Part Three: Toni, Magic Mountains Summary and Analysis

Toni: Judt opens the essay "Toni" with a reference to his aunt Toni, saying that he thinks about her whenever he is asked what it means to be Jewish. He continues his discussion of self-identity by divulging his personal beliefs, claiming that he is Jewish by culture, not religion, because he rejects the authority of all rabbis. He celebrates few Jewish holidays, does not go out of his way to spend time with Jews, and has married women who are not Jewish. He also finds it odd that some American Jews are obsessed with protecting Judaism, an obsession that borders on Zionism, despite the fact that Jews have an equal opportunity to succeed in America as individuals from any other ethnic descent, and one needn't look far to find a plethora of examples...