Submitted by The University of Cincinnati Judaic Studies
“Jews and Democracy” is the topic of the 2023-2024 Jacob and Jennie L. Lichter Lecture Series organized by the Department of Judaic Studies of the University of Cincinnati. “Democracy” derives from ancient Greek meaning “rule of the people.” In one of the earliest appearances of the term, Pericles of Athens famously remarked in a funeral oration for fallen soldiers, “our constitution’s… administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences” (Thucydides, Peloponnesian War 2.43). He speaks of democracy as a form of government unique to Athens. Once democracy spread in the modern world and enlightened leaders in emerging nation-states came to the conclusion that Jews are also people, Jews became citizens who enjoyed “equal justice…in their private differences.” They subsequently flourished in democracies and even established a Jewish democratic state. This does not mean Jews, and democracy, and the pluralistic society it seeks to protect and preserve have had an easy-going relationship. Just as many would rightly question the integrity of the rather limited democracy of ancient Athens, it would be pollyannish to claim an unequivocally harmonious relationship between Jews and the modern incarnations of democracy. Jewish tradition since the Hebrew Bible has not unanimously endorsed “rule of the people” and the widespread involvement of Jews in modern political life has not resolved medieval Jewish problems. The protests of the past year highlight the challenges of what it means for Israel to be a Jewish and democratic state. As democracy in America has been facing unprecedented challenges in recent years, it makes one reflect upon the positive and negative impacts of American democracy on the Jewish community as well as the Jewish community’s impact on democracy.
In existence for over forty years, the annual Jacob and Jennie L. Lichter Lecture Series for 2023-2024 explores Jewish encounters with democracy. The series begins with a lecture by Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College Shaul Magid entitled “Meir Kahane, Liberalism, and Radicalism in America” on Thursday, November 2, 2023, 7:00 PM at the Taft Center, 1 Edwards, UC Uptown Campus. The series continues with a lecture by Michigan State University Professor of Political Science Yael Aronoff on “Israel’s Democracy in Crisis” (11/13/23), 7:00PM at the Taft Center, 1 Edwards, UC Uptown Campus. The final lecture will be given by UCLA Distinguished Professor of History David Myer on “American Shtetl: My Path in Studying Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Municipality in Suburban New York” (1/25/24), 7:00 PM UC College of Law, Room 140, UC Uptown Campus, 2925 Campus Green Dr.
