[Jennifer R.]

I have noticed that throughout the history of the United States, Jewish people have been heavily represented in movements, events and positions where the work of achieving social justice and civil rights is being done. Is this just a coincidence? Is it a religious obligation?

User Detail :  

Name : Jennifer R., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Humanist, Age : 29, City : Saint Paul, State : MN, Country : United States, Occupation : Writer/Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Rhiannon]

I’m not sure how much religious basis there is for Jewish social justice activism. I think it has more to do with the experience of knowing what oppression is like. Jews have faced hatred, discrimination and genocide for thousands of years. In the grand scheme of time, the Holocaust was an eyeblink ago. Our relative economic success in the United States is deceptive; most of us are just a few generations removed from immigrant conditions and even poverty. Even though I have faced almost no discrimination as a modern-day U.S. Jew, I am keenly aware that I am the great-granddaughter of a Holocaust victim, and that my father grew up in a poor Jewish neighborhood in a city (Minneapolis) that was a hotbed of anti-Semitism not very long ago. I feel empathy for oppressed people and ‘the underdog,’ and I feel this has a lot to do with being Jewish. When I was a child, my father bought me books about Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr. and Caesar Chavez, and taught me that they were about the same thing.

User Detail :  

Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN, Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, 

[Alex]

I see it more as a social obligation. I’m a secular Jew; I was never bar mitzvahed and only know nine words of Hebrew. My empathy for other social movements like civil rights, Chicano, gay rights and other liberation movements is based on experiencing discrimination and anti-Semitism. Growing up in the Midwest and hearing anti-Semitic talk as well as being picked on at school due to my cultural background has led to my passion for social justice and liberation of people from all backgrounds. And I think most of us feel it is our duty as Jews to stand up with the oppressed against various forms of oppression.

User Detail :  

Name : Alex, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 25, City : Dallas, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Nonprofit professional, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Daniel]

It is probably true that there are a disproportionate number of Jews involved in social justice efforts. I also believe there is a religious basis for this, as well as an historically motivated one. Jews believe they are responsible to fulfill three requirements: charity, prayer (or reflection) and deeds. All of this is linked with our purpose to ‘perfect the world’ (it is only when humanity perfects the world that the messiah will come, in contrast with Christian doctrine that says the messiah already came). Thus, seeking and working for social justice is in our fabric. It is a core requirement for all Jews. Interestingly, one interpretation of these requirements would lead a person to conclude that Jews don’t even have to believe in God, and in fact, some do not, yet they still have the value and deeply felt purpose to make the world a better place.

User Detail :  

Name : Daniel, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 44, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : consultant, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

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