Judas Iscariot and the Myth of Jewish Evil

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Porto-Rafa (Rapaport), Moses ben Jehiel Ha-Kohen". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org . Retrieved 2012-10-22. Maimonidean controversy flared up again [26] at the beginning of the fourteenth century when Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet, under influence from Asher ben Jehiel, issued a cherem on "any member of the community who, being under twenty-five years, shall study the works of the Greeks on natural science and metaphysics." Contemporary Kabbalists, Tosafists and Rationalists continue to engage in lively, sometimes caustic, debate in support of their positions and influence in the Jewish world. At the center of many of these debates are "Guide for the Perplexed", "13 Principles of Faith", "Mishnah Torah", and his commentary on Anusim. Some of the European leaders who traffic most blatantly in antisemitism – Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, Heinz-Christian Strache of Austria’s far-right Freedom party and Beatrix von Storch of the Alternative for Germany, which promotes nostalgia for the Third Reich – publicly champion Zionism too. Biden is sending secretary of state Antony Blinken to Jerusalem to investigate what’s going on, while Netanyahu is due in Washington next month. That will be interesting. Yet so far, the US has eschewed overt criticism. A shamefully supine approach is also being pursued by EU countries – and Britain. Visiting Israel last week, a Foreign Office minister, Lord Ahmad, blithely declared bilateral ties had attained “new heights”.

In antiquity there was very little difference between religion, magic, and medicine. Mostly, the distinction lay in which practices were deemed legitimate and which were not. And those ideas have changed over the centuries. For example, the rabbis of the Babylonian Talmud understood the world to be full of invisible mazikin, demons who disrupted human activities and even endangered human lives. Saʿadya Gaon dedicated an entire treatise, written in rhyming Hebrew, to a refutation of Ḥīwī's arguments, two fragments of which, preserved in the Cairo Geniza, have been published (Davidson, 1915; Schirmann, 1965). [14] Ḥīwī's criticisms are also noted in Abraham ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch. Sa'adya Gaon denounced Hiwi as an extreme rationalist, a "Mulhidun", or atheist/deviator. Abraham Ibn Daud described HIwi as a sectarian who "denied the Torah, yet used it to formulate a new Torah of his liking". [15] Sa'adya Gaon [ edit ] Defining anti-Zionism as antisemitism reduces that threat. It means that if Palestinians and their supporters respond to the demise of the two-state solution by demanding one equal state, some of the world’s most powerful governments will declare them bigots. You may not live among us” referred to expulsions. Jews were expelled from numerous countries and territories, first from England in 1290, and most famously from Spain in 1492.Saʿadyā Ben Yōsēf." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition". Brillonline.com. 2012 . Retrieved 2012-10-22. Rosenthal, J. "Hiwi Al-Balkhi: A Comparative Study." Jewish Quarterly Review 38; 39 (1947-48; 1948-49): 317-42, 419-30; 79-94. In the 13th century, however, a mystical-esoteric system emerged which became known as "the Kabbalah". Many of the beliefs associated with Kabbalah had long been rejected by philosophers. Saadia Gaon had taught in his book Emunot v'Deot that Jews who believe in gilgul have adopted a non-Jewish belief. Maimonides rejected many texts of Heichalot, particularly Shi'ur Qomah whose anthropomorphic vision of God he considered heretical. A'asam, Abdul-Amîr al-Ibn al-Rawandi's Kitab Fahijat al-Mu'tazila: Analytical Study of Ibn al-Riwandi's Method in his Criticism of the Rational Foundation of Polemics in Islam. Beirut-Paris: Editions Oueidat, 1975–1977 As statistical evidence goes, this is hardly airtight. But it confirms what anyone who listens to progressive and conservative political commentary can grasp: younger progressives are highly universalistic. They’re suspicious of any form of nationalism that seems exclusive. That universalism makes them suspicious of both Zionism and the white Christian nationalism that in the US sometimes shades into antisemitism.

Conventional imperatives for treating Israel differently from other countries read like this: Israel is the Middle East’s only genuine democracy – it must be supported. It is surrounded by hostile regimes seeking its destruction – it must be defended. Remembering the Holocaust, Europe and America owe the Jewish people an eternal debt – it must be honoured. The French philosopher and Talmudic commentator Emmanuel Levinas, whose approach grew out of the phenomenological tradition in philosophy, has also been described as a Jewish existentialist. [43] Jewish rationalism [ edit ] Hermann Cohen

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Rationalism has re-emerged as a popular perspective among Jews. [44] Contemporary Jewish rationalism often draws on ideas associated with medieval philosophers such as Maimonides and modern Jewish rationalists such as Hermann Cohen. In 2018, however, when the Pew Research Center surveyed Americans’ attitudes about Israel, it discovered the reverse pattern: Americans over the age of 65 – the very cohort that expressed the most antisemitism – also expressed the most sympathy for Israel. By contrast, Americans under 30, who according to the ADL harboured the least antisemitism, were least sympathetic to Israel.