Jewish peoplehood (Hebrew: עמיות יהודית,
Amiut Yehudit) is the conception of the awareness
of the underlying unity that makes an individual
a part of the Jewish people.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.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, Jewish nationalism,
they argue that Jewish life should instead
focus on Jewish peoplehood.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
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.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.
== Jewish writings ==
The concept of a distinctive Jewish people
has been part of Jewish culture since the
development of the Hebrew 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."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"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"In each generation every individual
should feel as though he or she had actually
been redeemed from Egypt".
The Haggadah"Kol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh"
– "All Israelites are sureties for one another".
Talmud Shevuot 39a
== Jewish nationhood ==
Goy גוי, in Biblical Hebrew, literally
means "nation", and historically Jews are
most commonly described with variations of
this concept.
In Genesis 12:2, God promises Abraham that
his descendants will form a goy gadol ("great
nation").
In Exodus 19:6, the Jews are referred to as
a goy kadosh (גוי קדוש), a "holy nation".
One of the more poetic descriptions of the
Jewish people in the Hebrew Bible, and popular
among Jewish scholarship, is goy ehad b'aretz,
or "a unique nation upon the earth!"
(2 Samuel 7:23 and 1 Chronicles 17:21).
The "nation" concept refers not just to a
territorial or political entity, ie the Kingdom
of Judah, but in the ancient sense meaning
a group of people with a common history, a
common destiny, and a sense of connection
to one another, an ethnos.
The nationhood concept adhered to the biblical
and religious identification as a chosen people,
a holy nation set apart from the other nations
in obedience to the One God.
This conception of Jewishness helped to preserve
the Jewish people during the diaspora, when
Jews were "scattered among the nations".
It was similarly invoked by the Zionist movement,
which sought to Negate the Diaspora (shlilat
ha'galut) by Gathering the exiled of Israel
(Kibbutz Galuyot) back to their homeland,
where they would achieve national self-determination.
== 
Jewish peoplehood ==
Some modern Jewish leaders in the diaspora,
particularly American Jews, found the traditional
conception of Jews as a "nation among the
nations" problematic, posing a challenge to
integration and inviting charges of dual loyalty.
The first significant use of the "peoplehood"
concept was by Mordecai Kaplan, co-founder
of the Reconstructionist 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.
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.
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."
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.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.
=== In modern Jewish life ===
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 Jewish Agency for Israel, the Israel Ministry
for Education, the Diaspora Museum, the Avi
Chai Foundation, the American 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.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.
=== Key characteristics ===
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?
=== Areas of agreement ===
The areas of agreement among Jewish intellectuals
writing about the concept of Jewish Peoplehood
point to three principles:
The three unifying principles of the Jewish
Peoplehood theory:
A multidimensional experience of Jewish belonging
– The concept of Jewish Peoplehood assumes
an understanding of Jewish belonging that
is multidimensional.
Rejection of any dominant ideology, which
over emphasizes one dimension of Jewishness
- Strong ideological frameworks that over-emphasize
one dimension of the larger Jewish experience
are not an acceptable starting point for understanding
how individuals connect to the Jewish People.
Focus on the nature of the connection between
Jews and not on the Jewish Identity - Those
concerned with the Jewish Peoplehood concept
do not focus on the identity of individuals,
but rather on the nature of connections between
Jews.
The concern is with common elements and frameworks
that enable Jews to connect with one another
both emotionally and socially.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.
=== Different perspectives ===
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:
Peoplehood as a common destiny.
Peoplehood as a shared mission with an emphasis
on Tikkun Olam.
Peoplehood as a shared kinship and mutual
responsibility.
Peoplehood as an obligation.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.
== See also ==
Who is a Jew?
Jewish identity
== Footnotes ==
== References ==
A Framework for the Strategic Thinking about
Jewish Peoplehood, Kopelowitz, E. and Engelberg
A., Platforma, Jerusalem, 2007
Peoplehood Now, sponsored by the NADAV Foundation,
editors: Shlomi Ravid, Shelley Kedar, Research:
Ari Engelberg, Elana Sztokman, Varda Rafaeli
The Peoplehood Papers I, edited by Corbin
K., Fram Plotkin A., Levine E., Most G., United
Jewish Communities, New York, 2007
The Peoplehood Papers II, edited by Serkin
D,.
Kol Dor, The International School for Jewish
Peoplehood Studies at Beit Hatfutsot, Tel
Aviv, 2008
The Peoplehood Papers III, edited by Ravid
S., Serkin T., United Jewish Communities,
The International School for Jewish Peoplehood
Studies at Beit Hatfutsot, Tel Aviv, 2008
The Peoplehood Papers IV, edited by Ravid
S., United Jewish Communities, Kol Dor, The
Jewish Peoplehood HUB, Tel Aviv, 2009
Jewish Peoplehood in an Age of Globalization,
Dr Ami Bouganim, The Research and Development
Unit of the Department of Jewish-Zionist,
Education, 2007
Are we ready for Jewish Peoplehood?, Moty
Cristal, 2007, YNet News
Peoplehood in the Bible
Peoplehood in Rabbinic Texts
Embattled Jewish Agency To Promote Identity
Over Aliyah, Gal Beckerman, The Jewish Daily
Forward, March 2010
== Further reading ==
The Case for Jewish Peoplehood: Can We Be
One?, by Erica Brown, Misha Galperin, and
Joseph Telushkin, 2009
Jewish Peoplehood: Change and Challenge, (Reference
Library of Jewish Intellectual History) by
Ezra Kopelowitz and Menachem Reviv, 2008
The Future of Jewish Peoplehood, by Arthur
Waskow (1977)
== External links ==
Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education
Policy publications on Jewish peoplehood at
the Berman Jewish Policy Archive
Jewish Peoplehood Resources, NADAV Foundation
Dynamic Judaism: the essential writings by
Mordechai M. Kaplan, Edited and with Introductions
by Emanuel S. Goldsmith and Mel Scult
Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan
Jewish Peoplehood Index
Be'chol Lashon – In Every Toung
Peoplehood Research Blog
Jewish Peoplehood HUB
Envisioning Jewish Peoplehood
The Koret International School for Jewish
Peoplehood at Beit Hatfutsot
