I am not a rabbi, 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, often working with 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 of my empathy and concern for my Jewish friends, particularly those who, like myself, base their positions on ethical and moral values they draw from their own religion and history .
For example, some of the more violent passages of the Torah had been reinterpreted historically. The references to the Commandment of Genocide against Amalek was interpreted to mean remembering the potential of evil in all of us. Other rabbis even held that this mitzvah is 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 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 historically 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.
All other laws and principles are often sacrificed to the interest of the state and its “security”. Otherwise abominable behavior is not only allowed and justified, but indeed is mandated.
Equally, they became advocates in modern times for the value of law, and particularly international law. Jewish scholars and activists were pioneers and often involved in the creation of much of the codified international law, including the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
More recent unfortunate developments
After the Holocaust, and the creation of the State of Israel, and with the rise of a particular and now dominant form of Zionism, this has begun to change. A new ethic has developed that asserts different values. Jewish empowerment and the requirements of statehood has increasingly made the state an absolute value whose pursuit was seen as necessary for Jewish survival. Being viewed as the instrument for preserving Jewish lives, it acquired the status of 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. Security and the interests of the state became a new idol, before which all other values could, and indeed should be sacrificed.
The divine right of the Chosen People?
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, 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 status 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, divorced 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.
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.
Amalek
Since October 7, 2023, these trends have accelerated. The language of Amalek (and the biblical commandment to exterminate the Amalekites) is now commonly employed, even by secular Israelis like Netanyahu, openly referring to Gazans, Palestinians and now Shiites 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.
All other laws and principles now tend to 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. Nowadays, Baruch Goldstein, who massacred Moslem worshippers in Hebron, is referred to as a saint (tzaddik). 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 Smotrich and Ben Gvir.
Over the millennia, 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 the original spiritual 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, requires a critical view of 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.
