Peace is a key concept in the Jewish tradition; it has a long history. It is also an extremely broad concept. The present article takes on the subject of contemporary peace between Israel and her neighbors, addressing...Peace is a key concept in the Jewish tradition; it has a long history. It is also an extremely broad concept. The present article takes on the subject of contemporary peace between Israel and her neighbors, addressing the issue from the vantage point of Judaism. While opinions on many issues are divided in Judaism today, all streams within the Jewish tradition uphold the concept of peace. Even so, each stream supports a somewhat different version of this ideal, subject to different limitations or reservations. One of the most serious challenges which Judaism today faces in connection with the State of Israel is the issue of exchanging territories for peace. The goal of the present paper is to show that while most approaches rooted in traditional Judaism have opposed such an exchange, Israel＇s religious political parties have endorsed it, advancing different arguments in support of their view. The method followed in the present paper is to study the arguments which have been used in support of peace agreements based on return or exchange of land. In light of the arguments put forth in the paper, to be counted among the accomplishments is a greater degree of openness--even on the part of the religious sector in Israel--toward the effort to achieve peace between Israel and her neighbors.展开更多
文摘Peace is a key concept in the Jewish tradition; it has a long history. It is also an extremely broad concept. The present article takes on the subject of contemporary peace between Israel and her neighbors, addressing the issue from the vantage point of Judaism. While opinions on many issues are divided in Judaism today, all streams within the Jewish tradition uphold the concept of peace. Even so, each stream supports a somewhat different version of this ideal, subject to different limitations or reservations. One of the most serious challenges which Judaism today faces in connection with the State of Israel is the issue of exchanging territories for peace. The goal of the present paper is to show that while most approaches rooted in traditional Judaism have opposed such an exchange, Israel＇s religious political parties have endorsed it, advancing different arguments in support of their view. The method followed in the present paper is to study the arguments which have been used in support of peace agreements based on return or exchange of land. In light of the arguments put forth in the paper, to be counted among the accomplishments is a greater degree of openness--even on the part of the religious sector in Israel--toward the effort to achieve peace between Israel and her neighbors.
