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The relationship betweenJudaism and politics is a historically complex subject, and has evolved over time concurrently with both changes within Jewish society and religious practice, and changes in the general society of places where Jewish people live. In particular, Jewish political thought can be split into four major eras:Biblical (prior to Roman rule),Rabbinic (from roughly the 100 BCE to 600 CE),Medieval (from roughly 600 CE to 1800 CE), andModern (18th century to the present day).
Several different political models are described across itscanon, usually composed of some combination oftribalfederation,monarchy, apriestlytheocracy, and rule byprophets. Political organization during the Rabbinic and Medieval eras generally involved semi-autonomous rule by Jewish councils and courts (with council membership often composed purely ofrabbis) that would govern the community and act as representatives tosecular authorities outside the Jewish community. Beginning in the 19th century, and coinciding with the expansion of the political rights accorded to individual Jews in European society, Jews would affiliate with and contribute theory to a wide range of political movements and philosophies.
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Stuart Cohen has pointed out that there are three separate power centers depicted in theHebrew Bible: the priesthood, the royal throne, and the prophets.[1]
One model of biblicalpolitics is the model of the tribal federation, where power is shared among different tribes and institutions. Another is the model of limitedconstitutional monarchy.[2]
The Hebrew Bible contains a complexchronicle of theKings of Israel andJudah. Some passages of the Hebrew Bible contain intimate portrayals of the inner workings of the royal households ofSaul,David, andSolomon; the accounts of subsequent monarchs are frequently more distanced and less detailed, and frequently begin with the judgement that the monarch "did evil in the sight of the Lord".[citation needed]
Daniel Elazar has argued that the concept ofcovenant is the fundamental concept in the biblical political tradition and in the later Jewish thought that emerges from the Bible.[2]
Outside of theHebrew Bible, the ancient Jewishscribe,sage, andallegoristBen Sira stated"A work is praised for the skill of the artisan; so a people’s leader is proved wise by his words. The loud of mouth are feared in their city, and the one who is reckless in speech is hated.[3] This was followed by"A wise magistrate educates his people, and the rule of an intelligent person is well ordered. As the people’s judge is, so are his officials; as the ruler of the city is, so are all its inhabitants. An undisciplined king ruins his people, but a city becomes fit to live in through the understanding of its rulers,"implying the political leader's intelligence reflects the one of his people. This can be seen as an early example of Jewishpolitical philosophy.[4]
InRoman Judea, Jewish communities were governed by rabbinical courts known asSanhedrin. Lesser Sanhedrins composed of 23 judges were appointed to each city, while a Great Sanhedrin with 71 judges was the highest authority, taking cases appealed from the lower courts. The Sanhedrin served as the leadership of the Jewish community underRoman rule, and served as emissaries to the imperial authorities in addition to overseeing religious practice and collecting taxes.[5] The Sanhedrin was the highest Jewish governing body of theSecond Temple period.
A statement byJudah bar Ilai in theBabylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 20b) depictsmonarchy as the ideal form of Jewish governance, following theBook of Deuteronomy statement that, "When you come into the land that the Lord your God is about to give you, and you take hold of it and dwell in it, and you say, 'Let me put a king over me like all the nations that are around me', you shall surely put over you a king whom the Lord your God chooses..." (Deut. 17:14–15).[6] But theTalmud also brings a different interpretation of this verse fromEleazar ben Arach, who is quoted as explaining that, "This section was spoken only in anticipation of their future murmurings, as it is written, and you say, Let me put a king over me..." (Sanhedrin 20b). In many interpretations, Rabbi Nehorai does not think of appointing a king as a strict obligation, but as a concession to later "murmurings" from Israel.[6]
In addition to imagining ideal forms of governance, the rabbis accept a principle to obey the government currently in power. The Talmud makes reference to the principle ofdina de-malkhuta dina ("the law of the land is law"), a principle recognizing non-Jewish laws and non-Jewish legal jurisdiction as binding on Jewish citizens, provided that they are not contrary to any laws ofJudaism.[7][8]
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During theMiddle Ages, someAshkenazi Jewish communities were governed byqahal. Theqahal had regulatory control over Jewish communities in a given region; they administered commerce, hygiene, sanitation, charity,Jewish education,kashrut, and relations between landlords and their tenants. It provided a number of community facilities, such as arabbi, aritual bath, and aninterest-free loan facility for the Jewish community.[9][10] Theqahal even had sufficient authority that it could arrange for individuals to be expelled fromsynagogues,excommunicating them.[9][11]
Some medieval political theorists such asMaimonides andNissim of Gerona saw kingship as the ideal form of government. Maimonides' views the commandment in Deuteronomy to appoint a king as a clear positive ideal, following the Talmudic teaching that "three commandments were given to Israel when they entered the land: to appoint a king, as it says, 'You shall surely put over you a king'..."[12] A large section of Maimonides' legal code, theMishneh Torah, titled "The Laws of Kings and their Wars", deals with the ideal model of kingship, especially in the messianic era, and also concerning ruling over non-Jewish subjects through theNoachide laws.[citation needed] Other sections of Maimonides' Mishneh Torah (mostly also in theBook of Judges, where the laws of kingship are also found) is dedicated to the laws relating to legislators and judges.[citation needed]
Whereas Maimonides' idealized kingship, other medieval political theorists, such asAbravanel, saw kingship as misguided.[6] Later on, other Jewish philosophers such asBaruch Spinoza would lay the groundwork forthe Enlightenment, arguing for ideas such as theseparation of church and state. Spinoza's writings caused him to beexcommunicated[13] from the Jewish community ofAmsterdam, although his work and legacy has been largely rehabilitated, especially amongsecular Jews in the 20th and 21st centuries.[14]
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WithJewish emancipation, the institution of theqahal as an autonomous entity was officially abolished. Jews increasingly became participants in the wider political and social sphere of larger nations. As Jews became citizens of states with various political systems, and argued about whether tofound their own state, Jewish ideas of the relationship between Judaism and politics developed in many different directions.
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In the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, when there was a large Jewish population in Europe, some Jews favored various forms ofliberalism, and saw them as connected with Jewish principles. Some Jews allied themselves with a range ofJewish political movements. These includedSocialist andBundist movements favored by theJewish left,Zionist movements,Jewish Autonomist movements,Territorialist movements, andJewish Anarchism movements.Haredi Jews formed an organization known asWorld Agudath Israel which espoused Haredi Jewish political principles.
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In the 21st century, shifts are occurring. The Jewish community in Great Britain, one of the largest in theJewish diaspora, is leaningconservative, as a poll published by theJewish Chronicle in early 2015 shows. Of British Jews polled, 69% would vote for theConservative Party, while 22% would vote for theLabour Party. This is in stark contrast to the rest of the voter population, which, according to a BBC poll, had Conservatives and Labour almost tied at about a third each. Jews have typically been a part of the Britishmiddle class, traditional home of the Conservative Party, although the number of Jews inworking class communities of London is in decline. The main voting bloc of poorer Jews in Britain now, made up primarily ofultra-Orthodox, votesen masse for the Conservatives. Attitudes towardIsrael influence the vote of three out of four of British Jews.[15][16] A shift toward conservatism has also been exhibited in France, where about half of the Jewish population isSephardic.Jérôme Fourquet, director "Public opinion and corporate strategy" department at the polling organizationIFOP, notes that there is a "pronounced preference" forright-wing politics among French Jews. During the 2007 election, Jews (Orthodox or not) represented the strongest pillar of support for Sarkozy after observant Catholics.[17]
During theAmerican Civil War, Jews were divided in their views ofslavery andabolition. Prior to 1861, there were virtually no rabbinical sermons on slavery. The silence on this issue was probably a result of fear that the controversy would create conflict within the Jewish community. Some Jews owned slaves or traded them. Most southern Jews supported slavery, and few Northern Jews were abolitionists, seeking peace and remaining silent on the subject of slavery. America's largest Jewish community, New York's Jews, were "overwhelmingly pro-southern, pro-slavery, and anti-Lincoln in the early years of the war". However, eventually, they began to lean politically toward Abraham Lincoln's Republican party and emancipation.[18]
Swedish born-rabbiMorris Jacob Raphall was one of the most vocal Jewish supporters of the institution of slavery.Mordecai Manuel Noah was against the expansion of slavery initially, but later became an opponent of emancipation.Isaac Mayer Wise followed a policy of silence on the issue when the war broke out.[19] Wise was a supporter of the Democratic Party, pro-slavery at that time.[20]Ernestine Rose was one Jewish opponent of slavery, as wasBernhard Felsenthal.Moses Mielziner opposed slavery on a Jewish religious argument, arguing that Mosaic law maintained a compassionate view toward the slave. RabbiDavid Einhorn also invoked Jewish values against slavery. Rose and Einhorn were threatened withtar and feathering.[19]
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While earlier Jewish immigrants tended to be politically conservative, the wave ofEastern European Jews starting in the early 1880s, were generally more liberal orleft-wing, and became the political majority.[21] For most of the 20th century since 1936, the vast majority of Jews in the United States have been aligned with theDemocratic Party. Supporters of theJewish left have argued thatleft-wing values vis-à-vissocial justice can be traced to Jewish religious texts, including theTanakh and later texts, which include a strong endorsement of hospitality to "the stranger" and the principle ofredistribution of wealth – as well as a tradition of challenging authority, as exemplified by the biblicalprophets.[22][23]
American rabbinic leaders who have advanced a progressive political agenda grounded in Jewish principles have included:[citation needed]
Other prominent Jews who have argued based on Jewish principles for a progressive political agenda have included:
Towards the end of the 20th century, and at the beginning of the 21st century,Republicans began a platform that sought to take the Jewish vote away from theDemocrats. While a solid majority of American Jews continues to be aligned with the Democratic Party, many have argued that there is increased Jewish support for political conservatism.
Rabbinic leaders who have advanced a conservative political agenda grounded in Jewish principles have included:
Other prominent Jews who have argued based on Jewish principles for a conservative political agenda have included:[24]
Significant Jewish political philosophers in North America have included:[citation needed]
The development of a political system in Israel drew largely on European models of governance, rather than on models from the Jewish political tradition.[25] Some political figures in Israel, however, have seen their principles as based in Judaism. This is especially pronounced in political parties that see themselves as religious parties, such asShas,United Torah Judaism, andThe Jewish Home.
Politics in Israel are dominated byZionist parties. They traditionally fall into three camps, the first two being the largest:Labor Zionism,Revisionist Zionism andReligious Zionism. There are also several non-ZionistOrthodox religious parties, non-Zionistsecularleft-wing groups as well as non-Zionist andanti-ZionistIsraeli Arab parties.
Recent interest in developing political theory grounded in Jewish sources has been spurred on by the activities of theneo-conservativeShalem Center.[26]
One example of a well-known Jew in Australian politics isJosh Frydenberg, a member of thecentre-right, conservativeLiberal Party, who (until2022served asTreasurer and was (before being unseated) the member ofKooyong, a wealthyMelbourne electorate.
Currently, there are four Jews in theAustralian Parliament, all in theHouse of Representatives. These areMark Dreyfus (theLabor member forIsaacs inVictoria since2007),Mike Freelander (the Labor member forMacarthur inNew South Wales since2016),Julian Leeser (the Liberal member forBerowra in New South Wales since 2016) andJosh Burns (the Labor member forMacnamara in Victoria since2019).
The four electorates with the highest Jewish populations are:[27]
| Electorate | City | State | Jewish population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wentworth | Sydney |  New South Wales | 16.2% |
| Macnamara | Melbourne |  Victoria | 12.8% |
| Goldstein | Melbourne | Victoria | 8.8% |
| Kingsford Smith | Sydney | New South Wales | 6.0% |
Many Australian Jews have been hostile to the progressiveAustralian Greens party due to its perceived support for theBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a pro-Palestinian political movement opposed by both major parties (the Liberal Party and the Labor Party).[27]
There are currently three Jews in state parliaments of Australia: one inNew South Wales (Ron Hoenig, theLabor member forelectoral district of Heffron since 2012) and two inVictoria (David Southwick, theLiberal member forCaulfield since2010; andPaul Hamer, theLabor member forBox Hill since2018).
Media related toJudaism and politics at Wikimedia Commons
