provided Jews with new modes of political power, visibility, and influence, but also encouraged Jews to view city politics as an arena where they could seamlessly mesh together their broader civic and distinct Jewish concerns.
Max D. Baumgarten recently completed his Ph.D. from the Department of History at UCLA. His dissertation, “Searching for a Stake: The Scope of Jewish Politics in Los Angeles from Watts to Rodney King, 1965-1992” traces the intensification of local Jewish political activity that began during the civil rights era as well as the factors that led to Jewish disengagement from local political and civic affairs by the early 1990s. He has published in American Jewish History, California History, as well as the American Jewish Archives Journal and currently serves as a public policy analyst at the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State, Los Angeles.