Judaism and Other Faiths

Israel and Anti-Gentile Traditions

Israel Shahak's theory that anti-Gentile traditions have influenced Israeli policy is well known in both Arab and anti-Semitic circles, but Jews have yet to properly confront it.

Traditional Views of Jewish Chosenness

The Bible implies that God's choice of the Jews was random; later traditions made the Jews seem deserving of this privilege.

Judaism and the Other

The various ways Jewish law distinguishes between Jews and gentiles.

Historic Jewish Views on Christianity

Theological attitudes toward Christianity have changed over time in response to social and political developments.

Overview: Attitudes Toward Non-Jews

What have Jews thought about non-Jews at various points in history?

Spinoza and the Philosophical Impossibility of a Chosen People

Jewish chosenness is not a metaphysical reality. It derives from the conditions of a particularly prosperous period in Israelite history.

What Is Idolatry?

Rejection of "foreign worship" is a primary commandment and central to the Jewish worldview.

Jewish-Christian Theology and Relations After the Holocaust

In the wake of the Holocaust, Jewish theologians have challenged Christian thinkers to rework Christianity's traditional pictures of the Jews.

Jewish Views on Islam

According to most Jewish thinkers, Islam is not idolatry; but authorities have disagreed as to whether it's better to convert or be martyred.

Are Jews the Chosen People?

And what does chosenness mean anyway?