Talk:Criticism of Judaism/SourceList

'''THIS IS A MODIFIED COPY OF THE APRIL 7, 2010 version of the article. Modifications include: adding criticism from Uriel da Costa;  adding a section on Slavery;  grouping the sections hierarchically; adding citations; adding links in "SeeAlso" section; adding sources to "References" section;  various wording improvements. '''

Criticism of Judaism includes criticisms that address Judaism's religious doctrines, religious texts, religious laws, religious practices, and the consequences of those laws and practices. Some early criticism originated in inter-faith polemics between Christianity and Judaism. Several important disputations in the middle ages gave rise to widely publicized criticisms, as well as some antisemitic canards. Some modern criticisms reflect the inter-branch schisms that distinguish the various modern formulations of Judaism, such as Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism, and Reform Judaism. Some criticisms - such as criticisms of policies that discriminate against women - are aimed primarily at the more traditional branches of Judaism.

Personal God
Critics, such as Baruch Spinoza, criticize Judaism because its theology and religious texts describe a personal God which has conversations with important figures from ancient Judaism (Moses, Abraham, etc) and forms relationships and covenants with the Jewish people. Spinoza instead believed God exists only philosophically and that God is abstract and impersonal.

Chosen People
Many people, such as Baruch Spinoza, Moses Mendelssohn, and Mordecai Kaplan, have criticized Judaism because its religious texts describe Jews as the Chosen People. Many secular and Christian critics, in particular, have made this criticism because of implied favoritism or superiority. However, most modern branches of the Jewish faith interpret "chosen people" to mean that Jews have special role to "preserve God's revelations" and to "affirm our common humanity", such as reflected in the policy statement of Reform Judaism that the role of chosen people means that Jews have a special responsibility to "cooperate with all men in the establishment of the kingdom of God, of universal brotherhood, Justice, truth and peace on earth."

Land ownership conflicts in Middle East
Critics claim that religious Zionism's precepts have led to land ownership conflicts and expulsion of peoples in the Middle East.
 * Saleh Abdel Jawad (2007) "Zionist Massacres: the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem in the 1948 War" in Israel and the Palestinian refugees, Eyal Benvenistî, Chaim Gans, Sari Hanafi (Eds.), Springer, p. 78.
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Tanakh's (Jewish Bible's) notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) are used to provide religious justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :  However, many religious leaders consider Zionism to be political, not religious concept; and some believe that returning to the promised land in moderns times should be discouraged.
 * Saleh Abdel Jawad (2007) "Zionist Massacres: the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem in the 1948 War" in Israel and the Palestinian refugees, Eyal Benvenistî, Chaim Gans, Sari Hanafi (Eds.), Springer, p. 78.
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Tanakh's (Jewish Bible's) notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) are used to provide religious justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :  However, many religious leaders consider Zionism to be political, not religious concept; and some believe that returning to the promised land in moderns times should be discouraged.
 * Saleh Abdel Jawad (2007) "Zionist Massacres: the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem in the 1948 War" in Israel and the Palestinian refugees, Eyal Benvenistî, Chaim Gans, Sari Hanafi (Eds.), Springer, p. 78.
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Tanakh's (Jewish Bible's) notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) are used to provide religious justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :  However, many religious leaders consider Zionism to be political, not religious concept; and some believe that returning to the promised land in moderns times should be discouraged.
 * Saleh Abdel Jawad (2007) "Zionist Massacres: the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem in the 1948 War" in Israel and the Palestinian refugees, Eyal Benvenistî, Chaim Gans, Sari Hanafi (Eds.), Springer, p. 78.
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Tanakh's (Jewish Bible's) notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) are used to provide religious justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :  However, many religious leaders consider Zionism to be political, not religious concept; and some believe that returning to the promised land in moderns times should be discouraged.
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Tanakh's (Jewish Bible's) notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) are used to provide religious justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :  However, many religious leaders consider Zionism to be political, not religious concept; and some believe that returning to the promised land in moderns times should be discouraged.
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Tanakh's (Jewish Bible's) notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) are used to provide religious justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :  However, many religious leaders consider Zionism to be political, not religious concept; and some believe that returning to the promised land in moderns times should be discouraged.
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Tanakh's (Jewish Bible's) notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) are used to provide religious justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :  However, many religious leaders consider Zionism to be political, not religious concept; and some believe that returning to the promised land in moderns times should be discouraged.
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Tanakh's (Jewish Bible's) notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) are used to provide religious justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :  However, many religious leaders consider Zionism to be political, not religious concept; and some believe that returning to the promised land in moderns times should be discouraged.

Historical accuracy of origins and foundations

 * See also Historicity of Hebrew bible, Documentary Hypothesis

Some critics claim that many events and figures that are central to the formation of Judaism and its laws are historically implausible, including the events surrounding the Exodus, the tradition that the Torah was written by Moses, and the events surrounding the battle of Jericho. However, some branches of Judaism do not interpret these narratives literally, and many Jews consider those narratives to be metaphorical or allegorical.

Criticism of Conservative Judaism from other branches
Conservative Judaism is criticized by some leaders of Orthodox Judaism for not properly following Halakha (Jewish religious law). It is also criticized by some leaders of Reform Judaism for being at odds with the principles of its young adult members on issues such as intermarriage, patrilineal descent, and the ordination of lesbians and gay men—all issues that Conservative Judaism opposes and Reform Judaism supports. (The Conservative movement has since moved in the direction of allowing for gay rabbis and the "celebration of same-sex commitment ceremonies." )

Criticism of traditional Judaism by reform movement
The reform movement grew out of disatisfaction with several aspects of traditional Judaism or Rabbinic Judaism, and these dissatisfactions were documented in polemics and other writings during the 19th and early 20th century.


 * "The polemics between Orthodox, as the traditionalists came to be called, and the Reformers were fierce. The Orthodox treated Reform as rank heresy, as no more than a religion of convenience which, if followed, would lead Jews altogether out of Judaism.   The Reformers retorted that, on the contrary, the danger to Jewish survivial was occasioned by the Orthodox who, through their obsurantism, failed to see that the new challenges facing Judaism had to be faced consciously in the present as Judaism had faced, albeit unconsciously, similar challenges in the past." -  Jacobs, Louis (1995), The Jewish religion: a companion, Oxford University Press, p. 4.


 * "A number of noteworthy features distinguish this [Reform movement] from preceding cultures [traditional Judaism], features which are directed with polemical trenchancy against these predecessors.... A ferment of revolt against the established order of Jewish tradition ..." - Shmueli, Efraim (1990) Seven Jewish cultures: a reinterpretation of Jewish history and thought  Cambridge University Press, p. 167.


 * "[The reform movement] divided the Rabbinic world into adversary camps which fought each other with extraordinary zeal by means of endless mutual bans and anathemas, acrimonious polemics, and bitter abuse...." - Shmueli, Efraim (1990) Seven Jewish cultures: a reinterpretation of Jewish history and thought  Cambridge University Press, p. 172.


 * "The 'Judaism' that so antagonized the [Reform movement] was not of the Biblical variety ... but Talmudism, Rabbinism, Kabbalah, and Hassidism... In the beginning, a wide chasm separated the Orthodox and Liberals." - Shmueli, Efraim (1990) Seven Jewish cultures: a reinterpretation of Jewish history and thought - Cambridge University Press, p. 177.

The criticisms of traditional Judaism included: criticisms asserting that the Torah's laws are not strictly binding;
 * "There is at present a rent in Judaism which affects its very life, and which no covering, however glittering, can repair. The evil which threatens to corrode gradually all the healthy bone and marrow must be completely eradicated, and this can be done only if, in the name and in the interest of the religion, we remove from the sphere of our religious life all that is corrupt and untenable, and solemnly absolve ourselves from all obligations toward it in the future; thus we may achieve the liberation of Judaism for ourselves and for our children, so as to prevent the estrangement from Judaism. " - Philipson, David (1907) The Reform Movement in Judaism, (quoting David Einhorn), Macmillian (reprinted by University of California, 2007), p. 481.


 * "Abraham Geiger ... stressed the belief in progress: the Bible and Talmud represent an early, primitive stage in a revelation that is still continuing. Many traditional ceremonies (such as circumcision) are distressing to modern sensibility or incompatible with modern life... Geiger become increasingly convinced of the need to 'dethrone the Talmud'... " -  De Lange, Nicholas (2000),An introduction to Judaism,  Cambridge University Press,  p. 73


 * "According to [Mordecai] Kaplan, the Jewish heritage, including the belief in God, must be reinterpreted so that it will be consistent with the intellectual outlook of the twentieth century. The Torah, which is Jewish civilization in practice, must be given a new functional interpretation." - Scult, Mel (1993) Judaism faces the twentieth century: a biography of Mordecai M. Kaplan, Wayne State University Press, p. 341.


 * "Liberation from the yoke of exile was connate with the notion of liberation from the yoke of Torah and Jewish communal unity. Hence the call for ... separation between church and state, and authority for minimal organized religion." - Shmueli, Efraim (1990) Seven Jewish cultures: a reinterpretation of Jewish history and thought - Cambridge University Press, p. 173.


 * "Many perfered the 'religion of the heart', private worship, or the 'natural truths', ethics based on reason over the observance of practical precepts and community laws." - Shmueli, Efraim (1990) Seven Jewish cultures: a reinterpretation of Jewish history and thought - Cambridge University Press, p. 174.

criticisms asserting that many ceremonies and rituals are not necessary;
 * "Israel drew within herself, shunned the world, and lived apart. In her seclusion her religion became her all.  The interpretation of the Law and the constuction put upon the commandments tended toward the upholding of the letter rather than the spirit. ... Reform was born to protect the spirit of the Law, to place the spirit above the letter, to make the latter subservieint to the former.... The abolition of those forms and ceremonies that were not conducive to proper living, or that had, by reason of altered environment, become meaningless, was of the highest importance to the spiritual welfare of Israel." - Stern, Myer (1895), The rise and progress of reform Judaism: , Harvard University, p. 5.


 * "Reform Judaism rejected the concept of Divine revelation, and ... the law is considered instructional and inspirational but not binding, ... and by eliminating many ritual practices..." - Dosick, Wayne D. (1995), Living Judaism: the complete guide to Jewish belief, tradition, and practice, HarperCollins, p. 62.


 * "Reform Judaism first took hold in Germany in the early nineteenth century. This tradition asserts that many of the ritualistic practices and dogmas of the past are outmoded..... Reform Jews assumed a prerogative to choose which Biblical laws were worthy of their allegiance and which were not.... Orthodox Jews adhere to a literal interpretation of the Hebrew Bible and continue to observe all the traditional Jewish laws... Conservative Jews ... were ... less likely than the Orthodox to accept the infallibilty of sacred texts asserting that 'the divine origin of Jewish law ... [was subject] to human development and application'". - Berger, Ronald J. (2002), Fathoming the Holocaust: a social problems approach, Aldine Transaction, p. 179-180.


 * "We hold that all such Mosaic and rabbinical laws as regulate diet, priestly purity, and dress originated in ages and under the influence of ideas entirely foreign to our present mental and spiritual state. They fail to impress the modern Jew with a spirit of priestly holiness; their observance in our days is apt rather to obstruct than to further modern spiritual elevation." - Pittsburgh Platform, section 4.

criticisms asserting that Rabbincal leadership is too authoritarian;
 * "...in the view of rabbinical Judaism every command of the written law in the Pentateuch (Torah sh'bikthab), and of the oral law (Torah sh'b'al peh), as codified in the Shulchan Aruk, is equally binding. The ceremonial law has equal potency with the religious and moral commands. Reform Judaism, on the other hand, claims that a distinction must be made between the universal precepts of religion and morality and the enactments arising from the circumstances and conditions of special times and places. Customs and ceremonies must change with the varying needs of different generations. Successive ages have their individual requirements for the satisfaction of the religious nature. No ceremonial law can be eternally binding. " - Philipson, David (1907) The Reform Movement in Judaism,  Macmillian (reprinted by University of California, 2007), p. 5-6.


 * "A ferment of revolt against the established order of Jewish tradition had existed ever since the expulsion from Spain.... The move toward worldliness, toward abolition of the Rabbinic stranglehold, became even stronger after Sabbatai Zvi failed to vanquish Satan with his esoteric wisdom." - Shmueli, Efraim (1990) Seven Jewish cultures: a reinterpretation of Jewish history and thought - Cambridge University Press, p. 168


 * ".. the immense authoritarian power of the orthodox Rabbis and Hasidic Zadikkim in the traditionalist communities ... As a result, there was open conflict between the rebellious youth .. and the religious establishment.... This was the context in which a virulent 'anti-clericalism' developed among progressive Jewish intellectuals, leaving countless evidence in the shape of polemical articles, autobiographical works, and imaginative literature." - Lowy, Michael (1992), Redemption and utopia: Jewish libertarian thought in Central Europe : a study in elective affinity, Stanford University Press, p. 45.


 * "[Reform Judaism was] originally founded as a response by Jewish laity to the perceived authoritarian rigidity of traditional or Orthodox Judaism and its rabbis." - Palmer-Fernández, Gabriel (2004), The encyclopedia of religion and war, Routledge, p. 253.


 * "The 'Judaism' that so antagonized the Emancipation [reform] culture was ... Talmudism and Rabbinism.... Both [ Isaak Markus Jost and Heinrich Graetz ] condemned the Rabbinic rule and reviled Kabbalah and Hassidism." - Shmueli, Efraim (1990) Seven Jewish cultures: a reinterpretation of Jewish history and thought - Cambridge University Press,  p. 177.


 * " Rabbis were no longer entitled to their traditional rold as judges and definitive interpreters of Halachah [in reform communites], but functioned merely as preachers, teachers, and dayanim in ritual matters..." - Shmueli, Efraim (1990) Seven Jewish cultures: a reinterpretation of Jewish history and thought - Cambridge University Press, p. 172.


 * "Mosaism and rabbinic Judaism were appropriate for earlier ages, [Kohler] argued. But the age of man's maturity called for freedom from the letter, from blind authority, 'from all restriction which curb the minds and encroach upon the hearts'.  The contemporary Jew had 'outgrown the guiding strings ... of infancy'; he was ready to walk on his own.  What he required was not law, but a 'living Judaism', both enlightened and pious, appealling to reason and emotion." - Meyer, Michael A. (1995)  Response to modernity: a history of the Reform Movement in Judaism,  Wayne State University Press, p. 267.

criticisms asserting that there was too much superstition; criticisms asserting that traditional Judaism leads to isolation from other communities; and criticisms asserting that traditional Judaism over-emphasized the exile.
 * "There is a fatal split among Jews, first, because religious tenets and institutions have been kept forcibly on a level of a vanished era, and not permeated with the divine breath of refreshing life, while life itself hurried forward stormily; and secondly, because the religious leaders, lacking all knowledge of the world and of men, dreamed of other times and conditions, and held themselves aloof from the life of the new generation - hence resulted a superficial rationalism, inimical to all positive and historical faith, side by side with a rigid, unreasoning formalism". - Philipson, David (1907) The Reform Movement in Judaism,  Macmillian (reprinted by University of California, 2007), (quoting Abraham Kohn, rabbi of Hohemems in Tirol); p. 93-95.

Some of these criticisms were anticipated in a much earlier time, by philosopher Uriel da Costa (1585 – 1640) who criticized the Rabbinic authorities and the Talmud for lack of authenticity and spirituality.

Ancient
Judaism has been criticized because its religious texts allegedly endorse or glorify violence, including violence against innocent peoples. The battle of Jericho, the story of Amalekites, the story of the Midianites , and the Purim festival are cited as sources of violent attitudes that are allegedly endorsed by Judaism and its religious texts. However, modern religious authorities repudiate the sort of warfare described in the Torah, or claim that the events were exaggerated or metaphorical.

Modern
Judaism has been assoicated with violence and terrorism in modern times, including orgianizations and individuals such as Gush Emunim Underground (formed by members of Gush Emunim), Brit HaKanaim, the Jewish Defense League founded in 1969 by Rabbi Meir Kahane, Kach and Kahane Chai, Yaakov Teitel, and Baruch Goldstein, perpetrator of the Cave of the Patriarchs Massacre. However, such instances of religious violence are considered by authorities to be extremist aberrations, and not representative of the tenets of Judaism.

Military
Some critics claim that Judaism's religious leaders have interpreted religious laws to support killing of innocent civilians during wartime in some circumstances, and that this interpretation was asserted several times: in 1974 following the Yom Kippur war, in 2004, during conflicts in West Bank and Gaza, and in the 2006 Lebanon War. Critics cite a booklet published by an IDF military chaplain which stated "... insofar as the killing of civilians is performed against the background of war, one should not, according to religious law, trust a Gentile 'The best of the Gentiles you should kill'...".
 * Abraham Avidan (Zamel), After the War: Chapters of Meditation, Rule, and Research, as quoted by Steven Schwarzschild, "The Question of Jewish Ethics Today" (Dec, 24, 1976) in journal Sh'ma (vol. 7, no. 124) - http://www.clal.org/e14.html. Schwarzschild article reprinted in The pursuit of the ideal: Jewish writings of Steven Schwarzschild, chapter 7, pp 117-136, SUNY Press, 1990 (ISBN 0791402193).  Latter book quotes the booklet on page 125. Schwarzschild writes that Avidan was the "military rabbi" of the Central Command Headquarters.


 * Schwarzschild article includes a bracketed comment as follows: "... insofar as the killing of civilians is performed against the background of war, one should not, according to religious law, trust a Gentile [and justifies this claim, citing the utterance from the Codes:]  'The best of the Gentiles you should kill"...'".   Schwartzschild indicates that the phrase "[t]he best of the Gentiles you should kill" is from the Mekhilta 14:7 ("tov shebagoyim harog"), citing  Nathan Suesskind, "Tov Sheba-Goyim" C.C.A.R. Journal, Spring  1976, pp. 28f. and n. 2.


 * Schwarzschild article states that the booklet was discussed contemporaneously in the Mapam newspaper. Other sources cite contemporaneous discussions by Haolam Hazeh, 5 January 1974; by David Shaham, 'A chapter of meditation', Hotam, 28 March 1974; and by Amnon Rubinstein, 'Who falsifies the Halakhah?' Maariv, 13 October 1975.


 * . This book also cites the chaplain's booklet.


 * See also a discussion of "Religious Zionist military rabbinate" in George Wilkes (2003) "Judaism and Justice in War", in Just war in comparative perspective, Paul F. Robinson (Ed.), Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., p. 22.  The booklet was withdrawn by the military after criticism, but the military never repudiated the guidance.  However, the other religious leaders have condemned this interpretation, and the Israeli military subscribes to the Purity of arms doctrine, which seeks to minimize injuries to non-combatants; furthermore, the advice was only applicable to combat operations in wartime.

Activist Noam Chomsky claims that leaders of Judaism in Israel play an inappropriate role in sanctioning military operations.

Laws that discriminate against non-Jews
Judaism has been criticized because its religious laws contain several provisions that discriminate against non-Jews, such as the rule that there is no need to return lost property belonging to non-Jews, and the asymmetry in compensation rules following ox-goring incidents. Some of Judaism's precepts have been criticized because they could be interpreted to mean that Jews should not violate the Sabbath in order to save non-Jews that are dying. Some critics point to the fact that the Talmud includes the maxim "[non-Jews] are neither to be lifted out of a well nor hauled down into it." Critics also cite the writings of Maimonides (1137-1204), an important Rabbinical commentator, who wrote "as for gentiles [non-Jews], the basic Talmudic principle is that their lives must not be saved, although it is also forbidden to murder them outright."

However, religious authorities point out that those religious dicta must be interpreted within the context that they were created, and that non-Jews in that context were idolaters. In addition, arguments against such discrimination were posited by leading rabbis starting in the middle ages, and the rules are no longer enforced. All rabbinic authorities agree that the Sabbath should be violated to save any human life, including non-Jews.

Divorce and agunah
Judaism, particularly the Orthodox formulation, has been criticized because its religious laws can sometimes result in women being trapped in abusive relationships, and for tolerating the status of agunah. Many criticisms focus on the fact that women may be trapped in a marriage, because divorce cannot be granted without the husband's consent, and some husbands refuse to grant the consent. However, the Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism formulations permit women to obtain divorces without the consent of husbands.

Inequality
Judaism has been criticized because some of its religious laws and religious texts are alleged to treat women with a status inferior to men, including exclusion from some rituals and ceremonies, being rabbis or holding certain other positions of authority, which sometimes leads women to feel helpless, powerless, and like outsiders. Some critics blame Judaism and its religious texts for being the source of widespread patriarchal attitudes in the modern world. Author Naomi Gaetz addresses the fact that some feminists blame the Judaism for being the source of many sexist beliefs, and quotes Tikva Frymer-Kensky "Israel was neither the creator of patriarchy, nor the worst perpetrator in the ancient world.…Nevertheless, we make a profound statement when we acknowledge that the Bible is patriarchal. We are brought to the realization that the Bible contains a fundamental moral flaw: it does not treat all humans as equals." Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism generally provide women with privileges comparable to men.

Niddah (menstruation laws)
Judaism has been criticized because the religious rules governing menstruation (generally known as niddah) are claimed to cause some women to view their bodies as damaged, and to cause some women to feel oppressed. Tova Hartman wrote "The rules that govern religious women's bodies are often criticized as oppressive methods of domination". However, one commentator noted that "Rabbinic commentary did not unilaterally focus on the menstruating woman as pariah. For every statement stressing defilement, danger, and impurity, exists a counter-statement emphasizing respect toward women, the holiness of sexual intimacy, and the incidental benefits of sexual regulation and restraint."

Slavery and race
Some critics assert that the Curse of Ham described in the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) and in the Talmud was a primary cause for the belief held by many Europeans that black Africans were inferior race, and was used as justification by anti-black racists. Scholar David M. Goldenberg analyzed the arguments of the critics, and concluded that they were basing their conclusions on faulty interpretations of Rabbinical sources. Goldenberg concludes that the Judaic texts do not explicitly contain anti-black precepts, but instead later race-based interpretations were applied to the texts by later, non-Jewish analysts.

Some critics assert that slavery is endorsed by the Tanakh (Jewish Bible), and that that endorsement provided justification and support for the slave trade. However, slavery was a common practice during the era when the Tanakh was written, and the rules governing slave ownership by Jews were relatively mild, and provided for release of the slaves after a few years.

Nur Masalha asserts that some modern religious Zionists have used religious writings of Maimonides to support race-based ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

Homosexuality
Judaism has been criticized because its religious texts condemn homosexual activity, and because some formulations, such as Orthodox Judaism, prohibit homosexual activity. However, Reform Judaism accepts gay and lesbian members and rabbis. Orthodox Judaism does not exclude homosexuals, but requires that they not engage in homosexual sexual activities.

Hostility towards other faiths

 * See also Christian-Jewish disputations

Persecution of early Christians

 * See also: Persecution of Christians in Judea

Judaism has been criticized because it is alleged that leaders of Judaism, particularly during the first few centuries CE, persecuted Christians.

Insults directed at Jesus
Judaism has been criticized because the Talmud, the Tosefta, and the Toldoth Yeshu are claimed to refer to Jesus in an insulting manner, such as: stating that Jesus is condemned to hell and boiled in excrement; Boiled in excrement: stating that he was executed for sorcery; stating that his mother Mary was a whore or adulterer; and identifying Jesus by the the Hebrew name Yeshu which, it is alleged, is not a short form of the name Yeshua, but rather an acrostic signifying "may his name and memory be blotted out". However, many scholars of Judaism maintain that the person identified as Yeshu in the Talmud is not Jesus. In addition, the general trend in Judaism over the past two thousand years has been to treat Jesus with increasing sympathy.
 * Jewish history and Jewish memory: essays in honor of Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi by Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, UPNE, 1998, page 33.
 * The Jew in the medieval book: English antisemitisms, 1350-1500 by Anthony Paul Bale, Cambridge University Press, 2006, page 33.
 * Why the Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point in Western History by David Klinghoffer, Random House, Inc., 2006, page 154 (identifies source of criticism as King Louis IX).
 * Jesus in the Talmud by Peter Schäfer, Princeton University Press, 2007, p 13, 85, 88-89, 90-92, 113, 174.
 * From rebel to rabbi: reclaiming Jesus and the making of modern Jewish culture by Matthew B. Hoffman, Stanford University Press, 2007, page 4 (specifying Talmud verses: Sanhedrin 107b and Gittin 56b-57a)
 * Tolerance and intolerance in early Judaism and Christianity by Graham Stanton, Guy G. Stroumsa, Cambridge University Press, 1998, page 247 (also includes a discussion of the censorship that removed references to Jesus - see footnote #34 on page 256; includes the assertion that "Balaam" is one of the names used instead of Jesus/Yeshua).
 * Two Nations in Your Womb: Perceptions of Jews and Christians, by Israel Jacob Yuval, University of California Press, 2008, page 132.
 * Jesus outside the New Testament: an introduction to the ancient evidence by Robert E. Van Voorst, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000, page 110 (also discusses use of name Balaam in lieu of Jesus/Yeshua).
 * Church, State, and Jew in the Middle Ages by Robert Chazan,Behrman House, Inc, 1979, page 227-230 (transcript of 1240 Paris disputation).
 * A history of the Jews by Paul Johnson, HarperCollins, 1988, page 217 (identifies critic as Nicholas Donin).
 * Rabbi Moses ha-Kohen of Tordesillas and his book Ezer ha-emunah, by Yehuda Shamir, BRILL, 1975, page 31-32 (identifies Pope Gregory IX as a critic).

Cruelty to animals
Judaism's practice of shechitah (ritual slaughter of animals) has been criticized by animal rights groups, such as PETA, for being cruel and inhumane. However, proponets of the practice claim that shechitah is painless because the animal quickly loses consciousness.

Brit milah (covenant of circumcision)
Judaism has been criticized for encouraging or requiring brit milah, a circumcision ritual performed on young boys, because the ritual is alleged to be painful, cruel, tantamount to genital mutilation, and without the boy's consent. An anti-brit milah movement is active in some branches of Judaism. However, many view brit milah as an important religious ritual, involving only minor pain.