Jewish left
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term Jewish left describes Jews who identify with or support left wing or liberal causes. There is no one organization or movement which constitutes the "Jewish left".
Well-known Jewish writers who have described themselves as politically and socially left-wing include George Soros, Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, Anzia Yezierska, Rose Schneiderman, Muriel Rukeyser, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Michael Lerner, Arthur Waskow, and Susan Sontag. Jews have been major forces in the history of the US labor movement, the Settlement house movement, the women's rights movement, anti-racist work, and anti-fascist organizing of many forms. In the last decade, the Jewish vote has gone to Democrats by 76-80%[1] in each election, leading many to believe that the majority of American Jews are Left-identified.
In the decade of 1980-1992 one organization, New Jewish Agenda, did function as a national, multi-issue progressive membership organization with the mission of acting as a "Jewish voice on the Left and a Left voice in the Jewish Community."
While many Jewish progressives root their politics in spirituality, there is also a long history of secular-socialist and communist Jewish activist history (e.g. The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring) as well as anarchist-Jewish activism which denounced religion while publishing newspapers in Yiddish.
[edit] See also
- Jewish anarchism
- Jewish right
- Christian left
- Socialism and Faith Commission of the Socialist Party USA
