Talk:Jewish fundamentalism

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[edit] Definition of "Jewish fundamentalism"

A problematic issue in the definition of "Jewish fundamentalism" is that we tend to either approach it from the point of view of extreme (or super-dogmatic) religious beliefs, or from the point of view of extreme political beliefs, and from the outside it looks like these are different phenomena. However, I believe it is true that most of the people we would agree to call "Jewish fundamentalists" do not distinguish between the religious and the political. Actually they see it as the same thing, and maybe that is one of their distinguishing characteristics. Another comment about the article is that belief in "Greater Israel" is not really a defining belief of the group even though it is a frequent belief amongst them. I think that a more universal set of beliefs concerns the overall position of Jews vis-a-vis Arabs (or gentiles in general) in relation to Israel. The idea that only Jews have a legitimate role in government decision making is common example of this, but there are many. Usually these "political" beliefs are supported by "religious" argument, which is an example of what I said earlier. --zero 10:06, 3 Sep 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Action

I find it a bit disheartening that so many Wikipedia articles about Jewish issues degenerate into discussion that has as much to do with the personalities involved as the issues. Hopefully, all would agree that this article needs to be reworked at least a bit. So, it might be best if we moved to suggestions as to how to improve it:

  • Although many people claim that the "religious" and "political" sides of fundamentalism are the same, I think it's still convenient to present them under separate headings to make it clean, and then discuss the extent to which the 2 strands involve the same people etc.
  • The religious part is biased against "fundamentalists". I'll change one sentence in a minute but more revisions are welcome.
  • I strenuously disagree with the idea that fundamentalists see rabbinic literature as "infallible" - complete infallibility is impossible if the Gemara itself occasionally fixes the wording of a Mishnah in what it sees as an error! Perhaps this should be softened to something like "these texts are viewed as almost-canonical in that they are assumed to be consistent and completely correct if there isn't substantial evidence to the contrary". After all, noone (including fundamentalists) takes the medical advice of Avodah Zarah 28-29 today, as it is understood that that was a product of a medical knowledge we know to be imperfect.

Hopefully this should inspire responses as to how to change the actual article (as opposed to the world at large!). Frikle 05:55, 21 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Actually, I have met many Orthodox rabbis and laypeople who do belive that the medical advice of the Talmud is correct. They simply hold that it is correct in a limited number of cases, and not in all cases. Time and again I have seen Orthodox essays by people saying "Modern doctors are learning again that the Talmud was correct all along". I think that you are underestimating the fundamentalism in the theologically right-wing Orthodox Jewish community. RK

Dovi, great recent changes. RK 14:32, Jul 23, 2004 (UTC)

Thanks, sorry we got off to a rough start.Dovi 03:20, Jul 25, 2004 (UTC)
That's interesting. Reminds me of a school camp where a madrich was telling us about tractate R.H. and how one Rabbi's opinion about there being 100-something stars in the Orion was proved exactly correct by astronomers - even though most of the stars aren't visible to the naked eye - and that that's evidence that the Oral Law can't be of human origin. When I asked how we know that the Talmud is talking about the Orion, since it's in Aramaic he seemed to think we just do. So, I grant, there is a range of degrees of fundamentalism - some of which I and others would believe actually go against the Torah in the broader sense.
But I still think my point about cases when the Gemara amends the Mishna stands. Also, I strongly doubt that the case of medical advice, along with other fundamentalist things are believed by all or even most Orthodox Jews. I still think the sentence should be changed (1) to avoid the impression that this is a majority and (2) to avoid the impression that a fundamentalist view holds that, say every letter of the Shulchan Aruch was dictated by God (although there may be people who believe even that, they definitely aren't in the majority) - as the above 2 impressions can still be derived from the article. Frikle 09:14, 24 Jul 2004 (UTC)
I agree Dovi. I've just seen this article for the first time now, and your changes are a vast improvement. Jayjg 05:00, 26 Jul 2004 (UTC)

[edit] "Jewish fundamentalism" vs other religions' "fundamentalism"

The first part of this article makes me rather uncomfortable! I mean, after all, religious "fundamentalism" these days is generally identified with the islamic kind that involves killing and blowing things up for the cause! I don't see anything remotely threataning in the description of orthodox judaism! As noted above, orthodox judaism is essentially a religious movement, not a political one (though there are orthodox jewish political parties in israel). In fact, even in the religious sense, calling orthodox judaism "fundamentalist" is disputable. Some things are indeed set in stone, but others are indeed changeable, as the article points out.

"True" jewish fundamentalism (of the kind that might be considered akin to the islamic brand) would be better represented by extremist elements of the settler movement, or the Kach movement (there's a link to it, but no mention in the article!) or individuals such as Yigal Amir, who assasinated israeli prime minister Yitzchak Rabin.

What do others think? I'd love to hear

I think that the two are closely connected: Read the opening description of Jewish Fundamentalism, in the article. The reactionary and/or rigid political stances frequently espoused by fundamentalist groups are usually acompanied by fundamentalist beliefs about scripture of the traditional kind, viz., that sacred books are to be understood literally, and are infallible, being of divine origin. In the Jewish example, you have a situation where the political position on the occupied territories (that they may not be returned to gentile control) is allied to the fundamentalist interpretation of Biblical or Talmudic passages about the Land of Israel. The two are not necessarily connected, but they frequently are, in practice. It's similar to Fundamentalist Christianity in the United States: If someone believes in a Fundamentalist approach to Scripture, he might agitate politically against legalized abortion, and against gay rights, for example. The issue of violence is derivative. That is, the extent to which someone who believes in "Fundamentalism" would use violence to further the perceived positions of Scripture is a secondary matter. However, it is more likely that any religious fundamentalist (Christian, Jewish, or Muslim) would resort to violence to further his purpose (bombing of abortion clinics, assassination of political leaders [Yitzhak Rabin], or terrorist attacks, take your pick), than an ordinary person, because belief in something as divine frequently inspires a more fanatical commitment. But that is my opinion only. 66.108.105.21 02:49, 18 November 2006 (UTC) Allen Roth

I've read that one of the rabbi's of the Gush Emunim said it was not immoral to kill an Arab. This is an example of violent fundamentalism. here are some links http://www.geocities.com/alabasters_archive/gush_underground.html and http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Zionism/gush.htmlAmirman 17:06, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

. It's just a balancing act to aid in a tu quoque argument for Islamic Fundamentalism or Christian Fundamentalism, which are real, are political movements, and are actually dangerous.

Wikipedia is supposed to be an encyclopedia about things that exist, not a soap box for every whackjob anti-semitic to propagate their bizarre ideas.

"Original Research" - give me a break. If I wrote an article on how to catch snipes based on personal research it would be taken down in five seconds. Delete this.--66.211.252.114 13:08, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

ridiculous. maybe you known nothing about Israeli history or maybe you are a fundementalist yourself who sees your way as the right way but this issue is real and widely recognized in Israel and has been a stumbling block toward peace in the region. if you want check out the links i've listed above. both are written by Jewish Israeli scholars and are definitely in no way anti-semetic. please don't spew that propagandist garbage on wikipedia.Amirman 17:14, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
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