My earliest memories of Judas Iscariot were of his portrayal in mediaeval paintings as a sinister figure of swarthy appearance with a stereotype hooked nose worthy of being a twin to that of Shylock. Indeed, we were told that both characters betrayed their Jewish souls for money; Shylock for a pound of Anthony´s gentile flesh and Judas for the entire body of Jesus Christ.

By contrast, the Christ is almost invariably shown as having flaxen or fair hair and a pale white skin; certainly, more Aryan than Semitic in appearance.

The four canonical gospels were written between 65 and 110 AD and were not illustrated with contemporary drawings of the protagonists. However, the triumphal Arch of Titus in Rome was constructed in 80 AD and contains a sculpted panel which shows in relief a procession of Israelites in submission after their defeat a decade earlier by the Emperor Vespasian. The characters depicted carrying a Menorah and the Torah have little in common with the mediaeval depictions of the Jewish anatomy.

In Jesus of Nazareth published in 1921, the Jewish scholar Joseph Klausner wrote “Jesus was born and died as a Jew. It never occurred to him to found a new religion. He went to synagogue “. With one exception, the twelve apostles were Judaists and preached their gospels to their fellows by repeating the poetic, compassionate and peaceful teachings of their Master even if, in several ways, these conflicted with the commandments of Jehovah.

A century later Klausner´s great nephew, the literary genius Amos Oz, extended this work by considering the narrative in the gospels which relates to the betrayal of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane whereby one of his apostles, Judas Iscariot, identified him to the police of the Sanhedrim by a kiss.

In his essay, Oz describes how he finds the premise of the gospel tale to be disturbing. Why, he asks, should Iscariot approach the temple priests and propose such a treacherous act in return for only thirty pieces of silver; worth about €500 in today´s value. Why was it necessary to identify a man who was well known to the people of Judea through his preaching and the magic of working miracles?

In his agony after the Last Supper, Jesus pleaded for deliverance from impending crucifixion but accepted that his father required this of him: Thy will be done. However, Oz views the subsequent story from a political and Messianic context as related to the historiographical setting of a Palestine under Roman rule and the existence of several resistance movements which sought freedom from the tyranny of both the occupiers and the conservative priestly class.

Judas Iscariot is considered by Oz to have been an intellectual among the apostles and responsible for the organisation of what was effectively a reform movement within Judaism. On learning of the final declarations made by Jesus, Oz concludes that the intentions of Judas were motivated by a wish to hasten the peaceful revolution by planning the arrest and thus inciting the crowd of followers to overwhelm the ruling elite. On finding that the arrest was to be followed by a death by crucifixion instead of the “kingdom of heaven here on earth”, Judas arranged his own death by hanging.

Thus, he passed into the annals of the future catholic church as the first Christian sinner whose act of treachery led to the global hatred and consequent persecution of the Hebrews and the foundation of antisemitism in the 19th century.

Obviously, the reconstruction of the Judas story and a consequent rehabilitation will offend Christians and Jews alike but it does serve to remind us that there have been many traitors who were later judged by a society with an altered philosophy. Examples are: Brutus and the assassination of Julius Caesar. Benedict Arnold – an American military hero who deserted to the British. Guy Fawkes who attempted with “gunpowder, treason and plot” to destroy the British Houses of Parliament. George Blake the MI6 master spy who denounced four hundred of his own agents. And countless little people who, for motives of hatred, love, greed and religion ruined the lives of others.

However, Judas is fixed in memory as being at the crossroads of politics, theology, faith, hope and charity in an ever-changing society.

His was not an isolated case of villainy but the donor of a kiss of a kismet which changed the world.

An Essay by Roberto Cavaleiro. Tomar. 17 March 2026