Israel, Iran, and Nuclear War: A Tactical and Legal Assesment
A Critique of Hobbes’s Critique of Biblical and Natural Religion in Leviathan
While Thomas Hobbes is generally recognized as a preeminent po litical philosopher, he is, to say the least, much less regarded as a theologian or religious thinker.1 Yet it suffices to inspect the frontispieces and tables of contents of Hobbes’s greatest works, De Cive and Leviathan, to see that Hobbes proclaimed theology to be a central part of political philosophy. What is more, Hobbes esteemed himself as having provided the first successful, rational resolution of the most fundamental issues in religion as well as in politics and morals.
The Integration of Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews in Venezuela through the Decision-Making Process in the Educational System by Lily Blank
The development of the Jewish community in Venezuela and the integration of Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews was made possible by two factors. The first is the democratic environment that had been present in the country since the arrival of the first Jewish settlers, which enabled the creation of the institutions of the community. The second was the effort of the Ashkenazi kehilla to create a Jewish educational system that offered “a little bit of everything” (Jewish history, tradition, Hebrew, Bible, and Yiddish) to every Jewish child, Ashkenazi or Sephardi, regardless of the economic or religious environment in the home.
The Jewish Community of Spain
This article examines the political dynamics of the contemporary Spanish Jewish community. First, the community’s history, foundation, settlement and early development are introduced. Then itsorganizational structure and function are addressed in the countrywide, local (particularly Madrid and Barcelona), and international (relations with Israel) arenas. The community’s legal status is explored next. The community’s character emerges through an analysis of leadership dynamics; Jewish identity, as similation, and integration; antisemitism and philosemitism. The study concludes with a look at current trends and directions.
The Organizational Framework of the Jewish Communities in Italy
In 1987 the Union of Italian Jewish Communities signed an agreement with the Italian government which established the overall framework of activity for this institution and its relationship to the Italian authorities. This agreement, published as a state law, changed many aspects of the former system of organization of the Italian Jewish communities. The agreement also empowered the Union of Jewish Communities to draft a constitution for Italian Jewry which will govern its internal life and institutions.
The Sephardi Diaspora in Cochin, India
The influx of Sephardim into the ancient Jewish community of Cochin, in south India, resulted in a pattern of social organization unique in the Jewish world: the infamous white Jew/black Jew/brown Jew system. The Jews of Cochin organized themselves in patterns derived from their Hindu social context, a system known in the West as the caste system.
Communal Organization of the Jews of Tripolitania During the Late Ottoman Period
Isaac Abravanel and Aristotle’s Politics: A Drama of Errors
Aristotle’s Politics was almost unknown in medieval Jewish philosophy, which in its political thought was mainly based upon Plato’s Republic as transmitted by the Muslim commentators. This is why Abravanel’s apparent usage of the Politics in his antimonarchist interpretation of I Samuel, 8 seems to be such a breakthrough in medieval Jewish political philosophy. Such a breakthrough seems conceivable when we take into consideration the influence exerted on Abravanel by scholastic political philosophy, which was heavily influenced by the Politics ever since the text was translated into Latin in the thirteenth century.
The Contribution of Spanish Jewry to the World of Jewish Law
Spanish Jewry’s contribution to post-Talmudie halakhic literature may be explored in part in The Digest of the Responsa Literature of Spain and North Africa, a seven-volume compilation containing references to more than 10,000 Responsa ? answers to questions posed to the authorities of the day. Another source of law stemming from Spanish Jewry may be found in the community legislation (Takanot HaKahal) enacted in all areas of civil, public-administrative, and criminal law. Among the major questions considered here are whether a majority decision binds a dissenting minority, the nature of a majority, and the appropriate procedures for governance. These earlier principles of Jewish public law have since found expression in decisions of the Supreme Court of the State.
Toward a Political History of the Sephardic Diaspora
The Zionism of the Sephardic world was based more on a vision of restoring traditional Jewish life in the ancient homeland than one of revolution which sought to replace tradition with some modern ideology. Unlike their Ashkenazi brethren, Sephardim always saw themselves as actors in the political arena, not only within their communities but in the larger entities of which their communities were a part. This essay represents a first cut at what we know about the political history of Sephardic Jewry and especially the exiles from the Iberian peninsula in the years between 1492 and the demise of their communities in the twentieth century. Special attention is given to the Sephardic world’s pre-lberian antecedents, the involvement of Jews in imperial Iberian politics, the styles of Jewish community organization in Spain, and the various forms of political participation and involvement after the Expulsion.
American Jewish Political Advocacy: Defining the Changing Agenda, Identifying the Emerging Players
Modernity Exhausted
Israel and the PLO Now Struggle for Leverage
Now that the drama surrounding the Israel-PLO signing ceremony has passed, it is critical to consider just what this accord means for the future of the Arab-Israel conflict. Are we speaking about a historical reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians that will bring a new era of stability to the Middle East? Or will many of the struggles of the past just be rechanneled within new parameters?
