what is freemasonry and relation to the jews

Freemasonry is a fraternal order requiring a belief in a Supreme Being and the practice of morality, welcoming virtuous men regardless of their specific religious persuasion 1. In English Craft Masonry, Jewish members began joining during the eighteenth century partly to ease assimilation into British society 1. To enable adherents of different faiths to participate without compromising their beliefs, the United Grand Lodge of England removed explicitly Christian allusions from most Craft rituals following the Union of 1813, establishing a non-sectarian basis in the 1815 Constitutions 1.

This de-Christianization of the Craft degrees involved replacing references to the two Saints John with Moses and Solomon, and addressing God as the Supreme Being or Heavenly Architect rather than God the Son 1. As Robert Peter notes, critics and commentators described this shift as an effective Judaization of Craft symbolism, which provoked resistance among some Antient masons and independent lodges that retained Christian ritual systems 1. J.S.M. Ward observed that removing Christian elements from the Craft degrees led to their preservation within higher degrees 1.

During the twentieth century in continental Europe, anti-Masonic rhetoric frequently linked Freemasonry with Judaism. Totalitarian regimes, including the Nazis and Fascists, coupled their anti-Semitic campaigns with violent persecution of Freemasons, pillaging lodge rooms and attacking members 2. Opponents such as Abbé Gruber criticized the fraternity for its humanitarianism—specifically its principle of treating all individuals with respect regardless of race or religion 2.