Religious Violence in Judaism: Past and Present

Throughout Jewish history, religious tradition has had a dialectical relationship with violence. Judaism is neither more nor less violent than any other religion. In this essay, however, we offer a comprehensive and integrated survey of the components of Jewish ethos and mythos relating to violence while analyzing and illustrating their development and influence over the course of three millennia, from biblical times to the contemporary Jewish world, particularly in the Jewish State. We analyze the various transformations that Jewish religious violent norms, values, moods, and symbols have undergone, their linkage to ever-changing social and cultural circumstances, their social-political roots and implications, and their relationship to other Jewish traditions. We trace how ancient violent motifs have emerged and have been processed over time, and observe present-day violent behavior in light of these motifs. Along the way, we explicate the dynamics that characterize the tradition of Jewish religious violence and its paradoxical nature. Our argument implies a general theoretical model of religious violence that can be applied in a comparative context: Actors engage in a constant evaluation, selection, and reinterpretation of religious ideas and practices from an ever-growing reservoir and in so doing contribute to that reservoir. Religious tradition is adaptable but it also places limits on the violence agents can justify at any point in time.     

Reviews and notes

Visions of Emancipation: The Italian Workers’ Movement since 1945, by Joanne Barkan. New York: Praeger, 1984.

Socialism in History: Political Essays of Henry Pachter, edited by Stephen Eric Bronner (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984).

The Anatomy of Job Loss: The How, Why and Where of Employment Decline. Doreen Massey and Richard Meegan. (N.Y.: Methuen, 1982. Pp. viii + 258.)

Shutdown at Youngstown: Public Policy for Mass Unemployment. Terry F. Buss and F. Stevens Redburn. (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1983. Pp. xv + 219.)

The Fight Against Shutdowns: Youngstown's Steel Mill Closing. Staughton Lynd. (San Pedro: Singlejack Books, 1982. Pp. xx + 244.)

Critical Studies in Organization and Bureaucracy. Frank Fischer and Carmen Sirianni, eds. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1984.

The Politics of Terrorism. Michael Stohl, ed. 2nd ed., rev. and expanded. New York and Basel: Marcel Dekker, 1983. 473 pp.

The State as Terrorist: The Dynamics of Governmental Violence and Repression. Michael Stohl and George Lopez, eds. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1984. 202 pp.     

Sacred Time and Conflict Initiation

This article examines the manner in which rituals and symbols associated with sacred time have influenced conflict initiation. Leaders will time their attacks with sacred dates in the religious calendar if the force multiplying effects of sacred time, motivation, and vulnerability, outweigh its force dividing effects, constraint, and outrage. This is most likely to occur under three conditions: When conflict occurs across religious divides, when the sacred day is unambiguous in significance and meaning, and when rituals connected to that day will undermine an opponents’ military effectiveness. I illustrate these effects with twentieth century examples, including the timing of insurgent attacks in Iraq and the launching of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. By exploring the pervasive effects of religious calendars on modern combat, I hope to redirect the focus of the study of religion and violence away from the narrow preoccupation with fundamentalism and terrorism and onto the much broader range of cases in which religion shapes secular conflict in multiple—and often unexpected—ways.     

Parental Depressive Feelings, Parental Support, and the Serotonin Transporter Gene as Predictors of Adolescent Depressive Feelings: A Latent Growth Curve Analysis

Parental support and parental depressive feelings are found to be associated with depressive feelings in adolescent boys and girls, but results are inconsistent. In addition, the 5-HTTLPR genotype has been found to interact with environmental stressors in predicting adolescents?? depressive feelings, but this has not been examined longitudinally. Therefore, the present study examined the relationships between parental support, parental depressive feelings, and adolescent depressive feelings. In addition, the relationships between the 5-HTTLPR genotype and adolescent depressive feelings were explored, as well as gene-environment interactions. Adolescents (N = 306; Girls = 53.3%; M _{age T1} = 13.4) filled out questionnaires at five annual waves and provided saliva samples for DNA. Latent growth curve modelling (LGCM) was used to examine the baseline level and the change in depressive feelings over time. Maternal support was related to baseline levels of depressive feelings in girls, whereas paternal support was related to baseline levels in boys. Paternal depressive feelings were only related to boys?? depressive feelings at baseline, and maternal depressive feelings were not related to any outcome measures. Furthermore, no associations were found between 5-HTTLPR genotype and adolescent depressive feelings, and no gene-environment interactions emerged. Limitations of the study and implications of the findings are discussed.