Jewish Theology and the Crisis of Democracy

"The Workmen's Circle has a special obligation today. Jewish life, of which we are a part, is full of problems and heartache. It is not only difficult to act, but even to think. And it is difficult to imagine that in a world which is half fascist, that there would be no fascist elements in Jewish life. The Workmen's Circle must be that body which fights fascism not only in the world at large, but within the bounds of Jewish life itself." 

- Baruch Charney Vladeck,[1] 1937

What is needed in Jewish theology today is a commitment to fighting fascism in the world at large, as well as within the bounds of Jewish life.

Signs of fascism in Jewish life abound. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), once the most important American Jewish organization fighting antisemitism and advocating for civil rights, has abandoned its commitment to civil rights. Instead, it cozies up to power by downplaying the antisemitism of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and openly weaponizing antisemitism in order to attack the Palestinian solidarity movement, including the Jews who are heavily represented in the movement. Young Jews are more likely to be anti-Zionist than Zionist; a recent survey of Greater Boston found that young Jews are 38% anti-Zionist, 32% Zionist, and 30% uncommitted to either ideology.[2] And yet the ADL has weaponized antisemitism by conflating anti-Zionism and antisemitism. 

Jewish studies programs, once leaders in fighting genocide, now actively silence discussions of Israel’s genocide in Gaza despite overwhelming evidence from Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières, B'Tselem, Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, International Federation for Human Rights, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Holocaust and Genocide scholars. Jewish studies have abandoned their commitment to “Never Again” because their programs are dependent on donors committed to promoting Zionism rather than academic freedom or human rights. While there are dissenting scholars such as Omer Bartov, the faculty of the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, and those in the Liberatory Jewish Studies Network, the leadership of Jewish studies programs is largely in the hands of those marginalizing discussions of genocide and human rights in Israel/Palestine. 

Pluralism and tolerance, core democratic values, are nowhere to be found in Hillel, once-known as the epicenter of Jewish life on campus. Recall that 68% of young American Jews are non-Zionist. And yet many Hillels are openly hostile to non-Zionists, proclaiming “We Stand with Israel” even though the data clearly show that the overwhelming majority of “we Jews” do not. Hillel leaders claim to speak on behalf of campus Jews, and yet their words and actions do not reflect our values or policy preferences. 

Jewish institutions are failing to meet the moment. They have been corrupted by authoritarianism, and more specifically by an ethnonationalist ideology, Zionism, that over 100 years has shifted from being secular and democratic toward overt Jewish supremacy and fascism. Jewish academics and Jewish professionals are heavily surveilled by a media ecosystem where outlets like Jewish News Syndicate, Jewish Review of Books, and The Times of Israel constantly police the public sphere for any criticism of Israel, then mobilize an army of grassroots activists and bots to terrorize dissent. Jewish faculty live in fear of being targeted by overtly authoritarian organizations like CAMERA, StandWithUs, and Canary Mission, often with the quiet support of Hillel and ADL. 

Five years ago, a colleague who is an observant Jew told me that he worried Judaism might not survive Zionism. I laughed in disbelief. I should not have. Zionism has corrupted American Jewish institutions’ commitments to the democratic values of academic freedom, equality, and tolerance. White nationalism, Christian nationalism and Islamic nationalism are authoritarian movements; Jewish nationalism is not exceptional. The result is a resurgence of authoritarianism within the bounds of Jewish life itself, including within the academy. 

What is to be done? 

We must build new Jewish institutions. We must reform failing institutions. And so that is what we are doing. 

Change is coming. You can see it in the polling data. And you can see it in the streets, where organizations born only a few decades ago are fighting for democratic values. Jewish Voice for Peace, founded in 1996, is now the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world, with over 70 chapters and 85,000 supporters. The number of other new or rejuvenated progressive Jewish organizations is dizzying: IfNotNow, Rabbis for Ceasefire, Jewish Currents, The Halachic Left, Worker’s Circle (I am a member, as was my great-grandfather), Bend the Arc, JStreet, Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff, Diaspora Alliance, the National Campus Jewish Alliance, the Jewish Diaspora Movement, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, T’ruah, and The Faithful Left (Smol Emuni), and many more organizations are building a world where Jews, Muslims, Palestinians, Israelis, Americans, and everyone else can thrive.

Here at Boston University, the Conference on the Jewish Left has become an annual gathering of progressive Jews and our allies. For three years in a row, ours has been the largest Jewish community event at BU, celebrating part of the community that is more often demonized. Progressive Jewish faculty and students are growing in number and confidence, fighting fascism in the world and within the bounds of Jewish life itself. In time they will take the helm of community institutions, Jewish studies programs, and Hillels, and they will build the democratic Jewish theology that we need.  

Jewish life, of which I am a part, is full of problems and heartache. Within legacy Jewish institutions it is not only difficult to act, but even to think. That is why we are building new Jewish institutions. I invite you to join us. 

[1] Born in Russia, Vladeck joined the Jewish Labor Bund in 1904 and spent four years underground as an organizer before fleeing to New York City. There, he became a member of Workmen’s Circle, manager of the Jewish Daily Forward, was elected to the NYC Board of Alderman and the New York City Council, and founded the Jewish Labor Committee.

[2] Combined Jewish Philanthropies, “2025 Greater Boston Jewish Community Survey.”