There was no effort by any Jewish thinker to tame the effects of warfare or to place realistic restrictions on the warring parties. As Jews had no army or tradition of fighting and were not involved in military service or a party to such conflicts except incidentally, no theories developed. Even in periods of Jewish history when there was more contact with the surrounding intellectual world, the discussions of Christian and Islamic thinkers on warfare were not noticed by Jewish scholars. Wherever Jews lived, they prayed for their rulers and in times of war for the success of their armies. In modern times such prayers are found in all prayer books. Nowadays they often also include Israel and the Israeli conflicts.
Throughout this long history, no theories of pacifism were created. Although peace remains an ideal and continues to be mentioned often in public and private prayer as well as sermons. No theological, philosophical, or halakhic basis for pacifism developed. Within the Reform movements of the last two centuries some vague stirrings toward pacifism emerged but never with much of a following.
In the contemporary world efforts to create a Jewish system of military ethics continue to be made. Most try to base themselves on Maimonides as well as the various talmudic statements which dealt with self defense and the duty to save the life of one’s neighbor. Those statements, however reflect non-military situations.
As we approach this topic within this volume, we will see that warfare has remained on the periphery of Jewish religious discussion until the creation of the State of Israel . There the focus has been narrow and dealt with specific situations. There is no“just war” theory. As warfare affects Jews in the Diaspora and Israel we cannot avoid coming to terms with it or engaging in discussions with nonJewish thinkers who have tried to work out a series of approaches through the centuries.