I am not a rabbi, or a Jewish scholar, or even Jewish. I have spent significant parts of my career as a human-rights attorney deeply immersed in seeking a just peace in Israel and Palestine, working shoulder-to-shoulder with like-minded Israeli Jews with whom I share deeply held values. From that vantage point, I am observing a spiritual crisis in Jewish religion, and I wanted to share some of my thoughts, based on my limited knowledge of Judaism, and because my empathy and concern for my Jewish friends.
The Rabbinic Reinterpretation of Judaism After 70 C.E.
After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., Judaism underwent some major changes, as it shifted from a Temple-based, land-oriented religion to a more community-based, ethical and moral religion, with broad humanitarian values. While there have been many different branches and schools of thought, they all shared clear elements that shifted in interpretation and emphasis from some of the more difficult passages of the Torah and tradition, and moved towards a more ethical and community-oriented emphasis.
One example is the sidelining of some of the more violent passages of the Torah. The references to the Commandment of Genocide against Amalek were interpreted to mean remembering the potential of evil in all of us. Other rabbis held this mitzvah to be no longer operative, since we no longer know who Amalek is.
Another example is the tradition of spilling a few drops of wine during the Passover Seder, signifying that even the joy at liberation from slavery is tempered by the knowledge of the pain and suffering of others, even our enemies, whose demise was necessary to achieve liberation. The Talmud (Megillah 10b, also Sanhedrin 39b) relates that God rebuked the angels for singing in jubilation at the demise and drowning of the Egyptian army chasing the Hebrews, noting that those Egyptians who had drowned were also God’s creation.
As a result of all of these developments, Jews and Judaism became quite involved in philanthropy, caring for the other (“Love thy neighbor as thyself”) and good loyal citizens of every country where they were located in their diaspora. Often against persistent Jew-hatred and discrimination, especially in the Christian West, they became centers of learning, and advocates of enlightenment and universal tolerance. Peace became a supreme value, and war, when it occurred, had to be circumscribed by strict ethical restraints. Equally, they became advocates in modern times for the value of law, and particularly international law. Jewish scholars and activists were involved in the creation of much of the codified international law, including the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The Elevation of Security Above All Else
After the Holocaust, however, and with the rise of a particular and now dominant form of Zionism, this began to change. With Zionism and the creation of the State of Israel, a new ethic began to develop that asserted different values. Jewish Empowerment — and later, the Jewish state — became an absolute value whose pursuit was necessary for Jewish survival. That goal, being viewed as the instrument for preserving Jewish lives, was to be a higher moral value, trumping all else. The immensity of the horror of the Holocaust (and accepting the proposition that its repetition should be prevented at all costs) meant that all other systems of morality, law and ethics had to be subordinated to that new goal. The security of the state has become the new Golden Calf, before which all other values can, indeed should, be sacrificed.
Under the new morality, all other laws and principles can be sacrificed to the absolute ethic of the interest of the state and its “security.” In this sense, otherwise abominable behavior is not only allowed and justified, but indeed is mandated.
To justify this new imperative, some Jews, both secular and religious, have begun to revive some of the biblical values and teachings that had been sidelined over the previous two millennia. As the new Jewish state has gathered more and more power and influence, the claim that all of the land in Israel proper and in the occupied territories belongs to Jews by Divine right. Some have even expressed the desire to rebuild the Third Temple. Ideas that had been marginalized, and often only expounded by extremists and Christian Zionist zealots, have slowly become mainstream values among both secular and religious Jews. Instead of understanding the Jewish people’s role as the “Chosen People” as a burden, a responsibility and a mission, it is now often regarded as a principle justifying Jewish supremacy, power and privilege. Saving the Jewish lives of soldiers and civilians has become a supreme value justifying the destruction of everything else. Possession of the land, by any means necessary, and its domination is now regarded as a Divinely sanctioned act of conquest, separate from the requirement of justice and morality, or even religious observance. The concept of “Chosen People” has now been weaponized to justify discrimination, supremacy and the dehumanization of others.
Amalek
Since the massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, and the kidnapping of 251 others, these trends have accelerated. The language of Amalek is now commonly employed, even by secular Israelis like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, openly referring to Gazans, Palestinians and now Shi’ites in Lebanon and Iran. Genocide and genocidal language and practices are now given a religious sanction (“The Bible teaches us how to deal with them. They are Amalek,” Netanyahu has said). The ethic of the Maccabees, and even the concept of self-destruction involved in the Masada story, has become part of the fabric of Israeli society. Even the contemplation of total destruction (the Samson option), which would have been abhorrent to Rabbinic Judaism, is now openly advocated. Also, the festival of Purim and the reading of the Book of Esther have become the occasion for an open call for wreaking revenge against the perceived enemies of the Jewish people.
Jewish scholars and activists were involved in the creation of much of the codified international law, including the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Under the new morality, all other laws and principles can be sacrificed to the absolute ethic of the interest of the state and its “security.” In this sense, otherwise abominable behavior is not only allowed and justified, but indeed is mandated. Baruch Goldstein, who massacred 29 Muslim worshippers in Hebron in 1994, is referred to as a saint (tzaddik), and the teachings of Rabbi Meir Kahane, once considered so outlandish that even the Likud would not have anything to do with them, are now mainstream, as are the views of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
In historic terms, Jews and Judaism have flourished spiritually, despite hatred and discrimination. Now, with the newly found Jewish empowerment in Palestine, that trend is being reversed, and some of the more toxic texts of the Bible, which had been neutralized by rabbinic interpretation in favor of a universalism and morality, are now revived with arrogance and fervor.
The concept of “Chosen People” has now been weaponized to justify discrimination, supremacy and the dehumanization of others.
The Dilemma
American Jews are now caught up in a real dilemma: They are urged to support the State of Israel and its policies out of solidarity and communal fidelity. Some even enjoy the intoxication of power after millennia of powerlessness, even as its practices erode Jewish moral values. To stand with Israel, raise its flag and defend it seems to be a requirement of tribal solidarity.
On the other hand, there is a pull to insist on those values and resist the new trends, which ultimately threaten to deepen antisemitism. To take a prophetic stand and insist on the ethical and moral values, deeply rooted in Jewish traditions, would require a break with Zionism, the State of Israel and its militant aggressive policies. The danger is that left unchecked, these new values are going to impact, and even define, a new Judaism that is troubling to every person of conscience.
