Origins of Democratic Zionism

This book explores the link between Jewish political thought in seventeenth-century Amsterdam and the modern appreciation for democratic freedom. It emphasizes the importance of the Hebrew Republic as a model polity for a post-medieval political order and the dissemination of Morteira's democratic ideas by Spinoza and Barrios.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 144 pages
\n Publication date: 05 March 2019
\n Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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This groundbreaking work is the first to establish a direct link between the modern appreciation for democratic freedom and the Jewish political thought that emerged in seventeenth-century Amsterdam. While it is commonly assumed that the roots of democratic values lie in Classical philosophy, the evolution of democracy has taken diverse forms throughout history. In this context, Jewish thinkers played a pivotal role in voicing the first modern appeal for the reestablishment of a Jewish polity in the Holy Land. This appeal, grounded in a vision of a Jewish state governed by individual liberty and popular consent, can be considered a form of democratic Zionism.

The book delves into the lives and ideas of three influential rabbis: Saul Levi Morteira (b. ca. 1590-d. 1660), Baruch Spinoza, and Miguel de Barrios. Unlike their Catholic and Protestant counterparts, these three intellectuals found democratic values in the Old Testament polity, which came to be revered as the Hebrew Republic. Through the writings of Morteira, the book explores the trajectory by which this democratization of the Hebrew Republic evolved as an alternative to divine-right rule. It then demonstrates how Spinoza and Barrios, despite their divergent views on practicing Judaism, disseminated Morteira's democratic ideas and promoted the Hebrew Republic as a model polity for a post-medieval political order.

This book holds immense significance for scholars of Judaism and Jewish philosophy in the modern era, as well as those interested in medieval and early modern Spanish literature, religious, political, and intellectual history. Its groundbreaking insights shed light on the complex interplay between religious, political, and intellectual ideas and provide valuable perspectives on the development of democratic values and the role of Jewish thinkers in shaping them.

\n Weight: 368g\n
Dimension: 162 x 239 x 15 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780367133481\n \n