Muscular Jews: Young England, gender and Jewishness in Disraeli's “political trilogy”
In Tough Jews, a recent study of the sexual politics of Zionism, Paul Breines describes the genesis of Jewish nationalism as uthe historic break with the culture of Jewish meekness and gentleness and the beginnings of a tough Jewish counterculture." Breines sees the context of "the emergence of a tough Jewish imagery at the turn of the century [as] an extension of the Jewish nationalist awakening of the period [and]... a logical outcome of the larger nationalist dynamic" sweeping contemporary Europe. He argues that it derives from a reaction against as well as a reflection of European nationalisms: "The racial and bodily dimension of much of turn-of-the-century nationalist anti-Semitism was a decisive factor in the emergence of Jewish ideals of toughness, courage and physicality. Modern, postreligious, racial anti-Semitism presented a double image of the Jew: first, as the wielder of immense economic power and, through it, of secret but extensive control of the world's political systems, and second, as physically weak, repulsive, and cowardly."1 Breines is right to locate the invention of a new masculinized Jewish body within the context of widespread aspirations towards the body politic at the end of the nineteenth century. In this essay, however, I would like to trace some of these currents back to an earlier moment in discussions about national identity in nineteenth-century England. Examining the writings of Benjamin Disraeli in the 1830s and 40s, and in particular his representations of "tough Jews," I will be looking at connections between masculinity, Jewishness and English national identity.
Israeli Disraeli: Benjamin Disraeli's Afterlives in Israeli Culture
ABSTRACT:Building on the work of scholars who have examined how Benjamin Disraeli's Jewish roots affected his life, career, and public reception in Britain, the present article considers how these Jewish elements were understood and represented in the Hebrew culture emerging in Eretz Yisrael—from early Zionist settlement in the 1880s, through the Mandate period, to the founding of Israel in 1948 and beyond. Exploring a broad range of cultural arenas, the article traces intricate responses to Disraeli's political style and imperial vision, to his conversion and myth of Jewish racial superiority, and to his art, both as novelist and political performer. While Disraeli's proto-Zionism was celebrated in Israel, at least up to the 1950s, other elements of Disraeli's persona and thought were suppressed or treated ambivalently—often the result of ideological fault-lines. Attempting to explain these reactions, the article concludes by demonstrating how performances of "Dizzy" still echo in contemporary Israeli political culture.
Enhancement of surface properties on Low Density Polyethylene packaging films using various fluorination routes
Nowadays, packaging market deployment requires an important attention. Influence of treatment with molecular (F2) or atomic (Fradical dot) fluorine on properties of Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) films was investigated. The films were treated using direct fluorination conditions with F2 or a specific reagent XeF2, which releases atomic fluorine Fradical dot. Changes of LDPE chemical composition were investigated by FTIR and solid state NMR. Surface morphology was studied by several microscopy techniques (SEM and AFM). Finally to further characterize film properties after treatments, surface energy measurements and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analyses were also carried out. An upper fluorinated layer, which contains mainly high amount of single bondCF2single bond, was formed during the direct fluorination conditions (F2). For the process performed with XeF2, specific groups single bondCHFsingle bond were detected not only on the polymer surface but also in the bulk. The final CHF/CF2 ratio depended on the fluorination route. Treatment with Fradical dot (originated from XeF2 decomposition) resulted in single bondCHFsingle bond groups in bulk prevailing formation whereas F2 formed mainly single bondCF2single bond groups. Regardless to the reactive species, radicals (dangling bonds) appeared during the fluorination and reacted with oxygen during the exposition to air after the treatment. Such a process resulted in oxygenated polar groups formation and consequently in the surface energy increase.