- Home
- Krav Maga Blog
- Krav Instructors
- Train in Israel
- Tour Train Israel
- Krav Shop
- DVD
- Kickboxing
- IKI Near Me
- Seminars
- IKI Membership
- On-Line Training
- Krav Maga Training
- Testimonials
- History Krav Maga
- Instructors Page
- Past Blogs
- Spanish
- Italian
- Certification
- Contact
- Holland Seminar
- Vienna Seminar
- Poland Seminar
- Italy Seminar
- Belt Requirements
Biblical Economic Socialism
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
March 2, 2025, Israel
The Rosenbergs
I shared a comment on Facebook about Socialism, the idea that young Socialists today want everything you have, other than your job. Indeed, the so-called Socialists of today are a far cry from the Idealists of Russia of over a hundred years ago, ah, but that takes an understanding of history.
I do not consider myself an expert on the subject, but I have studied history, economics and the Bible, extensively. I would challenge any so-called Socialist of today to go back in time, metaphorically, to the period of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, Lev Davidovich Bronstein, Yuliy Osipovich Tsederbaum (Julius Martov), Lev Borisovich Kamenev (Rozenfeld) and describe the pain that they felt. If they cannot recognize those names immediately, well, game over, go home and study a little before wasting my time.
I can understand the early yearnings for a different economic system, but to do so one must emerse themselves in that time, understand the history of Russia, understand what it was like to live under the tsars, understand serfdom, feel the hunger of the people, the fear and oppression.
Both Socialism/Communism and Capitalism have pluses and minuses, neither is perfect. Both can lead to abuses; the difference is that over time Capitalism has succeeded in producing viable economies, successful countries while Socialism has failed everywhere, all over the world. And yet, pure Capitalism can lead to terrible abuses and a very wide economic gap. The poor, the "weaker elements", the sick, infirm and elderly, the children, must be protected in any decent civilized society.
So what is my solution? It is the Jewish solution, neither pure Capitalism nor Socialism/Communism, but a Biblical Economic system. I shall explain.
Jews have been accused over the years of being Rich, Capitalists, Bankers; the Jewish banker, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the Jew with the money! Just look at the anti-Jewish caricatures of the Nazi era, which are built on age-old stereotypes of Jews, the bearded Jew counting his gold coins, till this day you can find such paintings in Europe. These racist images are so common and accepted that many don't even realize they are extremely anti-Jewish. In America there is an expression, to "Jew someone down", i.e. to force someone into a bad deal. Due to anti-Jewish laws by the church, the Jews were forced into the professions of tax collectors, and money lenders, these in turn, made them hated targets of the non-Jews. But what did the Jews do with these anti-Jewish laws? They created the banking system, a true gift to humanity, they fostered international economic trade, they caused economies to blossom. As Robert Zimmerman wrote "He's made a garden of paradise in the desert sand, In bed with nobody, under no one's command
He's the neighborhood bully"
Yes, we were given lemons so we created an international lemon business and then we were hated for being successful. "He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth"(Robert Zimmerman, a.k.a. Bob Dylan)
But there is the other side. While Jews were criticized and condemned for being rich capitalists, they were also equally criticized for being Communists. Another Nazi slogan was to defeat the "Moscow Bolshevik Jew", i.e. Jews are Communists, and the Jews control the Soviet Union.
The same was true for the USA. Jews were accused of being rich and poor, of being Capitalists and Communists. The Rosenbergs, Julius and Ethel, we convicted of spying for the USSR and were condemned to death, becoming the first American civilians to be executed for such charges and the first to be executed during peacetime.
I recall an interview of an old, Jewish, former Communist. He said, "When you see a man in a suit and tie rummaging through the garbage looking for something to eat, you think, there must be a better way. We were looking for a better way, but in the end, we were wrong".
The Jewish tradition promotes caring about the community, thus our Capitalism and our Communism comes from the very same source, to help create a better world. The founders of the banking system, the Rothchilds, were Jews, and the founder of Communism, Karl Marx, came from a long line of Dutch and German rabbis. We care.
So what are we? Capitalists or Communists? We are both, and neither, what we are is Jewish. I shall explain.
To understand that this contradiction is no contradiction at all, you must understand Judaism and our book, the Torah, the Bible, or the so called "Old" testament. We see wealth as a blessing from God, it is not evil to be rich, is it not dirty to have money, it is a sign that God has blessed the works of your hands, but it is also a responsibility. I know many wealthy people and they are the most generous and kindest souls. Much of their time is spent distributing their wealth to many worthy causes. So yes, the Torah praises wealth. But the Torah guides us to take care of needy in our community.
The socialist Abe Cahan of the Forverts (Forward, Yiddish Socialist newspaper), (More on him later) wrote an editorial about the first Union leader, Moshe/Moses. Yes, Cahan took the passages from the book of Exodus and understood to mean that Moses must organize the people and protect their rights, he was not wrong. Judaism believes that a community must take care of all its members. I recall one of our students in Maryland, USA, a police officer, he said that after reading my book, Israel, A Nation of Warriors he finally understood the Jewish community of which he was attached to, "They don't need us" he said, they have their own self-help groups, they have an organization for everything, their own guards, Shomrim, their own emergency teams, Hatzalah, etc etc etc. Once he read my book, he understood the source of all this, The Hebrew Bible.
Now let's go back to the passage quoted by Abraham Cahan, (from the word Cohen)
"Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, 'These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do: For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death. Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.''” Exodus 35
Cahan interprets this as the first socialist gathering and Moses as the first union leader. Moshe/Moses is instructing the people, you have rights, you get a day off, and as the text continues, you have a series of laws to protect you from injury or harm. There will be compensation. Religious Jews this as Divine Guidance, Jewish Socialists see this as Moses organizing the people into a union and protecting their rights. There is no contradiction. Judaism is based on the community, as the cop from Maryland pointed out, we take care of our own, there is an organization for every cause, from newlywed women to new mothers, to handicapped children, to the deaf and blind and elderly, you name it. I recall my aunt Rose proudly telling me about her mother, a leader of the Kimpatoren, an organization devoted to helping women who just gave birth and don't have a mother around to help them, as most of these women were immigrants, their own mothers were in Poland or Hungary.
Thus Jews care about wealth and they care about the community. In Berlin, before the war, it is said that the majority of doctors were Jews, this terrible charge was made by the Nazis. How terrible! guilty as charged, we Jews produce a lot of doctors who take care of the sick, of all peoples. Again as Robert Zimmerman wrote, he "Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health". Guilty as charged.
Jews build schools and hospitals, for all people. I recall visiting my late grandmother in "Long Island Jewish", most of the patients there were not Jewish, it was for all.
Yes, Jews became leaders in banking, industry and trade. As my dear father, may he rest in peace told me, they started with small grocery stores, he worked for Mrs. Waldbaum, which eventually became the supermarket chain Waldbaum's. Note her listing - Julia Waldbaum (July 4, 1897 – September 30, 1996) was an American businesswoman and philanthropist, a co-owner of Waldbaum's supermarket chain and the company's secretary. See those two terms together? businesswoman and philanthropist. There is your answer, yes, we are capitalists, and we are also socialists, but we are really neither, we are Jews! There is no contradiction.
The idea is that when you believe in God, when you believe in mankind, when you believe in community, you don't need Government to tell you what to do! You don't need the Government to take your money and give it to others, you yourself know what the right thing to do is. Your elders taught you, by example. Levi Strauss, a great businessman was a huge philanthropist.
So Jews became captains of industry, as my father explained men who pushed pushcarts around Brooklyn eventually became CEOs of major businesses. But Jews were not only captains of industry, they were also leaders of the unions, of the workers rights. I can still recall my father singing ...Look for the union label, with pride!
Look for the union label
when you are buying that coat, dress or blouse.
Remember somewhere our union's sewing,
our wages going to feed the kids, and run the house.
We work hard, but who's complaining?
Thanks to the I.L.G. we're paying our way!
So always look for the union label,
it says we're able to make it in the U.S.A.!
For those who don't know, and you should know this, ILG is the International Ladies Garment (Worker Union).
THE EARLIEST JEWISH unions were, of course, in the garment industry, but also among cigar-makers, bakers, printers, painters, and, surprisingly, actors. Samuel Gompers was president of the American Federation of Labor for nearly forty years; Sidney Hillman became a top advisor to FDR, and the only two socialists to serve in Congress were Jews.
In 1886, even before the formation of the United Hebrew Trades, Jewish labor unions, although very small at this time, participated in a nationwide general strike to achieve the eight-hour day. Abraham Cahan, later the editor of the socialist daily Forvertz, was one of these early revolutionaries and was the first to use Yiddish to reach Jewish workers. He even translated The Communist Manifesto into Yiddish. Another socialist Jewish publication was the Yiddish paper Di Zukunft (The Future) Poet Morris Winchevsky, considered the original “sweatshop poet,” was contributing poems with both Jewish and labor-oriented themes.
Then there was the "Uprising of the 20,000". During the winter of 1909-1910 Jewish and Italian women of New York, plus a few men, led by the Innternational Ladies Garment Worker Union (ILGWU), conducted a general strike against sweatshop conditions. These included long hours, piece work, abusive supervisors, poor ventilation, and no job security.
Jews were actively involved in all aspects of the unions, but they were not seeking a free ride, nor any handouts, only fair working conditions. Jews were part of the fabric of the union movement, no pun intended. And then of course how many know that the statue the is the symbol of the United States of America contains the words of a Jewish woman!
Emma Lazarus (1849–1887)wrote the poem in 1883 for the Statue of Liberty
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
So what do I think is the best economic system? Socialism only can work in an ideal setting, such as a family. A family can share, a family can do "from each according to this ability, to each according to his need", the elderly grandmother will not starve just because she can no longer work. But in the wider society this can never work, it goes against the human nature, people need motivation. Socialism and Communism have failed in every single instance on this earth and throughout history.
But what about Capitalism? It is certainly far better, but it can be abused. The Money people can cause great suffering to those who work for them, so we need ethics, morality and compassion, but sadly, these are lacking in human beings. Governments cannot impose morality or ethics on the people, it can never work, this must come from the home, the family, a faith in something greater than oneself.
Judaism has worked over many centuries and across many lands. The wealthy believe they are blessed by God and to continue receiving this blessing they must share with the poor. I know of a wealthy man who whenever he buys a suit for his son, he also buys a suit for a poor man's son. I have heard the poorest district in the entire USA is one where Orthodox Jews live, and yet no one goes hungry, no one goes barefoot, and there is no crime. We believe in Community, we believe in religious bonds, we believe in a merciful God.
Morality cannot be dictated from governments, and economic policies can always be overcome, evaded or avoided. We need something greater, not Communism and not Capitalism, we need a faith based economic system. In our community people want to give.
I will end with a short lesson from my mother's grandmother. She was known as a righteous woman, and she was the chair-woman of many charitable organizations. People often praised her for her charitable work, her Chessed, her kindness. But she confessed to my mother, "the truth is I really want to do much more, but I am afraid people will look at me and say, Oh Look at her, what a showoff! She is president of so many organizations".
My great grandmother wanted to do more, to give more, but she was so humble she feared people might become jealous. This cannot come from any form of government, this comes from ....
Moshe Katz, 7th dan Black Belt, Israeli Krav Maga. Certified by Wingate Institute. Member Black Belt Hall of fame, USA and Europe.
Understand the Israeli Fighting Mentality - Israel a Nation of Warriors by Moshe Katz
What is the cultural background of Krav Maga? What makes it unique? What makes the Israeli military so effective? Why are Israeli security systems used all over the world?
What are the Biblical origins of Krav Maga and who was the first Krav Maga instructor?
What weapons and military strategies did our Biblical ancestors use?
How has Krav Maga developed in Israel and what are its goals?
All that and more in this unique book.
Start Your REAL Training TODAY
Or is someone coming to save you?
IKI Krav Maga online distance training - Leading to ranks and certification.
Tour and Train Israel Experience
Personal Training - If you are interested in personal Krav Maga training please contact us on the form below.
