“IF NOT NOW, WHEN?”: JEWISH ADVOCACY FOR FREEDOM OF RELIGION

Abstract

Particularism, universalism, and realism are core components of modern Jewish advocacy for international religious freedom and other human rights. The most prominent and successful particularist Jewish advocacy movement was the push for Jews to be allowed to depart from the Soviet Union. Jewish advocates have supported efforts that guarantee universal human rights through bodies like the OSCE and the United Nations, and they have spoken out against the “defamation of religions” resolutions. In the United States, Jewish leaders contributed to the success of the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) and to the activities of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).