by Smadar Bar-Akiva It is not an easy task to translate the abstract notion of Jewish Peoplehood into action. And even more so, to develop a positive sense of belonging that is not anchored in sorrow and grief; a connection that celebrates cross cultural differences while striving to find common ground. At the World Confederation of JCCs we have just deciphered this secret. How? Several months ago, together with our trusting partners (see below) we launched the Global Jewish Connections Fellows program. We recruited 13 lay leaders ages 25-45 from 11 JCCs in 7 countries - Argentina, Bulgaria, Israel, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine and USA - in order to train them as global Jewish leaders and social entrepreneurs. These incredibly talented fellows are as diverse as can be. What do they have in common? … Continue Reading
Human Resources: An Answer to Jewish Peoplehood Education
by Sarah Mali ‘Jewish Peoplehood’ - the notion of collective Jewish belonging - has been criticized as an abstract term with little practical grounding. In order to overcome this challenge, various resources including curricula and seminars, have been developed to teach students what Jewish Peoplehood means. The problem with this approach lies in the assumption that students will simply get it if educators teach them the value of and the textual basis for the ties that bind the Jewish people. However, engendering an organic ‘group connection’ is not a didactic exercise but rather a highly internalized understanding built out of layered relationships and experiences. As biblical commentator Aviva Zornberg puts it,"our sense of person is registered in wordless and diffuse ways, in body … Continue Reading
Reconfiguring Jewish Identity in Israel
Last June, I had the privilege to participate in the international Nachum Goldmann Fellowship (NGF) in Israel, sponsored by the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture (MFJC). (You can read my posting about it here.) Following this conference, the MFJC in conjunction with a small group of Israelis, decided to plan a mini-Nachum Goldmann Fellowship for Israelis, so this past weekend 40 people gathered at the Ohalo Conference Center on the Kinneret to engage in a series of presentations and discussions on the theme of, “Reconfiguring Jewish Identity and Peoplehood in Israel.” This very intense program began with a presentation by Professor Moshe Halbertal who posed a number of questions about the priorities in Israeli society. He questioned where we place our emphasis and whether we are striving … Continue Reading
We The People of Israel
by Yonatan Ariel Recent contributors have raised the nature of the challenge for Israel education at this time. For the last several years Makom, among others, has been raising the call for this kind of conversation. Sometimes it has felt as though we were blowing a shepherd’s flute in the midst of a rock concert. Yet slowly, slowly there are the outlines of an academic field (kudos to the Schusterman Foundation), and various kinds of educational inquiry and practice (with Makom, Center for Israel Education, the iCenter, the Melton Centre for Jewish Education and the Hartman Institute Engaging Israel project). James Hyman argues that as American Jewish identity is largely constructed as a religious identity, then to become attached to Israel requires the broadening of our conception to … Continue Reading
Being a Global Jew
by Elan Ezrachi I recently traveled from Israel to Argentina to join my daughter who was trekking in South America. As we were spending Yom Kippur in Cordoba, Argentina’s second largest city, we wanted a meaningful Yom Kippur experience in a real Jewish community. A student from Cordoba who was studying in Jerusalem at the time connected me with the rabbi of the main synagogue (Conservative) and he immediately invited us to be his personal guests. When we arrived the day before Yom Kippur, we met the rabbi and he gave us an overview of the history of the 10,000-strong Jewish community and about the currents trends affecting the community. He then briefed us on the way the community celebrates Yom Kippur, so we would feel at home. More than 1,000 local Jews gathered in the synagogue in … Continue Reading
Cabinet Approves Beit Hatfutsot Development Plan
Israel's Cabinet has approved a plan for the continued development of Beit Hatfutsot on the Tel Aviv University campus. This is part of the government's commitment to strengthen the history and national heritage of the State of Israel, and its link to Jewish communities around the world. According to the plan, the site's Museum of the Jewish People will be upgraded and fitted with the technological means of the 21st century, exhibit areas will be developed, and more space will be added for temporary exhibitions. Also, the International School for Jewish Peoplehood Studies will be expanded and upgraded; its building will be renovated. In addition to the NIS 40 million that was budgeted for the plan over 2007-2011, and which led to the enlargement of Beit Hatfutsot, including the expansion … Continue Reading
Is Peoplehood an Empty Concept
by Dr. Ezra Kopelowitz In the past few years, tremendous progress is being made towards understanding the concept of Jewish Peoplehood, work that includes research papers and a number of publications. Unfortunately much of the popular discourse on Peoplehood remains uninformed by the benefits of this good work. A recent example is Micha Galperin's op-ed, titled: "Funding Peoplehood: Why the Jewish Community Should Care About an Unsexy Cause." Galperin argues that: "Abundant research has let us know that the way to most significantly impact Jewish identity and the bonds of peoplehood is by providing people with immersive, meaningful experiences." Daniel Septemus, rightly accuses Galperin of not defining his terms. Septimus concludes that Galperin cannot define the Peoplehood concept, … Continue Reading
Peoplehood vs. Zionism
by David Breakstone Type “peoplehood” into a Microsoft Word document and it’s going to appear as a mistake. That’s a bit worrisome, given the increasing emphasis being put on the concept within certain circles intent on looking after the Jewish future. My problem, though, is not that Word doesn’t recognize the notion, but that its proponents don’t recognize, a priori, the vital role Israel plays in assuring the continuity to which they are committed. Put more simply, I am worried that “peoplehood” is being advanced as an alternative to Zionism, undermining the very foundations on which Israel was built. Just when so many of us are battling for the hearts and minds of young Jews subjected to a hostile campaign to delegitimize the idea of Jewish statehood, “friends” are … Continue Reading
The Real Peoplehood Problem
by Daniel Septimus In a July 8th piece, the Jewish Agency’s Misha Galperin sounded an urgent call for funding what he calls “the peoplehood agenda.” This agenda is meant to counter a perceived problem with the younger generation of American Jews. “Having been raised in a world of pluralism and tolerance,” Galperin wrote, “Jews younger than 45 do not necessarily privilege their Jewish brothers and sisters above others when it comes to friendship, marriage, volunteerism and charitable giving…. In plain terms, we used to have a people without a state, and now we are in danger of having a state without a people.” The fervency of Galperin’s outcry might make one think he were calling attention to some novel concern. He presents peoplehood as a marginal agenda that’s not, in … Continue Reading
New Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education Launched
A group of educators have taken the initiative and launched a Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education (CJPE) to serve as a resource and catalyst for developing the field. Driven by the vision to create and sustain a vibrant and thriving Jewish People whose institutions nurture belonging and commitment to the Jewish collective enterprise, the founding partners - Dr. Shlomi Ravid, Dr. Elan Ezrachi, Dr. Ezra Kopelowitz and Ms. Varda Rafaeli - created a “one stop” resource center for institutions and individuals seeking resources, professional development, content and programmatic development or general Peoplehood conceptual and educational consulting. They also seek to be a catalyst in initiating and partnering in strategic interventions meant to build the field of Peoplehood … Continue Reading
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