Baruch de Spinoza, definitely.

Isaac Deutscher’s concept of the “non-Jewish Jew” not only begins here, but has never been better embodied. The only thing Spinoza’s contemporary critics ever got right about him was his atheism, which he denied of himself, preferring always to speak of God and Nature interchangeably. As a Marrano Jew living in 17th-century Amsterdam, Spinoza was a Talmudic prodigy who developed heretical ideas that became the talk of the town. Not yet twenty years old, he was excommunicated by his own mentor Rabbi Morteira, thus turning Spinoza – in one single ceremony – into a double exile: a Jew reviled by fellow Jews inhabiting a gentile cosmopolis. Not that this bothered him much. He spent his days grinding optically superb lenses in his quiet atelier in the Hague, while he spent his night taking his original and dangerous ideas to their logical conclusions. His lifelong motto, inscribed on his signet, may have been Caute (“Cautiously”), but Spinoza didn’t really give a damn about public opinion and his few friends were close enough and numerous enough to keep him happy in his life of quiet, contemplative seclusion.

What was his philosophy? He believed that the one true metaphysic in the universe was Pure Reason, which was self-generating, requiring no outside creator (like Yahweh) to bring into existence. Spinoza put forth three ranked modes of what he termed “expansion of the mind.” (This only sounds like New Age gobbledygook; it’s as venerable as Plato in terms of philosophical ideals). The lowest mode was imagination, which consists of crossing circuits of logic and imagery; though this may produce something beautiful in art or literature, it can never inch closer to apprehending Pure Reason. The middle mode was empiricism, or observable fact (“here is a stone,” “there is an angry religious mob looking to hang me,” etc.) The highest mode was intuition, or abstract logic, which Spinoza traced via a Euclidean geometrical latticework of axioms and propositions in his most profound work The Ethics. Intuition was how one lived sub specie aeternitatis, or “under the realm of eternity” – an apt phrase not just to describe the scope of Spinoza’s philosophy but also his historical role: his insights into human nature can be read today with as much lucidity and intelligibility as those of Shakespeare.

Bertrand Russell called Spinoza the most humane of the great philosophers, and indeed, secular democracy, freedom of speech, the entire Enlightenment are inconceivable without his intellectual and moral contribution to Western civilization. For a nice biographical sketch – and disquisition on his philosophy – check out Rebecca Goldstein’s Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity.

Yeah, I'll definitely back Michael up on that. Spinoza was the real deal. A revolutionary vision of the rationalistic, truth-seeking life, and he was willing to tolerate excommunication and near-poverty rather than surrender that vision.

"Cost" is a tough criterion to meet for most American Jews, because I don't think there's much you can do as a Jew that would elicit any real cost from the American Jewish community. Some people may loudly criticize you, but you won't get a cherem placed on you, as Spinoza did. And you won't get an avalanche of death threats, as Muslim radicals do.

Though, actually, on the excommunication point, I know that Marc Ellis, Professor of American and Jewish Studies at Baylor U., has described himself as being pushed into "exile" by the Jewish community for his iconoclastic views on Israel and the role of the Holocaust in Jewish life. But to be honest, his views aren't that radical: "Israel does terrible things!" and "American Jews need to surrender their obsession with the Holocaust!", things we've all heard many times before, whether we agree with them or not. And I don't know what he means by "exile"...if it means he doesn't get invited to dinner parties, then tough noogies. That doesn't count as a cost as we've defined it for the Jewcy radicals.

In his book Nothing Sacred, Douglas Rushkoff presents what I think counts as a pretty radical vision of Judaism. He calls it "Open Source Judaism." At one point he suggests that dropping the ethnic self-identification of "Jew" may be the inevitable outgrowth of a truly Jewish (i.e., iconoclastic, cosmopolitan, etc.) worldview. That's a pretty radical thing for a prominent Jewish thinker to say, methinks. And that sensibility made Rushkoff's book pretty provocative...more so, say, than the more classically tribalistic vision of Judaism offered by Niles Goldstein in his book Gonzo Judaism, which I'm reading now, and which on a superficial level might seem to have similar aims to Rushkoff's book: the reinvigoration of Judaism, taking it back from the Yeshiva bochers and AIPAC crowd, etc.

Anyway, looking forward to more suggestions!

בשר זה רצח,

Joey

You might also think of including Jews who legitimately challenge the Jewish world
itself, including Israel. Let's be contentious. If Spinoza was a
radical, it was because he had the balls to confront the rabbis about
what the universe and God might look like outside of talmudic
conceptualisations, and got excommunicated as a result. Rabin makes a
radical because he challenged himself to do the unthinkable (as did
Sharon, ironically).

Modern controversial figures might include Avi Shlaim (or another one of
the new historians) who has exploded so many of those myths we grew up
with about the history of Israel. Of course he probably got some things
wrong, and probably has an agenda, but history is contentious by its
very nature, as you know. Or what about some Jewish feminists who have
challenged the place of women in Jewish society (there are tons), or
those working for civil equality for all citizens of Israel, or those
taking cases up before the Israeli Supreme Court about marriage,
torture, dispossession.

An Albert Einstein crossed with Winston Churchill; Ideas and action with enough verv to take any foe. Open minded to a fault and willing to go down but get back up and shake it off. I think he wore the patch to intimidate those who would hesitate. He was not afraid to change his mind or his direction in order to follow his truth. He was human and needed moderating council but he was fearless to the core. You might say "pure at heart" with an order of compassion and introspection on the side. Not perfect but purely human and fiercely jewish. Perhaps Saladeen would have even been impressed.

Good call on Dayan, he had both intellectual and physical courage in spades.

Joey

Besides the things he's obviously known for (spearheading the civil rights movement, etc.) MLK was a big supporter of Zionism and Israel.

“When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You are talking anti-Semitism.” -MLK

Eventually giving his life in the struggle for equal rights. The Jewish community has long and strong ties to the Civil Rights movement through MLK, the NAACP and ADL. Certainly King is a Radical of the Jewish World.

Another MLK quote:
"Peace for Israel means security and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity." 3/25/1968

Yet another MLK quote: "It always starts with Israel, but it never ends with Israel. Islamofascism is the greatest threat facing our world. Hamas and Hizbollah are no different from Al Qaeda. Israel is the advance guard of Western civilization, bringing democracy to a region of dictators and theocrats. The Islamists smuggle weapons in Red Crescent so-called 'ambulances.' Zionism is justice." 4/29/1968

Abraham Joshua Heschel, whose 100th birthday we celebrate, was indeed a radical in so many ways---none more poetic than that he "prayed with his feet."

Most of the above radicals have passed on. Are there living radicals to consider in this discussion?

deborah lipstadt. and shlomo bardin, of course. and louis d. brandeis

What do you think??

Hard for me to see Lipstadt as a radical. Exposing Holocaust deniers for what they are is certainly a worthy cause, but she's not so much trying to move the world forward as prevent it being pulled back by wingnut reactionaries. Probably no less important, maybe equally righteous, but still different, I think.

Joey turned me on to Shahak's polemics, which are as hilarious as they are trenchant. I'll never forget his discussion of the ban on "profane" texts within medieval Jewish communities, a ban which was abrogated only in the one place where profanity is par for the course: the toilet. "Many must have been those interested in the divine right of French kings always complaining of constipation."

Hitchens also relayed a great anecdote to me about Shahak. Shortly before Israel's death, he told Hitch (heavy accent affected), "You know... is very interesting, very interesting... In Hamas and Islamic Jihad, there is a major argument underway about the timetable for retaking Spain. Should they do it now or wait until after Bilad al-Sham ["Greater Syria," encompassing Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon] has been established? Very interesting.... This, this is what you should write about."

He was right.

Passionately making Los Angeles a more just place for Jews and non-Jews alike, I would like to add Daniel Sokatch of PJA to consideration.

Thoughts?

Saul

THE RADICALS ARE YOU GUYS THAT
*THINK*
THAT THE ONES THAT BELIEVE
IN TORAH AND 'GD' ARE RADICALS.

YOU GUYS CALL BELIEVERS AND OBSERVERS IN JUDAISM,
(no matter what level of observance)
you call us
FUNDAMENTALIST JEWISH NAZIS.

therefore
YOU ARE THE RADICALS CALLING US NAMES
FOR BELIEVING IN 'GD'
AND TALKING ABOUT IMPROVING OUR LEVEL OF OBSERVANCE

YOU CALL US WHAT YOU DONT WANT TO BE
FROM FEAR
FROM WHAT YOU CALL RESTRICTIONS
BUT IN ANOTHER REALITY , IT IS OUR FREEDOM.

*YOU ARE THE RADICAL
**I AM PERFECT ! ! !

THANK YOU,
DACON999

Thank you for completely missing the point.

None of the comments above seem to relate to your perfect comment.

Thanks for acknowledging our radicalness.

BUT THEY DO.
ALL MY COMMENTS ARE VERY SIMPLE AND CLEAR
AND DO RELATE TO THE ARTICLE.

ITS JUST YOU ARE SO RADICAL THAT YOU CANT SEE IT.

THANK YOU FOR ACKNOWLEDGING MY
'MISSING THE POINT' COMMENT.

GUESS I DID GET THE POINT BUT *YOU MISSED IT.

THANK YOU AGAIN,
DACON999

YOUR SITE
THE LAYOUT
THE SUBJECTS
THE WRITERS
THE COMMENTS
THE PICTURES
IT IS ALL VERY REFRESHING AND EXCITING AND INTERESTING.

PERSONALLY I LOVE WHAT YOU DO
EVEN IF I HARDLY AGREE WITH ANY OF IT.

I CAN'T PRAISE YOUR SITE LAYOUT ENOUGH.

I WISH YOU ALL SUCCESS
AND THANKS FOR PUTTING UP WITH MY NONSENSE COMMENTS.

I WOULD LIKE A FEW MORE 'RIGHT' LEANING ARTICLES THOUGH.

KOSHER PESACH
HEALTH AND PROSPERITY TO ALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL
I PRAY THE GOYIM WILL LEARN THE NOAHIDE LAWS WHICH WILL BRING
THE MESSIAH SO MUCH QUICKER.

AND YES I DO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS SITE

HAPPY PESSOVER
DACON999

Dear chevra,

Has no one noticed that one of the quotes ascribed to Dr. Martin Luther King is either a sardonic and macabre joke or a hoax? -- The "quote," posted Dec 2006, goes thus:

<<< Yet another MLK quote: "It always starts with Israel, but it never ends with Israel. Islamofascism is the greatest threat facing our world. Hamas and Hizbollah are no different from Al Qaeda. Israel is the advance guard of Western civilization, bringing democracy to a region of dictators and theocrats. The Islamists smuggle weapons in Red Crescent so-called 'ambulances.' Zionism is justice." 4/29/1968 >>>

By April 29, 1968, MLK had been dead for 25 days. Moreover, Al Qaeda, Hamas, & Hezbollah did not exist. The Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem was only ten months old.

Looking for Jewish radicals? One is an heir of MLK, Rabbi Arik Ascherman, who has been beaten and arrested by israeli police for acting in tune with Dr. King's philosophy and tactics -- for example, by standing in the way of Israeli bulldozers that were preparing to demolish Palestinian hoimes. Arik is exec of Rabbis for Human Rights, and his work has inspired the creation of a sister organiziation, RHR/ North America, which (after The Shalom Center initiated the effort) picked up support for RHR/ Israel's Olive Trees for Peace campaign (replanting Palestinian olive trees uprooted by Israeli settlers and troops) and then (again after The Shalom Center raised the issue) taking on the adoption of torture by the US government as a violation of Jewish law and teaching.

So if you are looking for Jewish radicals authentically rooted in Jewish culture and wisdom, committed to action, and ready to risk losing their jobs, being attacked as :"self-hating Jews," etc., etc., , i suggest checking out www.rhr-na.org www.shalomctr.org and www.tikkun.org

With blessings of shalom,
(Rabbi) Arthur Waskow
awaskow@shalomctr.org

Sorry. The fake MLK quote itself got left out, probably because I put pointy brackets around it. It went thus:

MLK hated Hamas
Yet another MLK quote: "It always starts with Israel, but it never ends with Israel. Islamofascism is the greatest threat facing our world. Hamas and Hizbollah are no different from Al Qaeda. Israel is the advance guard of Western civilization, bringing democracy to a region of dictators and theocrats. The Islamists smuggle weapons in Red Crescent so-called 'ambulances.' Zionism is justice." 4/29/1968

As I noted, impossible.

There is plenty about MLK that is profound and worthy to learn from, as a number of radical Jews have done. A shande to confuse that legacy of true Torah with this silly stuff.

Shalom, (Rabbi) Arthur Waskow

Rabbi Waskow,

Honored to have you participating here! Thanks for straightening out the MLK issue. I'd heard that the whole "MLK was a Zionist!" meme was overblown, but had never looked into the details.

Is there anyone that you, personally, would nominate as a Jewish radical. And, without wanting to appear too lickspittle but doing so anyway, I'd actually say that Rabbi Waskow himself makes a great candidate. Any rabbi who says so forthrightly that "Rabbinic Judaism is dead and needs earth lovingly placed upon its coffin" is pretty gangster.

“[Y]ou won't get an avalanche of death threats, as Muslim radicals do.”

I think you meant Muslim moderates…

Jewish radicals who you’ve probably heard of:

Alexander Berkman
Emma Goldman
Vladimir Jabotinsky

One you might not be familiar with:

Vsevolod Mikhailovich Eikhenbaum aka “Voline”
http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/voline/biography.ht...

The quote cshefman attributes to MLK:

“When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You are talking anti-Semitism.”

Was never actually made by MLK.

See “CAMERA ALERT: Letter by Martin Luther King a Hoax”
http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=8&x_article=369

i'm sure he meant well, but his rhetoric was soooooooooo puffy and bombastic, plus
he seemed rather dull-witted in some respects....wayyyyyy too christian.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe - a theological radical - see www.atzmus.com for more details if you don't believe me.  

Noam Chomsky, Richard's Dawkins and Stallman, Mailer, Weil, Djerassi, Hoffman, Bruce, just off the top of my head. Admittedly I'm stretching Joey's definition of "Jewishly radical." I would argue there is a thread between the above that makes all of them unique in ways that to this observer are distinctly Jewish. Their thinking is inexorably entwined within the culture and DNA that spawned them.

Historical definitions of Jewish identity have traditionally been based on halakhic definitions of matrilineal descent, and halakhic conversions. outsourcing company