Jews & Activism

Why do Jews Protest?

The Jewish people are one of the oldest living cultures, and one of the most historically oppressed. If the Jewish people had never protested, we would probably not be here today. Protest is baked into our survival.


Additionally, the imperative to do justice work is written into our holy books and theology. A few examples:


Deuteronomy 16:20: 

Justice, justice shall you pursue!


Pirkei Avot 2:16:

He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say: It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.


Babylonian Talmud - Shabbat 54b: 

Anyone who had the capability to effectively protest the sinful conduct of the members of his household and did not protest, they themself are liable for the sins of the members of their household and punished. 


If they are in a position to protest the sinful conduct of the people of their town, and they fail to do so, they are liable for the sins of the people of their town. 


If they are in a position to protest the sinful conduct of the whole world, and they fail to do so, they are liable for the sins of the whole world.

A Brief Jewish History of Protest

Jewish history is full of tales of revolt by our people. The Jewish historical timeline reads like one long narrative of uprising. From the Bar Kochba revolt against the Roman Empire to the Haganah who revolted against the British Mandate, the Jewish people, history tells us, have a legacy of revolting.


355 BCE - Persian Jewish Uprising

167-160 BCE - The Maccabean Revolt

66-73 CE - The Great Revolt of Judea

132-136 CE - Bar Kochba Revolt


1943 - Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

1939-1947 - Jewish Revolt Against the British Mandate

Jewish Activism in the USA, 20th century

During the late 19th century, before immigrating to America, many European Jews were socially active, speaking out about inequities of the day. When they arrived in America, many brought a tradition of political activism drawn from such diverse groups as socialists and anarchists. Reinforced by editorials in the Yiddish newspapers, Jewish Americans began to speak out against inequities in America.


Some protests affected the immediate interests of the Jewish community. One early example was the Kosher Meat Boycott of 1902, which happened when many Jewish women in New York became furious that the price of kosher meat increased from twelve to eighteen cents per pound.


When the March on Washington forced a torn nation to look at itself in the mirror in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., provided the powerful words that still inspire the nation. Rabbi Joachim Prinz, a Holocaust survivor and fervent supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, also spoke to the marchers on that day. Rabbi Prinz reminded the marchers that Jewish Americans believed in their cause for civil rights. In part, he said, It is not merely sympathy and compassion for the black people of America that motivates us. It is...a sense of complete identification and solidarity born of our own painful historic experience.... The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful, and the most tragic problem is silence. [Click here to read more about Jews & the Civil Rights Movement]


Beginning in 1970, Jewish Americans became deeply involved with women's rights and Soviet Jewry. Jewish American women were at the forefront of the women's rights movement and Jewish Americans consistently reached out to Jews in the Soviet Union who were not allowed to emigrate. In December of 1987, more than a quarter of a million people gathered in Washington on behalf of Soviet Jewry. After the Cold War, Jewish Americans offered assistance to Jews fleeing Eastern Europe and seeking to resettle in the U.S. or Israel.

A few notable American Jewish activists: