[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-37910-en":3,"doc-seo-37910-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":11,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},37910,2336464648746,"Skyler","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c",9,"Religion & Spirituality","Rabbi John Rayner Ethical Zionism and Israel","Rabbi John Rayner is presented as a leading advocate of ethical Zionism, linking his views on Israel to Judaism and Jewish ethics. Judaism’s three pillars—truth, justice, and peace—shape his emphasis on gentler, outward-looking values that Jews should model to guide humanity toward justice and peace. Ethical Zionism is grounded in Jewish values, so Israel’s external relations should reflect them, and when conduct conflicts with ethics, Jewish ethical principle prevails over pragmatism and expediency. ","raBBI JoHN raYNEr, EtHICaL ZIoNISM aNd ISraEL  \nAvi Shlaim*  \nabstract  \nRabbi John Rayner was an eminent proponent of ethical Zionism. His views about Israel are related in this article to his views about Judaism and Jewish ethics. The three pillars of Judaism are: truth, justice and peace. Rabbi Rayner personified these values to a remarkable degree. The common thread that runs through his countless sermons and articles was the emphasis on the gentler and more outward-looking values of Judaism.  \nIt is by cultivating and exemplifying these values, he believed, that Jews could best help humanity find signposts to justice and peace, not only in the Middle East but everywhere. Ethical Zionism, as understood by Rabbi Rayner, is based on Jewish values. The State of Israel is the main political progeny of the Zionist movement. It follows that the State of Israel ought to reflect Jewish values in its external relations. In the event of a clash between Israeli behaviour and Jewish ethics, Rabbi Rayner invariably came down on the side of Jewish ethics. He consistently placed principle above pragmatism and morality above expediency. He was an honest and courageous man who always spoke truth to power.  \nRabbi John Rayner’s views about Israel cannot be separated from his views about Judaism and Jewish ethics. The Mishnah teaches that ‘the world rests on three pillars: truth, justice, and peace’. Rabbi Rayner was a remarkable man who personified these values to a remarkable degree. The common thread that runs through his countless sermons and articles was the emphasis on the gentler and more outward-looking values of Judaism. It is by cultivating and exemplifying these values, he believed, that Jews could best help humanity find signposts to justice and peace, not only in the Middle East but everywhere.  \nEthical Zionism, as understood by Rabbi Rayner, is based on Jewish values. The State of Israel is the main political progeny of the Zionist movement. It follows that the State of Israel ought to reflect Jewish values in its external relations. In the event of a clash between Israeli behaviour and Jewish ethics,  \n*avi Shlaim is Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford and author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (W. W. Norton, 2000) .  \nEuropean Judaism Volume 45, Number 1, Spring 2012: 28–35  \nDoi:10.3167/ej.2012.45.01.05 ISSN 0014–3006 (Print), ISSN 1752–2323 (Online)  \nAvi Shlaim  \nRabbi Rayner invariably came down on the side of Jewish ethics. Some of his critics, however, were of the ‘My country, right or wrong’ variety—the country being Israel. This was the underlying source of at least some of the disputes that Rabbi Rayner had with other members of the British-Jewish community in the course of his long and distinguished career.  \nIn a 2001 talk on ‘The Ethical Issues Surrounding the Middle East’, Rabbi Rayner began by noting that Judaism is a strongly ethical religion and that central to it is the belief in a moral God who demands that human beings shall act morally towards one another (Rayner 2006: 247-57) . The basic principles of Jewish ethics, he said, are, first, the dignity of every human being and, second,‘You should love your neighbour as yourself’. In short, we are required to treat our fellow men and women with respect, and to seek their welfare. Like any ethical code worthy of its name, this one is universal in application. Like other ethical codes, however, Judaism is primarily concerned with individuals rather than collectivities. But the same principles should apply to nations as well. A nation is commonly regarded as entitled to pursue its own self-interest, with little or no regard for other nations. The only code it is supposed to observe is the non-ethical one of realpolitik.  \nRabbi Rayner disagreed. He thought that the moral principles that apply to personal relations should also govern international relations. But he admitted that the full implications of that princ","cbCaib9KuTtwGE6I","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaib9KuTtwGE6I","pdf",239782,2,1,"English","en",105,"# Ethical Zionism and Jewish Ethics\n## Judaism’s Pillars: Truth, Justice, Peace\n## Ethical Governance in Israel’s External Relations\n# Jewish Ethics Applied to the Middle East Conflict\n## Universal Moral Principles and International Law\n## Competing Claims to Palestine","[{\"question\":\"What values form Rabbi John Rayner’s understanding of ethical Zionism?\",\"answer\":\"Ethical Zionism is presented as based on Jewish values, especially the three pillars of Judaism: truth, justice, and peace. Rayner emphasized gentler, outward-looking Jewish ethics as the guiding thread in his sermons and articles.\"},{\"question\":\"How should the State of Israel relate to Jewish ethics according to Rayner?\",\"answer\":\"Israel, described as the main political progeny of the Zionist movement, ought to reflect Jewish values in its external relations. When Israeli behavior clashes with Jewish ethics, Rayner sides with Jewish ethics.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does Rayner argue that Jewish ethical principles should apply beyond personal life?\",\"answer\":\"Rayner maintains that the moral principles governing personal relations should also govern international relations. He also notes that full implications are less developed for nations than for personal ethics, requiring supplementation with international law and UN resolutions.\"}]",1783056465,23,{"code":4,"msg":30,"data":31},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":32,"title":13,"keywords":33,"description":14,"schema_data":34,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":27},"rabbi-john-rayner-ethical-zionism-and-israel","",{"@graph":35,"@context":84},[36,52,67],{"@type":37,"itemListElement":38},"BreadcrumbList",[39,43,46,49],{"item":40,"name":41,"@type":42,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":44,"name":45,"@type":42,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":47,"name":12,"@type":42,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/religion-spirituality/",3,{"item":50,"name":13,"@type":42,"position":51},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/rabbi-john-rayner-ethical-zionism-and-israel/37910/",4,{"url":50,"name":13,"@type":53,"author":54,"headline":13,"publisher":56,"fileFormat":59,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":60,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":59,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":55},"Person",{"url":40,"name":57,"@type":58},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-09","2026-07-03",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"What values form Rabbi John Rayner’s understanding of ethical Zionism?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"Ethical Zionism is presented as based on Jewish values, especially the three pillars of Judaism: truth, justice, and peace. Rayner emphasized gentler, outward-looking Jewish ethics as the guiding thread in his sermons and articles.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"How should the State of Israel relate to Jewish ethics according to Rayner?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"Israel, described as the main political progeny of the Zionist movement, ought to reflect Jewish values in its external relations. When Israeli behavior clashes with Jewish ethics, Rayner sides with Jewish ethics.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"Why does Rayner argue that Jewish ethical principles should apply beyond personal life?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"Rayner maintains that the moral principles governing personal relations should also govern international relations. He also notes that full implications are less developed for nations than for personal ethics, requiring supplementation with international law and UN resolutions.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":50,"og:type":86,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":57,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":88,"canonical":50},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":91},[92,96,100,104,109,114,119,124,127,130,134],{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":51,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":120,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":123},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":129},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":133},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":135,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":137},19,"General","general"]