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What Sir Thomas More Teaches Us About the World and Judaism Today
The altar area of Canterbury Cathedral in England. Photo: Peter K Burian / CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
I was always interested in history — and being from England, especially English history. One of the most significant eras there was the 16th century. After years of disastrous infighting in the Wars of the Roses, Henry 7th and then Henry 8th began to stabilize English society and lay the foundations for the empire that was to follow. As we know, Henry 8th had six wives. As the saying went, “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.”
Henry was not only a cruel tyrant, but also horrible to his counselors. The two most significant after Cardinal Wolseley were Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) and Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540), both of whom were beheaded.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) initiated the Protestant split with Rome when he pinned his 95 articles on the gates of Wittenberg Cathedral. Sir Thomas More, loyal to the Pope, wrote a fierce rebuff and encouraged Henry to write a defense of the Catholic Church for which he was given the title “ Defender of the Faith” (abbreviated in its Latin to FidDef). This is still used by English monarchs.
When Henry wanted to get rid of his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, the Pope refused. Henry broke with Rome and set up the Church of England, and expected everyone else to follow him and accept him as the religious head of the Church (and thus defy the Catholic Church). To this day, the English Monarch is still head of the Church of England, which may explain why it has become such a pathetic disaster (although I think King Charles happens to be a good guy but certainly no saint).
Thomas More was a giant in English society — not just because of his political prowess and brilliance, but also because he had written a major work of English literature, Utopia, which described a mythical perfect world that was both a political satire and an aspirational dream of a perfect society. Sir Thomas was conflicted over whether to stand firm on his principles and face death or capitulate and obey his monarch. He refused to capitulate, and it cost him his life.
The unstable history of religious turmoil only ended when Henry’s daughter, Elizabeth, stabilized the country at home and survived the attempts of Catholic Spain to remove her. And by the way, there were no Jews allowed to live in England in those days, so you can’t blame them.
In 1960, the dramatist Robert Bolt produced a remarkable play called A Man for All Seasons, about Sir Thomas More as a brilliant, stable counterforce to the unpredictability of his master, King Henry, and his struggle, moral and religious. It was subsequently made into a very successful and award-winning feature film.
Much has been written about Thomas More. But in our days, he is known by most people from Hilary Mantel’s brilliant historical novel Wolf Hall, which was turned into a widely watched and praised television series that dramatizes the relationship between More and Thomas Cromwell, his pupil and then nemesis.
My interest in it is because I see so much of the present struggle between religious and political fanaticism and extremism not only in general, but also in Jewish religious life today. There are those who absolutely refuse to budge, see another point of view, and even resort to violence — although no one has been beheaded yet.
As for Martin Luther, he claimed he stood for a new open-minded version of Christianity in reaction to the corrupt Catholic authority of Rome, which only allowed the priesthood to determine what ideas and interpretations were acceptable. Luther wanted the Bible to be accessible to everyone, in a way to democratize religion. Initially he hoped the Jews would join him because we encouraged everyone to have access to our holy books. But when we politely refused, Luther turned into one of the most despicable antisemites.
That is one of the reasons why so many (not all of course) religions that sprang from us are uncomfortable with our independence, and end up being so antagonistic to Jews. Precisely because we are different and stand out in following our own paths. Most people don’t like those who disagree. There are many who die each year solely for their religion.
I wonder whether despite our technological and scientific advances, we are not as primitive, addicted to power, and as bloodthirsty as people were back then. In the end, we might say these religious upheavals laid the ground for a better world. Sadly, now it looks like we are being taken back to the Middle Ages.
The author is a rabbi based in New York.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.