The Jewish Experience

Universal human rights are integral to Judaism. The belief that every single person is created in the divine image; that the human family is one; and that we are all obliged to deal justly with each other are fundamental Jewish beliefs.  Indeed, one of the most esteemed rabbis in Jewish history – Rabbi Hillel - claimed that the entire Torah, the Hebrew Testament, could be summed up into one line ‘that which is hateful to you do not do unto others’; a thought that still underlies the Universal Human Rights Movement today.

The Jewish people’s struggle throughout their history for freedom from oppression and tyranny gives them the experience to advance universal human rights, as many of the horrors the Jews experienced are still being faced by other communities today.  These include:

•    The negation of cultural rights.
•    The denial of basic rights to education, language and religious practice.
•    Racism, discrimination and prejudice
•    The expulsion of whole communities and the denial of their rights to property and restitution.
•    Verbal and physical abuse.
•    Collective punishment.
•    Torture.
•    Genocide.
 
The Universal Declaration on Human Rights was formulated in response to these experiences, in particular the tragedy of the Holocaust, in which collectively over six million Jews, Roma, homosexuals, disabled persons and political opponents of Nazism were executed. Consequently, this experience has empowered many Jewish people to lead the advancement of human rights and freedoms for oppressed individuals and communities around the world.