Resources and Articles by Shimon Cowen

A discussion:  Israel: state and religion - Part II
Israel: state and religion A discussion One of the most poignant difficulties of our time is the struggle between brothers – between religious and secular Jews – in Israel today. The issue has several dimensions. There is first of all an acknowledgment that until very recently and basically extending into the present, a status quo has existed between the secular state and Judaism, which has protected Judaism, reciprocated by an halachic modus operandi with the state. The conflict arises through a departure from the spirit of the accommodation which existed hitherto into a new rhetoric of the “separation of religion and state”. Notions of “freedom of, or from, religion””, emerge to conflict with traditional concept of the spiritual integrity of the Jewish people through the public protection of its laws and practices. The reason why this conflict supervenes over the understanding and accommodation which has existed between the secular State and religion, derives, it is argued, from an estrangement, on both sides of the conflict, from fundamental Jewish values. The discussion was held between Mr Mark Moshinsky and Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen in a seminar of the Institute for Judaism and Civilization. [Full article...]
Israel
Israel > Politics
Judaism
Judaism > Jewish Identity

A discussion:  Israel: state and religion - Part I
Israel: state and religion A discussion One of the most poignant difficulties of our time is the struggle between brothers – between religious and secular Jews – in Israel today. The issue has several dimensions. There is first of all an acknowledgment that until very recently and basically extending into the present, a status quo has existed between the secular state and Judaism, which has protected Judaism, reciprocated by an halachic modus operandi with the state. The conflict arises through a departure from the spirit of the accommodation which existed hitherto into a new rhetoric of the “separation of religion and state”. Notions of “freedom of, or from, religion””, emerge to conflict with traditional concept of the spiritual integrity of the Jewish people through the public protection of its laws and practices. The reason why this conflict supervenes over the understanding and accommodation which has existed between the secular State and religion, derives, it is argued, from an estrangement, on both sides of the conflict, from fundamental Jewish values. The discussion was held between Mr Mark Moshinsky and Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen in a seminar of the Institute for Judaism and Civilization. [Full article...]
Israel
Israel > Politics
Judaism
Judaism > Jewish Identity

A comparison of international law and traditional Jewish approaches:  The Arab-Israeli Conflict - Part I
The following discussion presents a point of view of international law on the Arab-Israeli conflict, as documented by Mr Jonathan Wenig, with a response to its tenets from the standpoint of Jewish tradition by Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen. The point at issue is the secular notion that sovereign states make or voluntarily subscribe to laws and processes of adjudication versus the Torah view of universal norms of conduct. The second is between legal concepts of the Palestinians’ claim to statehood and the Torah’s view of the intrinsic relationship of the Jewish people to the land. The third has to do with the mode of action in international conflict: mutual negotiation as the source of resolution and the halachic ruling as a guide to practical dealing. [Full article...]
Israel
Israel > Politics
Judaism
Peace Process

A comparison of international law and traditional Jewish approaches:  The Arab-Israeli Conflict - Part II
The following discussion presents a point of view of international law on the Arab-Israeli conflict, as documented by Mr Jonathan Wenig, with a response to its tenets from the standpoint of Jewish tradition by Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen. The point at issue is the secular notion that sovereign states make or voluntarily subscribe to laws and processes of adjudication versus the Torah view of universal norms of conduct. The second is between legal concepts of the Palestinians’ claim to statehood and the Torah’s view of the intrinsic relationship of the Jewish people to the land. The third has to do with the mode of action in international conflict: mutual negotiation as the source of resolution and the halachic ruling as a guide to practical dealing. [Full article...]
Israel
Israel > Politics
Judaism
Peace Process