Dear Dror,



First we will cite the words of the Kuzari. In his opinion there is a hierarchy amongst those created: vegetation, inanimate, animate, man, and Jew. In his opinion the Jewish nation was genetically gifted with Divine power, which the other nations did not “merit.” This is the reason why, according to the Kuzari, the Revelation and prophecy were given to a specific nation, the nation which has the gene “Divine power,” a gene passed down genetically — the Jewish nation (essay 5:20).

As to your question of what today’s religious people think, I will cite for you the answer of Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, the chief rabbi of Ramat Gan (from the Yeshiva website). The question reads:

How can we answer one who says that the Kuzari’s words about the Jew (that he is superior to the gentile) are racist?

Answer: This superiority is more obligation than rights. Israel amongst the nations is like the heart amongst the organs. Through the blood it sends oxygen to all organs of the body. It is the strongest muscle. If it stops beating for even a minute all the organs will die. Is this sort of “superiority” racist? Is there the slightest bit of aggression or justification for abuse or sadism, G-d forbid? Or is it the opposite, meant only for humanity’s benefit?

Thus does a rabbi, serving in a public job and earning a monthly salary, say things which contradict the fundamental principles of the State of Israel without feeling his viewpoint is despicable and filthy. The State of Israel has signed the UN Charter, and it became valid on February 2, 1979, according to section 19(2). In that charter it states: ” Considering that the Charter of the United Nations is based on the principles of the dignity and equality inherent in all human beings, and that all Member States have pledged themselves to take joint and separate action, in co-operation with the Organization, for the achievement of one of the purposes of the United Nations which is to promote and encourage universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion… all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set out therein…Convinced that any doctrine of superiority based on racial differentiation is scientifically false…”

This is one of the acts which arouses great amazement and wonder. How can a country which champions the principle of the equality of all humans fund institutions which reject the equality of all humans?



Sincerely,



Daat Emet

Dear Yitzchak,



Please carefully read the essay The Jewish Nation Is The People Chosen To Fulfill The Purpose Of Creation, where you will find that Halacha does discriminate, in legal cases, between gentile and Jew.

A gentile who stole something worth a penny is liable to death while a Jew is not.

If a gentile’s ox gores a Jew’s the gentile must pay full damages, but if a Jew’s ox gores a gentile’s the Jew is exempt.

A gentile who kills a fetus in its mother’s womb is sentenced to death, but a Jew who kills a fetus in its mother’s womb is exempt.

For more details, see the essay Gentiles in Halacha.



Sincerely,



Daat Emet