Two models for Jewish identity have dominated both Jewish and non-Jewish thought: the religious and ethnic model. The former claims Jews are a group that shares beliefs and practices, and the latter says that Jews are a racial or ethnic group bound by ancestry. Recent history has highlighted the flaws with both of these frameworks and given popularity to one of nationhood. However, the notion of Jews as a nation is not without its own flaws, and this ambiguity stresses the need for a new conception of Jewish identity. Rather than a religious or racial group, Jews should be thought of as a people whose community integrates numerous aspects of Judaism, including religious, historical, cultural, and national identities. These identities, while distinct, do not exist without the others, and come together to create a global, unified Jewish people.

To start, we need to understand what Jewish peoplehood is and the existing scholarship on its definition. Dr. Misha Galperin and Dr. Erica Brown write in their book “The Case for Jewish Peoplehood: Can We Be One?” that “Jewish peoplehood signifies kinship based on a common history, culture, values, and future. Peoplehood involves an attempt to unify a group that is diverse.” All faces of Jewish identity unify in order to create a community where Jews of all backgrounds can feel like they belong. Jews feel attached to each other because of their shared traditions and history, and it is these values that define the Jewish people. Expanding on this definition, I believe that the specific paths of “kinship” include religious or spiritual connection, shared history and ancestry, continuity of Jewish culture, and connection to the Land of Israel as a national symbol. 

These are all undeniable parts of Judaism, although the degree to which a person relates to each one may vary. For example, in Jewish custom, we don’t acknowledge the right to self-identify as not Jewish; even if a person converts to another religion, Jewish law still sees them as Jewish. A lack of religious connection does not take away from their family ancestry and history. Conversely, a convert to Judaism would not share the genetic links to Judaism, but is still equally Jewish by nature of their religious commitment. By the same logic, a far-right Chassidic Jew or a far-left Jewish college student who denounces the State of Israel and its Jewish significance is not any less a part of the Jewish community. By nature of their Jewish birth, they are inseparably tied to Israel. Simply put, Jewish identity is not a choice.

The first aspect of Jewish peoplehood is religious identity. For observant Jews, days are often centered around Judaic practice. In Jewish law, one is supposed to pray three times a day, in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Every time you eat, you are supposed to say a blessing before and after, which varies depending on what kind of food or drink it is. Jewish law also says that men should cover their heads and wear cornered garments with tassels on them (called tzitzit). In the orthodox, modern-orthodox, and traditional communities, observance of these laws varies, but they are all valued and generally accepted and practiced. These common practices are a large part of what binds Jews together. Believed to be written in the 1940s, Erich Unger’s essay “A Restatement of Judaism that” argues that “the survival of the Jews until now is, to an overwhelming degree, due to their attachment to Judaism.” The value of these collective practices is an essential part of Judaism.

However, a majority of Jews do not view religion as an important part of their lives. And yet many are still involved in Jewish practice. In a Pew Research study, almost half of Israeli Jews said that Judaism is, at a minimum, partly a matter of religion. This includes 17% of secular Jews who say that religion is a fundamental part of their Jewish identity. Over half of secular Israeli Jews said they at least occasionally light candles before the Sabbath, almost ⅓ said they fasted for all of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), and a whopping 87% said they go to Passover seders (meals). This is also evident in the US. 62% of American Jews attend a Passover seder, and almost half fasted on Yom Kippur and “mark Shabbat in a way that is meaningful to them”, to cite just a few impressive statistics. 

Another facet of Jewish peoplehood is shared ancestry and history. As different as Jews around the world look, studies show that Jews are very closely related to one another. Numerous common genetic markers have been found linking Jews from around the world. Additionally, a 2012 study, researchers concluded that, “the North African Jewish populations clustered with the European and Middle Eastern Jewish groups…but not with the North African non-Jewish groups, suggesting origins distinctive from the latter.” Another Pew Research Center study on Jewish American heritage found that even though the number of Jewish mixed race families is growing, with some estimates as high as 20%, 92% of American Jews select white and non-Hispanic as their race on official government and medical forms. Though estimates disagree and there is little recent data, it is reasonable to conclude that there is a disparity between how American Jews self-identify and how they identify on official forms. If there were an option to check “Jewish,” more Jews might choose that over “black” or “white.” Both the genetic commonalities and disparity in racial self-identification prove that Judaism cannot be viewed as strictly a religion.

All of the above about ethnic similarity is true, while also appreciating the great diversity of the Jewish people. There are historic Jewish communities all over the world. Yet for all this diversity, every one of these communities shares the core origin story of the Jewish people, a common narrative that each has preserved for so long; a narrative of Jacob, Moses, and David, of living texts and customs, and of unity. That history shapes the collective Jewish identity and familially binds Jews to each other. 

While the religious and historical faces of Jewish identity may be the most commonly known, just like any other people, Jews have developed their own culture, including languages, foods, and arts, which Jews of all backgrounds embrace. Jewish culture, like every culture, is influenced by the local traditions of where Jews are living, but it maintains a distinctly Judaic flair, keeping it distinguished over so many years. Foods like kugel and chamin, which have roots in Ashkenazi communities in Europe and Sephardic communities in Iberia and the Middle East, are staples of Jewish households with recipes that have been passed down for generations. Klezmer music, a genre forged in Eastern Europe with Turkish and Romani influences, is still sung at Jewish weddings and festivals today. Languages like Yiddish and Ladino (combinations of German and Hebrew, and Spanish and Hebrew, respectively) have rich histories of literature and poetry. Celebrating holidays is also a part of cultural Judaism. Many Jews celebrate holidays not for religious reasons, but because it is their family’s and people’s tradition. These traditions, linguistic, artistic, and ritualistic, help sustain Jewish culture and define Jewish peoplehood.

Perhaps the most polarizing part of Jewish identity is the concept of nationhood. The tiny sliver of land just south of Lebanon, in between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, might be the most fought-over piece of land in history. 

Scholars generally outline two definitions of a nation: the nation as a territorial state, or the nation as a group of people. Jews feel an attachment to both of these definitions. As a group of people, Jews are a distinct religious, ethnic, and cultural group. As a territorial state, Jews have a strong connection to the Land of Israel and a rich history of national identity there. Under the Davidic dynasty, the kingdom of Judea thrived for hundreds of years, building a temple in Jerusalem which became a national landmark for the Judean nation. Coins from the Hasmonean dynasty and the Bar Kochba revolt have been discovered with inscriptions of Hasmonean kings’ names and the temple, further emphasizing the historical continuance of Jewish nationhood. 

There is also a strong emotional and symbolic importance to Israel. 58% of American Jews polled by Pew Research in 2020 said that they are at least somewhat emotionally attached to the State of Israel, and 80% say that Israel is important or essential to their Judaism. Israel acts as a symbol of global Jewish welfare. When the State struggles, Jews around the world share in her pain, and when the State succeeds, global Jewry rejoices. Through enslavement, expulsion, and extermination, Israel has remained a source of communal hope, as evidenced in the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah (The Hope).

Judaism does not exist in a binary model of religion or ethnicity. It does not exist as an elitist, nationalist group. Peoplehood, with identity paths of religion, history, culture, and nationhood is a more complete model of Jewish identity. I believe that knowledge and appreciation of who we are, and the confidence and competence with which we communicate that with others, is a valuable step towards reducing antisemitism. Whether in international advocacy or on college campuses, this understanding should empower Jews to speak up for themselves; it’s a step toward reeducating a chronically misinformed public, breaking down biases, and reducing antisemitic acts.