To the extent that Jewish theologians are engaged with contemporary academic philosophy, they tend to favor the “Continental” approach rooted in the French and German philosophical traditions. Samuel Lebens calls on Jewish thinkers instead to apply the methods of “analytical” philosophers—those thinkers, mostly English-speaking, whose work is based on formal logic, precise language, and basic concepts. He admits this sounds counterintuitive:

One might think that to engage in a systematic program of outlining what it is that Judaism believes is to misunderstand what Judaism is about. Unlike Christianity, Judaism shirks systematization. What binds Jews together, apart from various ethnic, cultural, and national ties, has always had much more to do with what we do than what we believe. We don’t have a history of councils gathering together to decide on an issue of theology or metaphysics, as the Christians have. If we had any councils gathering together, they were more likely to decide upon a matter of law than upon a matter of belief. . . .

Nonetheless, the danger of systematizing an unsystematic religion can be overcome in [several] ways.

One route would have the analytic philosopher of Judaism develop a conception of a faith that eschews doctrine—[that is,] give an analytic account of why religion is not the sort of thing that propositional doctrines can aptly govern. An analytical philosophy that describes, in a principled and well-argued fashion, when and where the strictures of analytic philosophy are best left behind is still an attempt at analytic philosophy!

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.