Was Jewish ‘Holocaust Theology’ Ever Really About the Holocaust? Assessing the Roots and Implications of a Recurring Critique.

Abstract

Jewish ‘Holocaust Theology’, a body of texts produced by North American and British religious thinkers since the 1960s, has been repeatedly accused of using the Holocaust to lend moral leverage to separate debates. This article examines the history of this recurring critique and considers its relationship with wider features of Holocaust Theology as a mode of writing. It is suggested that Holocaust Theology’s habitual appeal to notions of transformative horror both encourages this critique to recur and, in turn, raises questions regarding the future of the discourse