Tomer Persico (; born May 7, 1974) is an Israeli scholar of religion, writer, and public intellectual. His research and public writing focus on the history of ideas, Jewish modern identity, forms of secularization and religiosity, and the liberal order, with particular attention to the theological origins of modern notions of individualism, rights, and autonomy. He is also recognized for his contributions to Jewish mysticism and meditation, as well as his involvement in contemporary debates on religion and politics in Israel and the West.
Biography Tomer Persico grew up in a secular family in Nave Sha'anan, Haifa.(November 10, 2021). Prof. David Assaf and Tomer Persico (29:26 minutes) Question and Answer Season 2 | Episode 6 - David and Tomer. Kan 11. Upon completing his military service, he went on a two-year trip to India. There, he was exposed to Meditation, Buddhism, and Eastern religions.Amir Freimann (May 31, 2010). "No political revolution will create a new man". Ynet. In 1997, he returned to Israel and earned a BA in the department of philosophy at the University of Haifa,Tomer Persico (2010). Story Database. Gesher Fund Film. p. 5. while simultaneously becoming closer to traditional Judaism. Today, he considers himself religious.Yuval Plotkin (June 14, 2021). Tomer Persico: "There is a constant suspicion toward those wearing a kippah". Yedioth Ahronoth. In 2004, he submitted his Master’s thesis to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, under the supervision of Guy Stroumsa, titled: "The Return - A Model of Mystical Ascension as Demonstrated Through the Works of R. Abraham Isaac Kook and Meister Eckhart.", completing his Master's degree with honors.Persico's thesis. National Library of Israel. In 2012, he submitted his doctoral dissertation as part of the contemporary religions program at Tel Aviv University. The dissertation, supervised by Prof. Ron Margolin, was titled: "Jewish Meditation - The Development of Modern Spiritual Practices in Contemporary Judaism."Persico's dissertation. National Library of Israel. From 2014 to 2015, he conducted Post-doctoral research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, J. R Elyachar Center for Studies in Sepharadi Heritage.“The Privatization of Religion and the Sanctification of the State: The Fracture of the Zionist Narrative and its Corollaries,” Akdamot 30, 2015, pp. 51–64 (Hebrew). p. 51.
Persico worked as a high-school teacher of bible and Israeli culture at the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa and conducted courses at the Avshalom Institute and the Open University’s "Ascolot" program. He taught at the Secular Yeshiva in Jerusalem and the BINA Beth midrash in Jerusalem. He lectured at the school of philosophy at Tel Aviv University on New Age culture and its manifestations in contemporary Judaism.Shahar Smooha (September 6, 2012). Buddhism, Judaism, and Spirituality: Tomer Persico 'Saves God'. Globes. He served as the academic director of Alma: Home for Hebrew Culture (Tel Aviv, Israel)(June 15, 2016). Welcoming Shabbat with Dov Elbaum - Parashat " Behaalotecha" Guest: Dr. Tomer Persico. Kan 11, formerly Israel Broadcasting Authority. and Kolot Beit Midrash.Yitzhak Tessler (November 1, 2022). "Jerusalem is Everything": Meet Dr. Tomer Persico, Who is in Love with the Capital City. MyNet Jerusalem.
Since 2015, he has been a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute. Between 2018 and 2021, he served as the Koret visiting assistant professor of Jewish and Israel Studies, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Helen Diller Institute at the University of California, Berkeley and the Shalom Hartman Institute Bay Area scholar in residence.2020–2021 Visiting Faculty, Helen Diller Institute UC Berkeley. From 2021 to 2026, he was a Rubinstein fellow Dr Tomer Persico. Israel Hayom. and chief editor of the 'Challenges of Democracy' book series for the Rubinstein Center for constitutional challenges at Reichman University, editing seven books on Liberalism and Democracy in Israel, including one by former Chief Justice of Israel’s Supreme Court, Aharon Barak.Book series by Tomer Persico.
He has written hundreds of opinion articles in Haaretz,Haaretz articles by Persico and Ynet,Persico articles in Ynet The Washington Post,(December 7, 2017). What Trump said in his Jerusalem address that should appeal to Muslims. WaPo. Israel Hayom,(February 18, 2025). Terrorism does not justify deportation. Israel Hayom. The Times of Israel,Persico's articles. The Times of Israel. Persuasion,(November 20, 2023). The New Antisemitism. Persuasion. +972 Magazine,Tomer Persico in 972+. The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles,Persico's articles in the Jewish Journal. Shakuf,(December 18, 2024). The Key to Redemption: Understanding that we lack intellect and relinquishing intellectual independence. Shakuf. HaAyin HaShevi'it,Persico's articles in HaAyin HaShevi'it. NRG360,Persico's articles in Nrg. and Mako.Persico's articles in Mako.
He conducts Jewish weddings to provide an alternative to Israel’s Chief Rabbinate.Ayelet Shani (June 9, 2016). Tomer Persico: "We are deteriorating from a democracy to an ethnocracy". Haaretz.
Personal life Tomer Persico resides in Talpiot, Jerusalem with his wife and two boys. His wife, Yael Yechieli, directs the "5050 Partnership and Gender Equality" initiative.Shlomit Sharvit Barzilay (January 19, 2023). The Goal: 50:50 Women and Men Everywhere Decisions are Made. Ynet.
Books Author The Jewish Meditative Tradition (Hebrew, Tel Aviv University Press, 2016) This book analyzes the historical progression of Jewish meditative traditions and their contemporary integration into a framework of psychological interiority. By applying a systematic typology to practices spanning from the Second Temple era to Hasidism, the study identifies a shift in the Western religious landscape toward the prioritization of internal experience over external ritual. Persico evaluates the pedagogical approaches of seven modern spiritual figures—Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, Menachem Eckstein, Aryeh Kaplan, Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Israel Isaac Besancon, Erez Moshe Doron, and Yitzchak Ginsburgh—to determine the precise balance of traditional continuity and modern innovation within their respective systems.
In God's Image: How Western Civilization Was Shaped by a Revolutionary Idea [Hebrew], Tel Aviv: Yedioth Sefarim, 2021, [English], New York University Press, 2025. This book examines Western intellectual history through the evolution of the biblical concept of the "Image of God," identifying it as the foundational catalyst for modern individualism, liberty, and secularization. By tracing the development of human autonomy from Hebrew scripture through Christian thought, the study demonstrates how this theological premise underpinned the rise of human rights, abolitionism, and the eventual emergence of the liberal order. The research posits that the West's global hegemony is fundamentally rooted in a unique form of individualism derived from this concept, which ironically facilitated secularist shifts and the institutional separation of religion and state while driving unprecedented societal prosperity.
The English edition of the book was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal,Ana Siljak (October 24, 2025). ‘In God’s Image’ Review: Sharing a Sacred Form. The Wall Street Journal. Christianity Today,Nadya Williams (July 31, 2025). Remaking God’s Image in the Image of Secular Society. Christianity Today. Publishers Weekly,(July 2025). In God’s Image: How Western Civilization Was Shaped by a Revolutionary Idea. Publishers Weekly. The New Criterion,Anatoly Grablevsky (September 23, 2025). In God’s Image: How Western Civilization Was Shaped by a Revolutionary Idea. The New Criterion. and Library Journal.Marjorie Mann (July 2025). Book review of 'In God's Image'. Library Journal.
Liberalism: Its Roots, Values and Crises [Hebrew], Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir, 2024; Liberalismus: Seine Wurzeln, Grundsätze und Krisen [German], NZZ Libro. 2025. This book examines the historical foundations of liberalism since the late Middle Ages, defining it as a political framework predicated on the protection of individual autonomy through universal rights and the limitation of state intervention. By identifying essential human equality before the law as the movement’s core logic, he evaluates the current crisis of identity facing the liberal order following its post–Cold War hegemony. The study investigates how contemporary opposition—ranging from right-wing populism to radical anti-liberalism and religious fundamentalism—exploits this instability, concluding with a localized assessment of these global tensions within the Israeli context and proposing potential recovery strategies.
Editor The Jubilee Haggadah, SISO and Tel Aviv: The Israeli Center for Libraries, 2017.
Selected articles Persico argues that Zionism maintains a complex relationship with the Temple Mount. While secular Zionists historically prioritized pragmatism and shunned religious holy sites, and while right-wing groups emphasized sovereignty and saw the Temple Mount as a national focal point, religious Zionists only recently shifted from their stance of avoidance to active engagement. He surveys these evolving attitudes, examining the site's role as an ethnonational focal point within the context of secularization.“The End Point of Zionism: Ethnocentrism and the Temple Mount", Israel Studies Review, Vol. 32, No. 1, Summer 2017, pp. 104–122. In his view, Hasidism remains a primary resource for Jewish spiritual renewal. As a modern revival movement, its theological and ethical frameworks are frequently adapted by both observant and nonobservant thinkers. This contemporary appropriation, termed Neo-Hasidism, represents a conscious effort to utilize Hasidic elements for spiritual revitalization.“Neo-Hasidic Revival: Expressivist Uses of Traditional Lore,” Modern Judaism, Vol. 34, No. 3, October 2014, pp. 278–308. Persico asserts that to address the contemporary demand for inner spiritual development, Breslov leadership has modified Hitbodedut meditation to align with New Age spiritual trends. Contemporary teachers adapt Rabbi Nachman’s original practice by incorporating external elements while omitting traditional components. He examines the socio-political motivations behind these reinterpretations and the resulting complications within the Breslov framework.“Hitbodedut for the New Age: Adaptation of Hitbodedut Meditation among the Contemporary Followers of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov,” Israel Studies Review, Vol. 29, No. 2, Winter 2014, pp. 99–117. Persico explored the "utilitarian self" that, since the 1990s, has emerged within Israeli spirituality, blending Romanticism and Enlightenment rationalism through capitalist instrumental reason. Visible in Neo-Kabbalah and Neo-Hasidic movements, this framework treats spiritual practice as a technical means to optimize internal capabilities and external life conditions.“Neo-Hasidism & Neo-Kabbalah in Israeli Contemporary Spirituality: The Rise of the Utilitarian Self,” Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, Spring 2014, pp. 31–54.