In the July edition of the Cape Jewish Chronicle, our regular columnist Julian Resnick posed a question regarding whether a Jewish state is necessary, and he then quoted the responses to the question from “five significant Jews, all long gone”. If you read the article – or if you’d still like to read it, you can do so by clicking here – you are probably interested to find out who each of the responses is attributed to.
So, here is the list:
Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677), a groundbreaking Dutch-Jewish philosopher, who was a leading figure of the Enlightenment. He is best known for his radically naturalistic views on God and nature, and his pioneering work in biblical criticism and political philosophy.
Albert Einstein (1879–1955): a German-born theoretical physicist widely regarded as the most influential scientist of the 20th century. He revolutionised our understanding of the universe by developing the general and special theories of relativity and is globally famous for his mass-energy equivalence formula E=mc².
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), an Austrian neurologist who founded psychoanalysis, a revolutionary method for treating mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind. He fundamentally shaped modern psychology and popular culture by highlighting the profound impact of hidden, irrational drives on human behaviour.
Rabbi Akiva (c. 50–135 CE), one of the most influential sages in Jewish history. Starting his life as an uneducated shepherd, he began studying the Torah as an adult. He went on to become a chief architect of rabbinic Judaism, shaping the Mishnah and Midrash.
Theodor Herzl (1860 –1904). He was a Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of modern political Zionism. Herzl established the Zionist Organisation, promoting Jewish immigration to Ottoman-controlled Palestine in order to form a Jewish state. He is officially referred to as ‘the spiritual father of the Jewish State’.
