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Jewish peoplehood (Hebrew: עמיות יהודית,Amiut Yehudit), also sometimes referred to asthe whole of Israel (Hebrew: כלל ישראל,Klal Yisrael),[1] is the conception of the awareness of the underlying unity that makes an individual a part of theJewish people.[2]
The concept of peoplehood has a double meaning. The first is descriptive, as a concept factually describing the existence of theJews as apeople, i.e. anethnoreligious group[3] andnation,[4] originating from theIsraelites ofancient Israel and Judah.[5] The second is normative, as a value that describes the feeling of belonging and commitment to the Jewish people.[6]
Some believe that the concept of Jewish peoplehood is a paradigm shift in Jewish life. Insisting that the mainstream of Jewish life is focused on Jewish nationalism (Zionism), they argue that Jewish life should instead focus on Jewish peoplehood.[7]
Others maintain that the concept of peoplehood has permeated Jewish life for millennia, and to focus on it does not constitute a shift from the focus on Jewish nationhood. Jews have been extremely effective in sustaining a sense of joint responsibility towards their people and its members for over 2,000 years, withpersecutions such as the expulsion ofRoman Jews from the vicinity ofJerusalem and the districts ofGophna,Herodion, andAqraba[8][9] resulting in more than 100,000 slaves[10] taken aswar captives in the aftermath of theBar Kokhba revolt which contributed to a significant rise in the historicalJewish diaspora,[11] subsequently since thelate Roman period significant recovery through common religious practices,shared ancestry, continuous communication, and population transfers betweenSephardic andAshkenazi Jews, during which time the former had a "Hebrew Golden Age",[12] subsequently though withZionist aliyah (immigration since the birth of Zionism topolitical entities in theregion of Palestine and theState of Israel) resulting in Israeli scholarEliezer Schweid warning against aZionist "negation of the Diaspora".[13][14]
At the same time, the concepts of Jews as a nation and as a peoplehood are not necessarily at odds with one another. The very concept of defining Judaism as a people or a "civilization" suggests a wide variety of values within the context of Judaism.[15]
The concept of a distinctive Jewish people has been part of Jewish culture since the development of the Hebrew Bible. Throughout theTorah, Prophets and Writings, Jews are variously referred to as a congregation, a nation, children of Israel or even a kingdom, (Eda, Uma, Am, B'nai Israel, Mamlakha respectively) all implying a connection among people.[16]
Some modern Jewish leaders in the diaspora, particularlyAmerican Jews, found the traditional conception of Jews as a "nation among the nations" problematic, posing a challenge to integration and inviting antisemitic charges ofdual loyalty. The first significant use of the "peoplehood" concept was byMordecai Kaplan, co-founder of theReconstructionist School of Judaism, who was searching for a term that would enable him to describe the complex nature of Jewish belonging. Once the State of Israel was founded, he rejected the concept of nationhood, as it had become too closely identified with statehood, and replaced it with the peoplehood concept.[18] In his workJudaism as a Civilization, Kaplan sought to define the Jewish people and religion in socio-cultural terms as well as religious ones.
Kaplan's definition ofJudaism as "an evolving religious civilization" illumines his understanding of the centrality of Peoplehood in the Jewish religion. Describing Judaism as a religious civilization emphasizes the idea that Jewish people have sought "to make [their] collective experience yield meaning for the enrichment of the life of the individual Jew and for the spiritual greatness of the Jewish people." The definition as a civilization allows Judaism to accept the principles ofunity in diversity and continuity in change. It is a reminder that Judaism consists of much that cannot be put into the category of religion in modern times, "paradoxical as it may sound, the spiritual regeneration of the Jewish people demands that religion cease to be its sole preoccupation."[19] In the sense that existence precedes essence and life takes precedence over thought, Judaism exists for the sake of the Jewish people rather than the Jewish people existing for the sake of Judaism.[15]
Kaplan's purpose in developing theJewish Peoplehood idea was to create a vision broad enough to include everyone who identified as a Jew regardless of individual approaches tothat identity.[20]
Since 2000, major Jewish organizations have embraced the peoplehood concept and intellectual interest in the topic has increased. Major organizations such as theJewish Federations of North America, the JFNA New York Federation, theJewish Agency for Israel, the Israel Ministry for Education, the Diaspora Museum, the Avi Chai Foundation, theAmerican Jewish Committee and many other smaller organizations are either introducing the peoplehood concept as an organizing principle in their organizations or initiating high-profile programming with an explicit focus on Jewish Peoplehood.[21]
Natan Sharansky, theJewish Agency’s chairman, declared that the agency’s traditional Zionist mission had outlived its usefulness. In his new capacity, he has made Israel education and promoting Jewish Peoplehood a priority, particularly among the young.[22]
Alongside the use of the peoplehood concept by Jewish organizations, there is a parallel growth of intellectual interest in the topic since 2000. The intellectual discussion asks: What is "Jewish Peoplehood"? What are the key characteristics that distinguish Jewish Peoplehood from other concepts or other ethnic or religious communities?[23]
The areas of agreement among Jewish intellectuals writing about the concept of Jewish Peoplehood point to three principles:
The three unifying principles of theJewish Peoplehood theory:
In combination, these three principles imbue the Peoplehood concept with coherence and offer an added value to organizations that wish to create programs “that build Jewish Peoplehood” in a sustainable and measurable way.[24]
There are several variants of the communitarian position among intellectuals writing about Jewish Peoplehood. The common denominator is the desire to find common ground upon which connections between Jews are built.
The four distinct positions regarding Jewish Peoplehood:
For some critics, Jewish Peoplehood is still an amorphous and abstract concept that presents an optional ideological approach towards the Jewish collective. Others wonder if it is too weak a foundation on which to base Jewish collective identity, especially since the vision of Peoplehood is not necessarily predicated on having any kind of religious or spiritual identity.[22]
The Jews are a nation and were so before there was a Jewish state of Israel
That there is a Jewish nation can hardly be denied after the creation of the State of Israel
Jews are a people, a nation (in the original sense of the word), an ethnos
Jews are a distinctive nationality of which every Jew, whatever his country, his station or shade of belief, is necessarily a member
The people of the Kingdom of Israel and the ethnic and religious group known as the Jewish people that descended from them have been subjected to a number of forced migrations in their history
The people of Judah survived, eventually becoming known as the Jews and giving their name to Judaism, the religion of Yahweh, the Israelite God.
Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites
Few would seriously challenge the belief that most modern Jews are descended from the ancient Hebrews
The phenomenon was most prominent in Judea, and can be explained by the demographic changes that this region underwent after the second Jewish revolt of 132-135 C.E. The expulsion of Jews from the area of Jerusalem following the suppression of the revolt, in combination with the penetration of pagan populations into the same region, created the conditions for the diffusion of Christians into that area during the fifth and sixth centuries.
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