Secularism and Jewish Survival

At a recent Conference on the Balance of National Strength and Security, Professor Moshe Kaveh made a passionate plea for recognition of the legitimacy of secular Jewishness and called on secular Jews to reclaim their Jewish identity.

His was one of several prescriptions for ensuring the survival of the Jewish world raised at the gathering organised by the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.

A session was devoted to what was described as another strategic asset of Israel: the Jewish world. Kaveh argued that the key for Jewish survival lies with secular Jews.

“The majority of Jews in Israel and abroad define themselves as secular from a cultural point of view”, he said.

Secularism is a serious conviction for some Jews, as well as an existential condition for a great many more. Secularism in Jewish life must be appreciated and supported as a potent source of motivation and identification.

“As an Orthodox Jew and the president of the largest university in Israel,” Kaveh went on, “I recognise that there are areas of life, especially in matters of public policy, in which religion has left a vacuum........... We have failed to introduce Jewish cultural content that will maintain the Jewish identity of secular Jews and bring about a more unified Jewish people.”