jewish conversion essay questions

Choosing Judaism: Learn the Basics

"Why do some people consider converting to Judaism?"

People convert to Judaism for many reasons. Some are seeking religious meaning in their lives – with or without any connection to a Jewish partner – and simply find that Judaism offers a spiritual and religious place in which they are comfortable. For others, a relationship or marriage with a Jewish person offers them a first chance to explore Judaism. Participating in Shabbat dinner, a Shabbat or holiday service, or Torah study may be a completely new and different experience, and can be the first step toward considering conversion.

The conversion process is self-paced and open-ended. Once this journey of Jewish exploration and learning has begun, each seeker will make the individual choices that best suit their life. Some people make the decision to convert shortly after their learning process begins, while others take more time to make a final decision. Some people are motivated to convert because they are part of a Jewish family and are raising or plan to raise Jewish children. Some people choose to convert after living in a Jewish family and participating in Jewish activities for years.

"Do Jews seek converts?"

Centuries ago, Jews engaged in proselytizing, particularly during the Greco-Roman period of Jewish history. At that time, thousands of non-Jews living in Asia Minor embraced Judaism, but the destruction of the Roman Empire and mortal threats against Jews who sought converts marked the end of such efforts.

Judaism is an open religion that readily encourages and welcomes those who turn to it for fulfillment and guidance in meeting life’s challenges. In recent years, Reform congregations - and the Reform Jewish community as a whole - have taken a more active approach to seeking out people who might choose to become Jews. At the same time, Judaism respects the religious beliefs of others, as well as the convictions of those who choose no religion.

"How do I know if Judaism is right for me?"

The best way to begin is by participating and learning. Look for a Jewish community, perhaps by finding a congregation in your area . Try attending services or events there; if you have Jewish friends or Jewish family members, ask to share in Shabbat and holidays with them. As you study and try out Jewish practice and customs at your own pace, you will become increasingly comfortable with them.

Another excellent way to get a sense of the traditions and practices of Judaism is to enroll in class such as A Taste of Judaism ® or Introduction to Judaism .

"If I take a Judaism class, will I be expected to convert?"

No. The Union for Reform Judaism's courses are open to anyone who wants to learn more about Judaism, including individuals considering conversion, interfaith couples, and those who were born Jewish and want to learn more about their own heritage. Although many people do take the course as part of the process of converting to Judaism, there are no assumptions or expectations that you will convert as a result of your participation in the class.

"If I decide I want to become a Jew, how would I go about it?"

First, make an appointment with an ordained rabbi or cantor. They will not only discuss the process and implications of becoming a Jew, but they will also explore with you your reasons for wanting to do so. In earlier generations, rabbis would discourage potential Jews-by-choice, turning them away three times to test how serious they were. This custom is seldom followed today.

People considering conversion to Judaism are expected to study Jewish theology, rituals, history, culture, and customs, and to begin incorporating Jewish practice into their lives. Though the scope of the course of study varies among Jewish clergy and communities, most require a course in basic Judaism and individual study with a rabbi or cantor, as well as attendance at services and participation in home practice and synagogue life.

Keep in mind that you are free to choose the rabbi or cantor with whom you will work. Talk to more than one person to find someone with whom you feel comfortable. This rabbi or cantor will then become your sponsoring clergy, guiding you through every step of your conversion.

"Can I convert to Judaism online?"

Judaism welcomes those wishing to convert, and a great deal of information about Judaism is now available on the Internet, making it a wonderful way to begin learning. However, conversion to Judaism involves time and effort: study, worship and practice in the context of an active Jewish community. Judaism is a religion of people and community.

Once a student is ready to convert, there are meaningful rituals that mark the new Jew's entrance into the covenant and affirm the community's embrace of them. Therefore, conversion over the Internet is simply not possible or advisable. Furthermore, many rabbis will not recognize online conversion. 

"If I become Jewish, will I be welcome within the Reform Jewish community?"

Modern-day Reform Jews wholeheartedly welcome those who have chosen to convert to Judaism, recognizing that our Jewish community is made stronger by those who actively seek to become Jews. As more and more Jews-by-choice enter the Jewish community and as public discussion of such choice grows more commonplace, Jews-by-choice have found that their acceptance in the Jewish community has grown. In fact, the Reform Jewish community, as a whole, is proud of its many congregational leaders, as well as a number of rabbis and cantors, who are Jews-by-choice.

"If I convert with a Reform ordained rabbi or cantor, will all rabbis consider me a Jew?"

Reform, Reconstructionist, and, under certain circumstances, Conservative rabbis recognize the validity of conversions performed by rabbis of all branches of Judaism. Most Orthodox rabbis, however, do not recognize non-Orthodox conversions. Your sponsoring rabbi will discuss with you any implications of conversion under their guidance.

"If I become a Jew, will I be expected to separate from my family of origin?"

No. Conversion to a new religion does not make you into something altogether new, nor does it require you to sever family ties or memories. Most Jews-by-choice maintain warm relationships with their family of origin. Some converts to Judaism find, however, that, especially initially, their family may be hurt or confused by their choice.

Such feelings often stem from misunderstandings or a lack of knowledge about Judaism and are, therefore, perfectly understandable. Patience and a willingness to discuss your choice openly with your family will be important throughout the conversion process. Your ordained rabbi or cantor should be willing to discuss this will you, as well, as he or she has likely had similar conversations with Jews-to-be in the past. You are not alone!

"If I decide not to become a Jew but I have a partner who is, can our children be raised as Jews?"

Yes. Many interfaith couples raise their children as Jews, and in many such families, the non-Jewish parent still plays a key role in providing for their children’s Jewish education and creating a supportive Jewish home environment.

The more you learn about Judaism, the easier this will be for you. Many Jews see such parents as the givers of a precious gift and as a blessing to the Jewish people.

"If I decide not to become Jewish, can I still worship in a synagogue with my Jewish family?"

Most Reform and Reconstructionist congregations, as well as some Conservative and Orthodox congregations, warmly welcome interfaith families to participate in synagogue life in various ways.

Compelled by a verse from the Book of Isaiah 56:7 – “For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” – almost all Jewish worship services are open to the public, so you and your family are welcome to attend. Shabbat services are held on Friday evening and Saturday morning, but you should call the congregation during the week to find out specific times of worship.

"If I’m not yet ready to convert to Judaism or if I decide not to, what options do my Jewish partner and I have for our wedding ceremony?"

This is a very sensitive issue, on which there is a broad range of opinions. First, seek out an ordained rabbi or cantor   with whom you feel comfortable so that you can have a thorough discussion about your options. No matter what kind of wedding ceremony you have, the Reform Jewish community considers itself a portal to Jewish life for intermarried couples. Through organized outreach programming and a general atmosphere of openness, interfaith couples will find Reform congregations welcoming in a myriad ways.

"How can I learn more about Judaism and about the conversion process?"

Here on ReformJudaism.org, designed to help people explore Reform Judaism, you will find answers to questions, information about Shabbat and Jewish holidays, ways to celebrate at home with blessings and recipes, comments on the Torah portion of the week, and more.

If you’d like to attend services or speak with a rabbi, locate a congregation or rabbi near you using this handy Find a Congregation tool.

You may also wish to take a class to learn more about Judaism:

• Find A Taste of Judaism ® classes in your area . Everyone, Jewish or not, is welcome at this free three-session class for beginners that explores the topics of Jewish spirituality, ethics and community values.
• Find Introduction to Judaism classes in your area. In this 16- to 20-week class (depending on location), you’ll learn the fundamentals of Jewish thought and practice. This course is perfect for interfaith couples, non-Jews considering conversion, and Jews looking for an adult-level introduction.

Check out our recommended reading list for books, articles, podcasts, and more to learn more about Judaism and the conversion process.

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Covenant and the Jewish Conversion Question

Extending the Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik

• © 2021
• Benji Levy 0

Jerusalem, Israel

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• Applies the thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik to the ever present debate on Jewish conversion
• Provides close readings of rabbinic philosophical and legal sources
• Offers an account of the primary priorities of Jewish conversion today

Part of the book series: Jewish Thought and Philosophy (JTP)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

Front matter, introduction, dual covenants and jewish identity, apostasy and conversion as conceptual mirrors, conversion rituals, converts, courts, and conviction, conversion of the heart versus conversion for the heart, covenantal influence on conversion, the israel factor, conversion and the future of israel, back matter.

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About this book

Covenant and the Jewish Conversion Question reevaluates conversion and Jewish identity through the lens of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s dual conception of the Covenants of Fate and Destiny. By studying an array of key rabbinic texts through this lens, the book explores the boundaries and interplay between these biblical covenants through apostasy, holiness and the key elements relating to conversion law. This understanding provides a relevant framing device to deal with the conversion and Jewish identity crises faced in the State of Israel and beyond.

Authors and Affiliations

About the author.

Benji Levy is a founding partner of Israel Impact Partners, working with leading donors to optimize philanthropic projects. He is the former CEO of Mosaic United, the historic partnership between the State of Israel and leaders of global Jewry and he was Dean of Moriah College, one of the largest Jewish schools in the world. He completed rabbinic ordination at Yeshivat Har Etzion and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Sydney, Australia.

Bibliographic Information

Book Title : Covenant and the Jewish Conversion Question

Book Subtitle : Extending the Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik

Authors : Benji Levy

Series Title : Jewish Thought and Philosophy

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80145-8

Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan Cham

eBook Packages : Religion and Philosophy , Philosophy and Religion (R0)

Copyright Information : The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

Hardcover ISBN : 978-3-030-80144-1 Published: 25 September 2021

Softcover ISBN : 978-3-030-80147-2 Published: 26 September 2022

eBook ISBN : 978-3-030-80145-8 Published: 24 September 2021

Series ISSN : 2946-4714

Series E-ISSN : 2946-4722

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : VIII, 295

Topics : Jewish Theology , Philosophy, general

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Jewish Identity

A collection of key essays on the topic.

Who are the Jews? What does it mean to be a Jew? Is there a difference between Judaism and Jewishness? Is it a religion, a family, a tribe, a nationality or something entirely different?

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AJS Perspectives

• Call for Submissions: The Conversion Issue

Call for Submissions

The conversion issue.

Editors: Laura Limonic & Federica Schoeman Art Editor: Douglas Rosenberg Roundtable Editor: Jason Schulman "Teaching with Film and Media" Editor: Olga Gershenson

Deadline for pitches: May 5, 2024

The editors of AJS Perspectives invite scholars, researchers, artists and practitioners to submit proposals for essays exploring the topic of converting into or out of Judaism. This issue seeks to examine the multifaceted dimensions of embracing a new religious identity from historical, cultural, religious, and sociological perspectives. Contributors are invited to interpret the idea of “conversion” as broadly as they wish. We also welcome personal essays.

Background: Conversion has been a subject of scholarly inquiry and communal debate for centuries. From biblical times to contemporary contexts, conversions have been influenced by diverse factors, from sincere faith to intermarriage, or the need to overcome social barriers. Infamously, Jews were also often forced to convert. Under various historical circumstances, social pressures or family requirements, Jews may have also freely chosen conversion (Tevye’s daughter Chava, from Sholem Alejchem’s classic story, comes to mind, or the historical figures of Herschel Marx or Abraham Mendelssohn). To some, assimilation is as dangerous as, or even a form of, conversion–a way to weaken the community’s identity (for instance, think of the character of Jakie Rabinowitz in The Jazz Singer , and the father’s reaction to the son’s choice). The history of conversions must also include those who join Judaism. Are these represented in our culture, books, films, or intellectual/academic discourses? And if so, how? We seek to address questions of choice and process and acceptance across the legal, religious and cultural realms of conversion.

Proposal Guidelines: We welcome proposals for articles that engage with the theme of Jewish conversions from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including but not limited to:

  •  Historical perspectives on Jewish conversion practices and attitudes.

  •  Expressions of Jewish identity and belonging among converts.

  •  Transitions between different Jewish denominations.

  •  Sociological analyses of conversion experiences and community dynamics.

  •  Legal and ethical considerations surrounding conversion.

  •  Books, films and other representations of conversions (becoming Jewish or leaving Judaism) and the family or communal dynamics surrounding these decisions.

We invite pitches from academics, independent scholars, and academically unaffiliated writers. Photographs and accompanying illustrations are highly welcome. Interested contributors should submit their pitches no later than May 5. These must include the author’s name (and co-authors’ names, if applicable), affiliation (if applicable), title of the essay, and a fully fleshed out description of the piece. The magazine aspires to publish non-academic articles that are engaging, entertaining, well-written and accessible to a broad and diverse audience.

We aim to promote a diversity of voices including career stage, geographical location, gender, religion, race, sexuality, and ability.

Completed essays will be approximately 1,000 words.

Teaching with Film and Media Submissions

We invite 2–3 sentence pitches for the “Teaching with Film and Media” section, edited by Olga Gershenson. Final submissions will consist of a short essay about a film and a brief discussion of its pedagogical potential in Jewish Studies courses. Each essay will be 250-300 words (including director, year, country of production, and distributor) plus a representative image.

Roundtable Submissions

We invite submissions for the Roundtable format in AJS Perspectives. Roundtables feature a group of scholars exploring a topic in a conversational manner. Like essays, roundtables can explore the theme from creative and scholarly perspectives, as well as reflections on the theme in pedagogy and the profession. We particularly welcome roundtables formed for past or upcoming AJS Conferences. Roundtables should consist of 3–5 participants and should be no longer than 3,000 words in total.

Art Submissions

We invite artists to address the topic through relevant practices that may include, (but are not limited to) photography, printmaking, painting, drawing, sculpture, performative documentation or other reproducible media.

Art submissions should be the highest quality digital representation in your particular medium. Please submit files with appropriate description and any additional information which may be helpful to the editors.

We aim to promote a diversity of voices including career stage, socio-economic situation, gender, religion, race, sexuality, and ability. As such, you are invited to include relevant aspects of whatever subjectivity or positionality may inform your writing.

Submission Guidelines: Please submit via Google Form here. The deadline to submit pitches has passed

Publication Timeline: - Deadline for Pitches: May 5, 2024 - Editor Decisions: by late May 2024 - Completed Essays Due – June 30, 2024 - Publication of AJS Perspectives Issue: December 2024

Questions? Contact the editors at  [email protected] .

Exploring how religious and secular forces interact in the modern world.

Theorizing Modernities article

Why is the jewish question different from all similar questions.

This essay is based on a talk given during the “Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, and the Critique of Israel: Towards a Constructive Debate” conference held at University of Zurich from June 29–30, 2022.

To confront the relationship between antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and the critique of Israel is a daunting challenge. In light of this monumental task, a remark from the Talmud comes to mind. Rabbi Tarfon said, “The day is short, the task is great. You are not obliged to complete the task, but neither are you free to give it up” (Bab. Tal., Ninth Tractate Avot , 2:20–21). This sums up my situation perfectly. My space is limited and the task is great. I could not possibly complete it, but neither am I capable of giving it up. Far from giving it up, the question of the Jewish Question is now at the center of my work on antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and the critique of Israel.

This post is divided into two parts. In part I, “Asking the Jewish Question,” I argue for one reading of the Question. I call it, for a reason that I hope becomes clear, “the antithesis reading.” In Part II, “Questioning the Zionist Answer,” I concentrate on an alternative reading, “the national reading,” which I see as underlying political Zionism in all its different forms. (In this essay, whenever I refer to Zionism I mean political Zionism and not the cultural Zionism associated, in the first place, with Ahad Ha’am.) There are many angles of approach to questioning Zionism. In Part II, I refer only to “the postcolonial critique” advanced by the Left —but I barely scratch the surface. (Barely scratching the surface is a good way to describe my essay as a whole.) I argue that, on the one hand, Jews who react against anti-Zionism (or come to the defense of Israel) tend to slip unawares between one reading of the Jewish Question and the other. On the other hand, the Left (including a section of the Jewish Left) tends to be too quick to dismiss their reaction when giving a postcolonial critique of Zionism and Israel. The combination of these two tendencies generates impassioned confusion—confusion that is not merely intellectual—on both sides. The analysis points to self-critique—on both sides—as a condition for the possibility of constructive debate.

I. Asking the Jewish Question

The so-called “Jewish Question” is a question in the sense of being a problem that needs to be solved. But who set the problem? For whom—in whose eyes—is there a problem about the Jews, the Jews as Jews? I suppose the first person who saw the Jews as a problem was Moses, who, time and again, complained to God about them; or maybe it was God who first saw the Jews as problematic. I don’t know. In any case, the problem they saw is not exactly the problem to which the so-called “Jewish Question” refers. The “Jewish Problem” is set by Europe: it is a question Europe asks itself about the Jews.

The term “the Jewish Question” became current in the 19 th century. This was, says Holly Case in her book of the same name, “ the age of questions ,” by which she means questions with the form “the X question.” The X questions were a motley lot, but, by and large, they could be grouped under three headings: “social,” “religious,” or “national.” The Jewish Question, rather like the Jews themselves, had no fixed abode: it could be housed under any one of these headings. I shall focus on the view that, au fond , it was a national question, keeping company with such questions as the Armenian, Macedonian, Irish, Belgian, Kurdish, and so on. I do so because the national take on the Jewish Question is the one that is especially relevant to our conference, “Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, and the Critique of Israel: Towards a Constructive Debate .” From Herzl to the present day, the Jewish Question has been construed in political Zionism as a national question; and Zionism lies at the heart of the current debate about Israel and antisemitism.

The “Jewish Problem” is set by Europe: it is a question Europe asks itself about the Jews.

The national take, however, is a mis -take. The Jews were not another case of a European nation whose future on the political map was the subject of debate. Rather, whether the Jews collectively are a nation in the modern (European) sense was up for debate: it was an integral part of the Jewish Question. Nor was there anything novel about querying their collective status: the status of the Jews was seen as problematic for a thousand years or more before the political formations that were the subject of the National Question in the 19th century came into being. And, while there were other groups in this period whose status as nations was up for debate, the case of the Jews was radically different. How so? The answer to this question gets to the core of the Jewish question.

I noted earlier that the Jewish Question is a question Europe asks itself about the Jews. But, although ostensibly  about the Jews, ultimately it is about Europe: it is about Europe via the question of the Jews. It always has been, ever since antiquity and the days of the original European Union (as it were), the one whose capital city was Rome. Anti-Jewish animus is older than the Roman Empire, of course. But the story I have in mind begins with the conversion to Christianity of Flavius Valerius Constantinus, otherwise known as Constantine the Great, Emperor of Rome. Constantine’s conversion on his deathbed gave birth, in a way, to the question that came to be called “Jewish.” From this point on, Europe has used the Jews to define itself. The question, which we might rename “the European Question,” was this: What is Europe? Answer: not Jewish. Down the centuries, as Europe’s idea of itself changed, this “not” persisted, though it took different forms.

Granted, in the “New Europe” that emerged after the shock and tumult of the Shoah and the Second World War, the role of Jews collectively has, to some extent, been inverted. We are now liable to function for Europe (as I have discussed elsewhere ) more as an admired model than as a despised foil , with consequences for Western European policies towards the State of Israel. Furthermore, a thread of philosemitism runs through Europe’s history . Neither of these points, however, contradicts the account I am giving here of the negative role played by Jews down the centuries in Europe’s self-definition.

Thus, the Jewish Question existed as an issue for Europe avant la lettre . Seen as being in Europe but not of Europe, the Jews were the original “internal Other,” the inner alien to the European self, the Them inside the Us. First, in antiquity, Judaism was the foil against which Europe defined itself as Christian. Then, in the eighteenth century, the Jews were, as Adam Sutcliffe puts it in his book Judaism and the Enlightenment , “the Enlightenment’s primary unassimilable Other,” but no longer as the immovable object to Christianity ‘s irresistible force (254). Esther Romeyn explains: “For the Enlightenment, with its investment in universalism and civilization, the Jew was a symbol of particularism, a backward-looking, pre-modern tribal culture of outmoded customs and religious tutelage” (92). In the following century, the symbol flipped. Romeyn again (partly quoting Sarah Hammerschlag ): “For a nationalism based on roots, the distinctiveness of cultures, and allegiance to a shared past, the Jew was an uprooted nomad or a suspect ‘cosmopolitan’ aligned with ‘abstract reason rather than roots and tradition’” (92; Hammerschlag, 7, 20). Europe now saw itself as a patchwork quilt of ethnic nationalities and the question arose: “How do the Jews fit in? Do they fit in? If they do not, what is to be done with them or with their Jewishness?” This was the Jewish Question in the 19 th century, a new variation on a very old European theme: the theme of the anomalous Jew; or, more precisely, the antithetical Jew.

In short, the National Question was about ethnic difference and how Europe should deal with it. The Jewish  Question was about the alien within—so deep within as to be internal to Europe’s idea of itself. Other groups and peoples, such as Arabs and Africans, have played the part of Europe’s external Others; this is written into the script of European imperialism and colonialism. They too have provided a reference point for Europe to define itself by way of what it is not. But Jews as Jews are not part of the colonial script. As Jews, we have been, ab initio , “insider outsiders,” a people who, in any given era, are the negative—the internal negative—to Europe’s positive: belonging in Europe by not  belonging. Certainly, the Jewish Question, as it has been asked in different European places at different times, has features in common with other “X questions.” Moreover, the Jewish Question is not unique in being unique! Each “X question” is unique or singular in its own distinctive way. But the singularity of the Jewish case is such that it escapes the boxes in which other “X questions” are placed. Being seen as antithetical to Europe, like the alien race in the 1960 horror film Village of the Damned : this is what underlies the questionableness of “the Jews.” It is why (to allude to the title of my paper) the Jewish Question is different from all similar questions. I call this reading of the Jewish Question “the antithesis reading.” Whether it adequately describes the Jewish space in the European imagination, the salient point is this: this is how the Question sits in Jewish collective memory, continually working in the background of the Zionist answer to the Question.

II. Questioning the Zionist Answer

The mass of Jews, if only subliminally, bring collective memory to their embrace of Zionism and the State of Israel. They keep slipping, in the process, between two different readings of the Jewish Question, eliding the one with the other: the one I have just given and the one that Theodor Herzl gives in Der Judenstaat . Herzl’s (mis)reading has become a staple of the State of Israel as it defines itself (and, simultaneously, defines the Jewish people). In Der Judenstaat , he fastens onto the category of “nation.” He writes: “I think the Jewish question is no more a social than a religious one, notwithstanding that it sometimes takes these and other forms. It is a national question …” (15). The subtitle of Der Judenstaat calls his political proposal, a state of the Jews, “An Attempt at a Modern Solution of the Jewish Question”; he means the national question. The indefinite article (“ a Modern Solution”) is misleading. Herzl wrote to Bismarck : “I believe I have found the solution to the Jewish Question. Not a solution, but the solution, the only one” (245). Several times (four to be precise) the text refers to “the National Idea,” which, as Herzl envisages it, would be the ruling principle in the Jewish state and, as I read him, in the rest of the Jewish world too (see Der Judenstaat, 49, 50, 54 and 70). The latter idea, if not explicit, is coiled up inside Herzl’s text. I call his reading of the Jewish Question “the national reading.”

Zionism, both as a movement and as an ideology, has changed a lot since Herzl wrote his foundational pamphlet. It has developed two political wings (left and right); it has both secular and religious varieties; and it has produced a state: the State of Israel. But, fundamentally, Herzl’s take on the Jewish Question—figuring it as a national question, putting “the National Idea” at the heart of Jewish identity—has persisted to the present day. This is reflected in the Nation-State Bill (or Nationality Bill), which, upon being passed in the Knesset in 2018, became a Basic Law: Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish People. The law is “basic,” not only for the constitution of the Jewish state but also for the Zionist goal of re constituting the Jewish people as “a nation, like all other nations” with a state of its own, as Israel’s 1948 Declaration of Independence puts it . This means reconstituting Judaism itself. [1]

Why do so many rank and file Jews across the globe appear to accept this reconstitution of their identity? Why did Britain’s current Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis , call Zionism “one of the axioms of Jewish belief”? How could he write: “Open a Jewish daily prayer book [ siddur ] used in any part of the world and Zionism will leap out at you.” Zionism, noch , not Zion. When exactly did Judaism convert to the creed of “the National idea”? in January 2009, when Operation Cast Lead was in full swing in Gaza, why was London’s Trafalgar Square awash with Israeli flags held aloft by British Jews? I witnessed this for myself. I was part of a small Jewish counter-demonstration that was spat at and jeered by some of the people—fellow Jews—in the official rally. How did people who are otherwise decent, people who uphold human rights, suddenly become ardent fans of forced evictions, house demolitions, and military violence against unarmed civilians? No doubt, there are zealots who would tick this box in the name of “the Jewish nation-state.” But zealotry is not what moves the mass of Jews to flock to the flag. If they identify with Israel (or defend it at all costs), it is not because they are persuaded intellectually by the “National Idea” (which is what underlies Herzl’s “national reading” of the Jewish Question), but because they feel viscerally the unbearable burden of the Question (which underlies the “antithesis reading”). When they wave the Israeli flag, it is certainly a gesture of defiance, and possibly hostility, aimed at Palestinians; but, at bottom, it is aimed at Europe—not just at the centuries of exclusion and oppression, but at the sheer chutzpah of Europe’s asking “the Jewish Question”—a question to which there is no right answer, because there is no right answer to the wrong question. [2]

But we Jews, understandably, are hungry for an answer that will put an end to the price we have paid for the nature of our difference. Political Zionism might appear to provide the answer. Paradoxically, the Zionist answer consists in taking Jews out of Europe to the Middle East in order to be included in the European dispensation. (Or you could say: normalizing by conforming to the European norm; it’s as if, by leaving, we’ve arrived.) Leading Zionist figures, from Herzl to Nordau to Ben-Gurion to Barak to Netanyahu, have placed “the Jewish state” in Europe, or see it as an extension of Europe.  As Herzl wrote , “We should there form a portion of the rampart of Europe against Asia” (30).  More recently Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted saying, “We are a part of the European culture. Europe ends in Israel. East of Israel, there is no more Europe.” So, the concept of the Jewish people becomes ethno-national—just like the real European thing; newcomers, who are largely from Europe, create a home for themselves by dispossessing the people who previously inhabited the land—just like a European colony; they turn their home into a state, just like certain former European colonies (such as the “White” dominions of Canada and Australia). Then there is the way their state—Israel—conducts itself in what is generally regarded as part of the Global South. It subjugates, à la Europe, the previous inhabitants of the land; it systematically discriminates against them; it expands its territory via settlers—a classic European practice; and it enters the Eurovision song contest. In all these respects (except perhaps the song contest), Israel courts a postcolonial critique. The Left are happy to oblige. In a way, the postcolonial critique is the ultimate compliment, the capstone on Zionism’s European solution of Europe’s Jewish Problem.

This prompts a surprising question, one that might seem ludicrous or at least redundant, but follows logically from the argument so far. It is this: Since political Zionism locates the state of Israel in Europe, and since Israel conducts itself in the manner of a European colonizing power, what is so objectionable to the generality of Jews—those who close ranks around Zionism and the state of Israel—about a critique that precisely treats Israel as a European state? The answer is that there is a piece missing from the stock postcolonial discourse, a discourse that folds Zionism completely, without remainder, into the history of European hegemony over the Global South, as if this were the whole story . But it is not; and the piece that is missing is, for most Jews, including quite a few of us who are not part of the Jewish mainstream regarding Zionism and Israel, the centerpiece. Put it this way: For Jews in the shtetls of Eastern Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s (like my grandparents), the burning question was not “How can we extend the reach of Europe?” but “How can we escape it?” That was the Jewish Jewish Question. Like Europe’s  Jewish Question, it too was not new; and it was renewed with a vengeance after the walls of Europe closed in during the first half of the last century, culminating in the ultimate crushing experience: genocide . Among the Jewish answers to the Jewish Jewish Question was migration to Palestine. But, by and large, the Jews who moved to Palestine after the Shoah were not so much emigrants as (literally or in effect) refugees. This does not, for a moment, justify the dispossession of the Palestinians, let alone the grievous injustices inflicted upon them by the State of Israel from its creation in 1948 to the present day. But it does put a massive dent into the story told in the postcolonial critique. We need another, more nuanced and inclusive, story.

For Jews in the shtetls of Eastern Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s (like my grandparents), the burning question was not ‘How can we extend the reach of Europe?’ but ‘How can we escape it?’

In a sense, both the “national reading” of the Jewish Question, which Zionism assumes and Israel embodies, and the postcolonial critique of Israel and Zionism, are culpable in the same way: both take an existing European paradigm and apply it to the Jewish case, without so much as a mutatis mutandis . Neither passes muster. Moreover, the omission of what is, for most Jews, the centerpiece of the story behind Zionism and the creation of Israel erases a crucial feature of Jewish historical experience and collective memory. Not only does this erasure vitiate the postcolonial critique, it also feeds the suspicion that many Jews harbor that the critique is malign. It has a familiar ring. They feel, in their guts, that it is another slander against the Jews, a new expression of an old animus—antisemitism by any other name. To put it mildly, this is an exaggeration. The Left, in turn, are skeptical about this reaction. It has a familiar ring. They feel, in their guts, that it is disingenuous, a cynical ploy to suppress criticism of Israel. This too, to put it mildly, is an exaggeration. The more one side reacts to the other side, the more the other side reacts to them. This is not a debate. It is a bout, a wrestling bout, where the two antagonists are locked in a clinch, as inseparable as lovers.

The analysis in this essay suggests that each of the adversaries is in the grip of certain states of mind, connected to particular blind spots. In one case, it is confusion about the meaning of the Question that Europe has persisted in asking about the Jews, plus obliviousness to the injustices done to Palestinians by the Jewish “nation-state.” In the other case, it is confusion over the limits of a postcolonial critique, plus obliviousness to what it is that leads so many Jews to react understandably and, to an extent, legitimately, against that critique. The upshot, on the one side, is demonization of the Left; on the other side, demonization of Zionism. Accordingly, the question each side needs to ask is not “How can I break the hold of the other?,” but “How can I break my hold on the other?” “How,” that is to say, “can I loosen the grip that certain confused ideas and powerful passions have over me?” In short, if a futile bout is to turn into a constructive debate, what is needed is self-critique. This is not asking too much of ourselves. But the task is great, and life is short.

[1] The best treatment that I have seen of a cluster of questions surrounding Jewish identity, Zionism, and the state of Israel is in the work of Yaacov Yadgar, Professor of Israel Studies, University of Oxford. See especially his two books: Sovereign Jews: Israel, Zionism, and Judaism and Israel’s Jewish Identity Crisis: State and Politics in the Middle East .

[2] My current work in this area is focused on developing the idea of unasking the Jewish Question .

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One thought on “ Why is the Jewish Question Different from All Similar Questions? ”

A very interesting and thought provoking read. As an Irish leftist I found it illuminating. We too are one of C19TH Europe’s questions. We understand the urge to escape oppression and to have a safe place (our own state). We have supplied a president of Israel, a fact of which many of us are proud. We admire Jewish discourse and intelligence. We are horrified to see Jews become genocidal butchers, as bad as the Europeansthey fled, with just the clothes on their backs. We admire and envy the restoration of Hebrew. So we are conflicted. We admire Jews, we are impressed by the success of Israel but we are ashamed of its crimes. Unlike other Europeans we feel guilt-free in relation to the murder of Jews and we feel morally obliged to call on Israel to behave in line with international law and its own, Jewish morality. Are we holding Israel to higher standards than Syria or Saudi Arabia? Yes. Is it because they should behave as Jews, or as Europeans? Probably.

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2012 --> 2012 216 pages. $45.00

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Finalist, Scholarship category in the 2012 National Jewish Book Awards, sponsored by the Jewish Book Council.

Since the late 1700s, when the Jewish community ceased to be a semiautonomous political unit in Western Europe and the United States and individual Jews became integrated—culturally, socially, and politically—into broader society, questions surrounding Jewish status and identity have occupied a prominent and contentious place in Jewish legal discourse. This book examines a wide array of legal opinions written by nineteenth- and twentieth-century orthodox rabbis in Europe, the United States, and Israel. It argues that these rabbis' divergent positions—based on the same legal precedents—demonstrate that they were doing more than delivering legal opinions. Instead, they were crafting public policy for Jewish society in response to Jews' social and political interactions as equals with the non-Jewish persons in whose midst they dwelled.

Pledges of Jewish Allegiance prefaces its analysis of modern opinions with a discussion of the classical Jewish sources upon which they draw.

About the authors

David Ellenson, President and I. H. and Anna Grancell Professor of Jewish Religious Thought at Hebrew Union College–Jewish institute of Religion, is a distinguished rabbi, scholar, and leader of the Reform Movement.

Daniel Gordis is President of the Shalem Foundation and Senior Fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem. He is a columnist for the Jerusalem Post and a frequent contributor to the New York Times and was the founding dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the University of Judaism.

—Shmuel Shilo, Studies in Contemporary Jewry

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—David Tesler, Association of Jewish Libraries

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Moses Maimonides, Translated and with Commentary by Lenn E. Goodman and Phillip I. Lieberman

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Angry Catholics Wanted to Burn the Church. He Came to Save It.

In a cold, remote corner of northern Quebec, a sexual abuse scandal pushed a church to the edge. The Rev. Gérard Tsatselam, from Cameroon, must comfort the afflicted to bring it back.

Father Gérard Tsatselam stands next to a cross facing the Gulf of St. Lawrence, into which angry parishioners threatened to cast the body of an abusive predecessor. Credit...

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By Norimitsu Onishi

Photographs by Renaud Philippe

Reporting from Unamen Shipu, Quebec

• June 13, 2024

The Rev. Gérard Tsatselam boarded the ferryboat and settled in his usual place, on a reclining seat, at the back of a cold, unlit room that would have been packed in summer. Uneasy, he sat shrouded in his large, black coat as high winter winds delayed the boat’s arrival in the village where he was trying to save the church.

Except for a quick stopover for a funeral, he had not visited his parish — in Unamen Shipu, an Indigenous reserve on the frigid, isolated coast of northeastern Quebec — in months. Mold had invaded the presbytery and left him scrambling for lodging on each visit.

Another reason behind his unease was the enduring fallout from the accusations of sexual and other abuse by a predecessor, a Belgian priest. Though the transgressions dated back decades, during what Father Gérard called the Roman Catholic Church’s “colonial” era, dealing with the parishioners’ anger and distrust had fallen to him — a priest and missionary from the Central African nation of Cameroon.

Father Gérard had been Unamen Shipu’s priest for four years, and his predecessor long dead, when the accusations were leveled in 2017.

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