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Criticism of Judaism has existed since Judaism's formative stages, as with many other religions, on philosophical, scientific, ethical, political and theological grounds.

Former and present members

In many religions ex-members and excommunicates became known for criticism of their former faith. In Judaism a process similar to excommunication is called Cherem. The process is a form of ecclesiastical censure that states the person is not to be listened to by the community. Among people declared cherem there were a few critics of Judaism.

The most famous might be Baruch Spinoza who was excommunicated primarily for rejecting the orthodox understanding of the Torah and its view of God. His Theologico-Political Treatise in particular rejected the idea of the Jews as a chosen people and saw the Torah as merely a kind of Jewish constitution. He further felt that Judaism allowed for little in the way of speculation or internal reflection. That the religion was "to them rather a bondage than the true liberty, the gift and grace of Deity." An earlier convert of Jewish ancestry, Uriel da Costa, largely agreed and felt Judaism to be a human invention devoid of spirituality.

Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and social status of women within Judaism.

Criticism from Christianity

Most of the criticism toward Judaism from Christianity deals with the Jewish Messiah. Christians claim that Jesus fulfilled prophecies and requirements for the messiah in the Bible and that the rest will be fulfilled at the Second Coming. Jews, as notably represented by the organization Jews for Judaism, claim that Jesus did not fulfil the prophecies and requirements. Examples of Messiah requirements debated are:

• Jewish heritage (Was Jesus a Jew?) Deuteronomy 17:15
• A member of the tribe of Judah tribe (Was Jesus a member?) Genesis 49:10
• A direct male descendant of King David and King Solomon (was Jesus a direct male descendent?) 2Samuel 7:12–13
• He must rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem (Did Jesus rebuild the temple?) Ezekiel 37:26–27
• He must bring all of the Jews in the world to Israel (Did Jesus bring all the Jews to Israel?)

Criticism from Islam

• The Qur'an criticizes the handling of scripture by some Jews (and Christians). It claims that some of the Jews and Christians pass over much of what is in their scriptures, claiming that "some of them mistranslate, or misrepresent the Bible".

• The Qur'an claims that Jews tell the hand of Allah is tied up and by doing so "they shall be cursed for what they say" and more.
• The Qur'an claims that some Jews call Ezra a son of God and by doing so they are "deluded away from the Truth". .However the Jews don't call Ezra son of God and there is nothing in Judaism that say so.

Kosher slaughter

Kosher slaughter as a practice has attracted widespread criticism from animal welfare groups who claim that the absence of any form of anesthesia or stunning prior to the severance of the animal’s jugular vein entails prolonged and unnecessary pain. The British Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC), an independent body which advises the British Government in matters of animal welfare, has demanded that kosher slaughter no longer be exempted under relevant legislation, demanding that animals be subjected to stunning before slaughter. FAWC Chairwoman, Dr Judy MacArthur (herself a farmer and qualified veterinarian) has defended the organization’s stance, criticizing her detractors by claiming that "(kosher slaughter involves) a major incision into the animal and to say that it doesn't suffer is quite ridiculous." This claim is contrary to those made by supporters of kosher slaughter, who claim that the extreme blood loss caused in the process results in a rapid loss of consciousness and therefore an absence of pain.

References

See also

• Anti-Judaism
• Blood libel against Jews
• Criticism of Conservative Judaism
• Antisemitism
• Philosemitism
• On the Jewish Question by Karl Marx
• Criticism of Religion

• Jews
• Judaism
• Criticism of religion
• Religious persecution
• Anti-Judaism
• Jews and Judaism-related controversies