"Jewish morality" is a specific name for universal human values!

I love birds and live in a forest full of them. Yet humans have introduced cats in abundance, and every week I encounter a bird that has met an unfortunate end in an encounter with a cat. A housecat doesn’t need birds in its already rich diet. Are cats evil?

Cats lack accountability to others and likely have no way to engage with such concepts—they lack self-awareness. However, animals that live in groups have developed bonds with their kind, and some even rely on cooperative behavior for evolutionary survival. Studies show that self-aware animals like elephants and certain primates can recognize and resist injustice, akin to children saying, "That’s not fair."

This introduction aims to clarify two foundations of our morality: empathy, which includes anger at the violation of norms, and what might be called evolutionary responsibility and love for our family, community, nation, and eventually all humanity. This is why humans often help strangers without knowing them.

The second foundation, sharpened since the Enlightenment, is the belief in humans as rational beings capable of doing good. Rooted in the idea that humans were created "in the image" of the sublime God—implying equal potential—this evolved into recognition of human intellect. It is an aspiration toward an abstract ideal of goodness or perfection: the divine justice and righteousness of Abraham (without reliance on his flawed earthly entourage), which is the morality of the prophets.

In the Western world (at least there), faith in human reason has taken root, along with liberty and equality. Thanks to thinkers like Spinoza, human rights and democracy emerged—a peculiar and fragile system requiring education while distributing power among all people to prevent tyranny.

However, no one is born a "citizen of the world." Without language or community, we cannot develop norms or rational awareness at all. We depend on our tribe—be it our nation or culture—which I call "Judaism."

Our Jewish culture has uniquely emphasized belief in humanity, perhaps due to its universal symbol: an abstract God. This parallels Western philosophy—or more accurately—our scholars were part of it. Thus, belief in humanity is entirely Jewish too. It’s like Passover: uniquely Jewish with our stories but clearly modeled on a Greek symposium.

Through cultural narratives that nurture this belief, we can strengthen recognition of the humanity in every person. The problem with morality is its many logical contradictions. Can morality help us choose between saving one child or one parent? The answer is that morality is not reality but rather an ideal to strive toward. John Lennon imagined this dream as our prophets did: "And it shall come to pass in the last days..."

Faith in reason faces reality, where no one possesses perfect intellect or absolute truth—not even Jews (excluding dogmatic minorities). If one group claims monopoly over truth, equality becomes impossible, leading quickly to domination and violence.

On the other hand, life without a universal moral utopia leads to loss of faith in humanity—and ultimately life itself. Absolute relativism is a violent abyss. If Jewish morality were relative only to our culture, it would end in subjugation and violence. The more violent our morality becomes, the more it will turn against us. This doesn’t mean embracing criminals but standing firmly against them based on our values! "Jewish morality" is a personal name for universal human values adopted into our culture.

Conflicts and atrocities like those on October 7th are moments for haters, avengers, messianists, and nationalists—who paradoxically benefit from the haters and avengers on the other side. The sight of atrocities not only erases complex thought but makes complexity itself seem threatening—as if it undermines absolute death’s certainty and thus becomes complicit in horrors (many nationalists label believers in humanity as "sick," akin to fascist tendencies historically targeting Jews). Yet belief in humanity isn’t sick—it merely suffers from inherent complexity. Dependent on humans, it remains skeptical yet anchored by hope for truth—even if we never fully grasp it.

One might say rational behavior is as natural to us as bird hunting is for cats. Spinoza argued this too, calling human reason freedom.

We face winds of disbelief in humanity, its reason, and freedom—from murderous terror to indifferent "neutralization," from religious fanaticism to despairing machines poisoning any approach toward truth. Will this dark tide prevail?

To date, people have queued for nations prioritizing belief in humanity (most Western countries) over those that lost it (Yemen, Afghanistan). Israel has joined the family of freedom-loving nations too. Most Israelis today identify with natural values: belief in humanity, liberty, and equality.

Our Jewish story is well summarized in Israel's Declaration of Independence. Now is the time to stand against those undermining these beliefs and proudly declare: "WE are the Judaism of the Declaration of Independence."

Dr. Oren Yahi-Shalom is the author of "Shema Yisrael – Secular Judaism from Maimonides to Ahad Ha’am" and one of the founders of the "WE Are the Judaism of the Declaration of Independence" initiative.