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Jewish peoplehood (Hebrew: עמיות יהודית, Amiut Yehudit) is the awareness of the underlying unity that makes an individual Jew a part of the Jewish people.[1]
The concept of peoplehood has a double meaning. The first is descriptive, as a concept factually describing the existence of the Jews as a people. The second is normative, as a value that describes the feeling of belonging and commitment to the Jewish people.[2]
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 Zionism, they argue that Jewish life should instead focus on Jewish peoplehood.[3]
Others maintain that the concept of peoplehood, or "Klal Yisrael" has permeated Jewish life for millennia, and to focus on it does not constitute a shift. Jews have been extremely effective in sustaining for over 2,000 years, a sense of joint responsibility towards their people and its members.[4]
At the same time, the concepts of peoplehood and Zionism 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.[5]
The concept of a distinctive Jewish people or Peoplehood has been part of the culture through the centuries of development of the Bible. Throughout the Torah, Prophets and Writings, Jews are variously referred to as a congregation, a nation, children of Israel or even a kingdom, all implying a connection among people.[6]
"And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you, and to your seed after you". Genesis 17:7/8[7]
"There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from those of every people". Esther 3:8[8]
"In each generation every individual should feel as though he or she had actually been redeemed from Egypt". The Haggadah[9]
"Kol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh" – "All Israelites are sureties for one another". Talmud Shevuot 39a[10]
The first significant use of the Peoplehood concept was by Mordecai Kaplan, a 20th-century Jewish thinker, who was searching for a term that would enable him to describe the complex nature of Jewish belonging. In his work Judaism as a Civilization, Kaplan sought to define the Jewish people and religion in socio-cultural terms as well as religious ones. 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.[11]
Kaplan’s definition of Judaism 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 of unity 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."[12] 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.[5]
Kaplan's purpose in developing the Jewish Peoplehood idea was to create a vision broad enough to include everyone who identified as a Jew regardless of individual approaches to that identity.[13]
Since 2000, major Jewish organizations have embraced the Peoplehood concept and intellectual interest in the topic has increased. Major organizations such as the Jewish Federations of North America, the JFNA New York Federation, the
The proponents of Canaanism, a movement developed by nationalist immigrants to the British Mandate, on the other hand, rejected "Jewish peoplehood", saying that Judaism is a religion, not a nation. Canaanists such as Yonatan Ratosh described themselves as "Hebrews", using an explicitly non-religious self-description. They felt that Judaism, as a religion, was not rooted to the land of Israel as Hebrew ethnic identity.[19][20]
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 predicated on having any kind of religious or spiritual identity.[15]
The four distinct positions regarding Jewish Peoplehood:
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.
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.[17]
The three unifying principles of the Jewish Peoplehood theory:
The areas of agreement among Jewish intellectuals writing about the concept of Jewish Peoplehood point to three principles:
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?[16]
Natan Sharansky, the Jewish 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.[15]
[14]