Judaism was a cult, but it was a cult in the original sense of the word, meaning people who make sacrifices. In terms of the modern definition by which he has made himself into a celebrity, it definitely wasn't a cult. Judaism started out, as far as anybody can tell, as the traditions and beliefs of a particular tribe, not necessarily different than that of any other tribe and certainly something that is an intrinsic part of universal human culture. The monotheism part may be interesting, but I don't think that they can claim a monopoly on it. And a careful reading of the Old Testament I think shows that so monotheistic were they not, otherwise they wouldn't have to keep threatening their people with all kinds of abominations for worshipping the ashkerims, or whatever they were called and all that other stuff. Obviously idolatry was creating some serious competition for ole Yahweh.