The purpose of this article is to showcase the contributions of Jewish communities born outside or who have lived outside Israel, and to draw a clear distinction between non-Zionist Jews and Israelis. Because of Israel’s actions in Palestine, people globally sometimes — deliberately or mistakenly — hold the broader Jewish community responsible for the actions of the Israeli government. This piece aims to highlight the significant achievements and wellbeing of Jews in America and elsewhere, across many spheres of life. It also traces Jewish history and the unfair subjugation Jews faced under Christian and Muslim rule over the centuries. The intent of this essay is not to incite ill will or negativity, but to spread positivity and understanding. I am myself one of the strongest critics of Israel and this read builds on my work as a champion of human rights.
In the last 70 years, Jewish people have made a mark for themselves. Jewish people, especially those in America, have done stupendous work across various sectors, redefining the era going forward. Jewish people have led from the front in areas such as economics and finance, entertainment, energy, science, and mathematics, among others. Some of the people who excelled in their fields and became subject matter experts and opinion-makers globally include Billy Crystal, Steven Spielberg, Hyman Minsky, Paul Krugman, Albert Einstein, Joseph Stiglitz, Billy Joel, Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman, Bob Dylan, John von Neumann, Paul Samuelson, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Natalie Portman, Jeffrey Sachs, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, and Rachel Weisz.
Jewish people, along with Christians globally, played a leading role in the mindfulness movement, helping bring Theravada Buddhism to the wider world. Over the last three decades, the Jewish community globally has made outstanding contributions across various fields. Jewish people outside Israel have made stunning contributions in art, science, and finance, among other areas. Jewish people, especially in America, have made significant contributions to Buddhism, particularly the mindfulness movement, through figures like Sylvia Boorstein, Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, and Bhikkhu Bodhi. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi is one of the foremost Theravada monks today, having translated many texts from the Pali Canon. Sharon Salzberg had a troubled childhood, and her life is a remarkable story of grit and resilience. Rather than turning to destructive coping mechanisms, she traveled to India and other parts of Asia to study meditation and mindfulness in pursuit of a more meaningful and wholesome life. Today, she is a world-renowned teacher of mettā (loving-kindness) meditation, rooted in the Brahmavihārās of the Buddhist tradition—loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. Along with Joseph Goldstein, she has authored several bestselling books on meditation and mindfulness.
Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi is one of the most eminent Western Theravāda monks of the modern era. Following the scholarly lineage of Nyanatiloka Thera, he is best known for his meticulous translations of the Buddha’s teachings from the Pali Canon into English. Through his translations, commentaries, and public teachings, he has become one of the most influential interpreters of Theravāda Buddhism in the English-speaking world. Consider also Daniel Yergin, one of the world’s foremost authorities on global energy markets, whose acclaimed works—including the bestseller The Quest—have profoundly shaped public understanding of energy economics and geopolitics. Jewish thinkers have consistently challenged conventional wisdom through influential works such as Joseph Stiglitz’s Globalization and Its Discontents, which offers a thought-provoking analysis of globalization and the economic challenges facing both developed and developing countries. Billy Crystal is a trailblazer in entertainment, having hosted some of the most memorable Academy Awards ceremonies, while Bob Dylan remains one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters of the modern era. Jerry Seinfeld transformed television comedy during the 1990s through his iconic sitcom Seinfeld. Jewish scholars and professionals have made exceptionally influential contributions to economics and finance, shaping modern economic theory, financial markets, and public policy. Paul Samuelson’s economics textbook served as the standard undergraduate text for decades and profoundly influenced economics education worldwide. Although some historians have argued that anti-Semitic attitudes within parts of academia affected the recognition of certain Jewish scholars, Samuelson’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences ultimately reflected his immense contribution to modern economics. Hyman Minsky is widely regarded as one of the most influential Post-Keynesian economists, whose Financial Instability Hypothesis fundamentally reshaped the understanding of financial crises and has become especially influential since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. John von Neumann, a colleague of Albert Einstein at Princeton, is widely regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians and polymaths of the twentieth century. Formally educated in mathematics and engineering, his extraordinary intellect led to pioneering contributions across mathematics, computer science, economics, game theory, and physics. Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” remains a timeless cultural anthem, continuing to resonate with audiences across generations.
An estimated 8.6 million Jews live outside Israel, the vast majority (6.3 million) in the United States, with roughly 2.3 million spread across the rest of the world. Though this population represents a relatively small global community, its contribution to humanity arguably rivals or exceeds that of populations many times its size. In a relatively short span of time, the Jewish community outside Israel has made a lasting contribution that has shaped the way of life for people around the world. They have, in many ways, and set new paradigms globally.
Jewish people are primarily a spiritual people, given that Jesus, Mary (his mother), Mary Magdalene, Jesus’s apostles, John the Baptist, Moses, Aaron, Honi, and Joshua were all born into the Jewish community. It can be inferred from E.P. Sanders’s book The Historical Figure of Jesus that Jesus primarily touched the lives of Jewish people, given that the population of Galilee and its surrounding areas was overwhelmingly Jewish. Jerusalem, where Jesus traveled for Passover — leading to the Crucifixion — was the center of Jewish religious life, though it also had a notable Roman administrative and military presence at the time. (“Gentile” refers to people of non-Jewish faith.) Most of Jesus’s followers, including his benefactors, were Jewish — such as Joanna, Mary of Bethany, and Martha (sisters of Lazarus), among others. Sanders’s book draws primarily on the four Gospels and the letters of Paul, supplemented by the work of the historian Josephus and other material on Palestine during the Roman period — making it a carefully sourced historical account, even as Sanders treats the Gospel narratives with critical, historian’s rigor rather than at face value. In the book, Jesus comes across as a devout Jew who ministered primarily to Jewish communities. The Gospels describe him performing miracles — including healing the blind and raising the dead — which contributed significantly to his growing following, though Sanders, writing as a historian, discusses these accounts as part of the tradition rather than asserting them as verified historical fact. Based on the book, Jesus appears deeply driven to uplift the lives of the people around him, particularly Jewish communities, since the majority of his ministry and teachings were directed toward them. Jesus’s Crucifixion, at the hands of the Jewish high priest Caiaphas and the Romans — particularly Pontius Pilate — is more heavily attributed to the Romans. Sanders’s book articulates well the reasons Caiaphas tore his clothes before sending Jesus to trial before Pilate, who was known as a governor of notably harsh and morally questionable conduct. Many of the charges against Jesus were disputed by Gospel accounts as false, including the claim that he sought to destroy the Second Temple. In my personal view, Caiaphas could not match the magnitude of Jesus’s vision in elevating Judaism to a new level. Jesus, in this reading, was building the “Kingdom of Heaven” with divine purpose rooted in Jewish tradition, and represents, in my assessment, one of the pivotal figures in Judaism’s history since Moses. Had Jesus lived longer, some might speculate he could have united Israel against Roman rule and shaped new spiritual practices. While Jewish leadership played a role in the events leading to Jesus’s Crucifixion, the greater share of responsibility lies with Roman authority. Early Christianity was shaped significantly by Saint James (Jesus’s brother), Saint Peter, and Saint Paul — the latter instrumental in introducing the faith to Gentiles, who would go on to play a growing role in spreading Christianity in its later stages. In fact, early Christianity was initially preached within the framework of Judaism, with Jesus presented as the Messiah. Many of Jesus’s followers, including several apostles, are said to have died for their faith. Saint Peter, according to tradition, chose to be crucified upside down as an expression of his devotion to Jesus.
Sadly, one of history’s most remarkable peoples was marginalized for more than 2,000 years — particularly during the roughly 1,700 years following the establishment of Christianity. Jews were killed or forced to convert to other religions, including Christianity and Islam. They were barred from working in many industries, including administrative roles, and were often prohibited from owning land, relegated instead to the lowest rungs of society. A few fields — notably finance and the arts — remained open to Jewish communities, where they excelled. Because medieval Christian doctrine discouraged lending at interest as a vocation for Christians, moneylending became one of the few paths available to Jewish communities. Jewish women, renowned for their beauty and intelligence, were often subjected to sexual exploitation and enslavement. And yet, the Jewish people endured — and today represent, in my view, one of the oldest, continuously practiced religions in the world. In the last few years, Jews have worked tirelessly for the Palestinian cause and are among the strongest opponents of Israel’s occupation of Palestine. From Jewish Voice for Peace to Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss and Norman Finkelstein, prominent Jewish voices — including economist Jeffrey Sachs — have been vocal critics of Israel’s actions against Palestinians. Natalie Portman, a celebrated Jewish actress, declined a $2 million prize tied to a ceremony where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to speak, citing her unwillingness to appear to endorse his policies. In recent years, non-Zionist Jews have elevated the global reputation of Jewish moral leadership through their active stance against Israeli policy, even as some Muslim-majority countries, such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have been criticized for their more muted response. About 60 percent of Jews in America have married outside their faith, reflecting their deep integration into, and success within, broader American society. One reason for the relatively high Jewish population in America compared to other countries outside Israel traces back to British restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine in the early 20th century, which redirected many Jewish emigrants toward the United States instead — contributing to the growth and prosperity of the American Jewish community. Segments of the Jewish community have become among the world’s most influential advocates for Palestinian rights and critics of Israeli government policy. Furthermore, Jewish critics of Netanyahu have helped dismantle the narrative that Israel is the safest place for Jews to live. Today, Jews are welcomed in many countries around the world, and — in this view — their greatest source of danger comes from association with Israeli state policy rather than from antisemitism elsewhere. In my view, Israel depends far more on the support and legitimacy of the Jewish diaspora than the diaspora depends on Israel for its identity or success.
To close, I’ll share a few reflections for the non-Zionist Jewish community globally. Jews might consider visiting a synagogue at least once a month, even without holding strong religious belief, simply to honour their spiritual heritage and the legacy of Moses. They might also consider visiting a church occasionally, as a gesture of interfaith goodwill. Jewish communities might also consider working alongside Christian and other communities to help safeguard religious and civic institutions in Western countries. In a nutshell, Jewish people must continue their superlative work without fear of retribution. Since late 2022, I have been a champion of the non-Zionist Jewish community. My support signifies that righteousness and ethics stand with righteous and ethical Jews. As long as the wind blows on Earth, the world will applaud the work of non-Zionist Jews globally. Jewish people, in many ways, helped reshape modern society and established new paradigms across science, finance, culture, and public life. In the end, this is a story of resilience, contribution, and conscience. From the deserts of ancient Judea to the boardrooms, laboratories, concert halls, and meditation cushions of the modern world, Jewish communities outside Israel have shaped human progress far beyond what their numbers alone would suggest. And in an age when the actions of a state are too often mistaken for the character of a people, the willingness of so many Jews to speak with conscience — for justice, for Palestinians, for human dignity itself — stands as perhaps their most enduring contribution of all. To separate the faith from the state, and the people from their government, is not to diminish either identity — it is simply to see both more clearly. Jews helped reshape modern society and established new paradigms across numerous fields.
Disclaimer
This essay is an opinion piece that combines historical discussion, personal interpretation, and commentary on contemporary issues. While it draws on historical scholarship and publicly available information, some conclusions and assessments represent my own views and should not be interpreted as statements of objective fact. The article is intended to distinguish Jewish people—particularly the Jewish diaspora and non-Zionist Jewish communities—from the policies and actions of the State of Israel. It does not seek to generalize about, stereotype, or diminish any religious, ethnic, or national community. References to individuals and communities are intended to acknowledge their historical, cultural, intellectual, and humanitarian contributions, and should not be understood as implying that all members of any group share identical beliefs or characteristics. Any praise or criticism expressed in this essay is directed at ideas, historical developments, public institutions, or government policies rather than at entire peoples or faiths. Readers are encouraged to consult a range of historical sources and perspectives when exploring these subjects further.