Dr. Motti Inbari (Philosophy & Religion) recently published his fourth book, his third since joining the faculty at UNC Pembroke.  The Making of Modern Jewish Identity: Ideological Change and Religious Conversion (Routledge, 2019, ISBN 9780367135959) explores the processes that led several modern Jewish leaders – rabbis, politicians, and intellectuals – to make radical changes to their ideology regarding Zionism, Socialism, and Orthodoxy. Comparing their ideological change to acts of conversion, the study examines the philosophical, sociological, and psychological path of the leaders’ transformation. 

“I am in deep gratitude to Dr. David Nikkel, my department chair at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Dr. Nikkel is such a wonderful person, and he always makes sure that I will have the time and resources needed for conducting research. Thank you, David, for your kindness and leadership. I want to thank also my Dean, Dr. Jeff Fredrick, for being so considerate and generous over the years,” notes Professor Inbari. 

His previous books include:

Jewish Radical Ultra-Orthodoxy Confronts Modernity, Zionism and Women’s Equality (Cambridge, 2016),  Messianic Religious Zionism Confronts Israeli Territorial Compromises (Cambridge, 2012), and Jewish Fundamentalism and the Temple Mount (SUNY, 2009).