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Jewish Peoplehood Is a Mirage — But We Can Change That
Jewish Americans and supporters of Israel gather at the National Mall in Washington, DC on Nov. 14, 2023 for the “March for Israel” rally. Photo: Dion J. Pierre/The Algemeiner
“Peoplehood” is the term du jour in the Jewish world, appearing in sermons, mission statements, and grant proposals.
It’s supposed to capture something both ancient and modern — the shared bond that unites Jews everywhere, regardless of denomination, practice, or geography. It’s the idea that even in disagreement, there is a deeper connective tissue — a sense of belonging to a people, not just a religion. It sounds nice, and maybe it even feels good to say. But what does it actually mean in 2025, when the Jewish world seems less like one people and more like a set of rival tribes, each convinced that it holds the true definition of Jewish authenticity?
There was a time when the concept of Jewish peoplehood felt self-evident. Jews saw themselves as part of something larger, bound by shared history, memory, persecution, and purpose. But that unity — born of necessity and survival — has fractured under the weight of modern comfort, politics, and identity. Today, we can’t even agree on what it means to be Jewish, let alone what it means to be one people. One group claims moral superiority because they keep kosher; another prides itself on rejecting ritual in favor of “universal values.” Some define their Jewishness through the lens of Zionism, while others recoil at the very word. We’ve turned Jewish identity into a menu of choices rather than a covenant of connection.
The divide over Israel exposes this most clearly. Many American Jews — particularly younger ones — struggle to separate their discomfort with Israel’s government from the deeper idea of Israel itself. Some reject Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state because they confuse it with a political administration they dislike. Others, equally passionate, view criticism of Israel as betrayal.
The result is a chasm so deep that many can no longer hold a conversation without suspicion or anger. How can there be “peoplehood” when one side waves an Israeli flag as a symbol of pride, while another side sees it as an emblem of oppression? When some Jewish college students feel safer marching with pro-Palestinian activists than standing beside their own community, something fundamental has been lost.
Even beyond politics, the fragmentation runs deep. Jews argue over who is “really” Jewish — by birth, by choice, by conversion, by practice. Entire denominations are dismissed as illegitimate by others. In one community, a rabbi’s ordination is honored; in another, it’s ignored. There are Orthodox Jews who see Reform Jews as heretics, and secular Jews who see Orthodox Jews as relics. We can’t even agree on the basics of Shabbat, kashrut, or what qualifies as antisemitism.
If we can’t find shared meaning in the fundamentals, what makes us think we can unite around something as abstract as “peoplehood”?
The truth is that peoplehood without shared purpose is just a slogan. It’s comforting, but empty. Real peoplehood requires a common standard — not of uniformity, but of mutual responsibility. You don’t have to keep kosher, but you have to respect those who do. You don’t have to love every Israeli policy, but you should care about the survival of the Jewish homeland. You don’t have to believe in God, but you should believe that Jewish continuity matters.
Too many Jews are content to curate their own version of Judaism, one that excludes anyone who doesn’t fit neatly into their worldview. We’ve replaced peoplehood with partisanship — Jewish identity as an expression of politics, rather than as a transcendent bond.
And yet, despite all this, there remains something stubborn and sacred about Jewish connection. It shows up in the moments that matter most — at funerals, at seders, at times of danger or pride. When Jews were massacred in Pittsburgh, or when hostages were taken in Israel, Jews across the spectrum felt it personally. For all our internal conflict, we share an instinctive empathy for each other’s pain and triumph. That reflex — to show up, to care, to feel bound by fate — might be the last vestige of real peoplehood we have left. But if we don’t nurture it, it won’t survive the next generation.
Maybe peoplehood shouldn’t be something we claim; maybe it should be something we earn. Not by declaring ourselves united, but by doing the work of unity — engaging across differences, listening with humility, and showing up even when it’s uncomfortable.
The Jewish story has never been one of sameness. It has always been one of argument, wrestling, and reconciliation. Peoplehood, if it is to mean anything at all, must be about choosing to stay in the conversation even when it’s hard, even when the other person drives you crazy, and even when you believe they’re wrong.
The challenge before us isn’t to define peoplehood. It’s to live it — to make it visible in how we treat one another, how we defend each other, and how we choose to remain connected even when we disagree. Because without that, all the talk about peoplehood is just talk.
Steve Rosenberg is the Principal of the Team GSD and the author of the book: Make Bold Things Happen: Inspirational Stories from Sports, Business And Life.
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Herzog Says Wellbeing of Israelis His Only Concern in Deal With Netanyahu’s ‘Extraordinary’ Pardon Request
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks during a press conference with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics in Riga, Latvia, Aug. 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
i24 News – In an interview with Politico published on Saturday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog remained tight-lipped on whether he intended to grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “extraordinary” pardon request, saying that his decision will be motivated by what’s best for Israel.
“There is a process which goes through the Justice Ministry and my legal adviser and so on. This is certainly an extraordinary request and above all when dealing with it I will consider what is the best interest of the Israeli people,” Herzog said. “The well-being of the Israeli people is my first, second and third priority.”
Asked specifically about President Donald Trump’s request, Herzog said “I respect President Trump’s friendship and his opinion,” adding, “Israel, naturally, is a sovereign country.”
Herzog addressed a wide range of topics in the interview, including the US-Israel ties and the shifts in public opinion on Israel.
“One has to remember that the fountains of America, of American life, are based on biblical values, just like ours. And therefore, I believe that the underlying fountain that we all drink from is the same,” he said. “However, I am following very closely the trends that I see in the American public eye and the attitude, especially of young people, on Israel.”
“It comes from TikTok,” he said of the torrent of hostility toward Israel that has engulf swathes of U.S. opinion since the October 7 massacre and the subsequent Gaza war, “from a very shallow discourse of the current situation, pictures or viewpoints, and doesn’t judge from the big picture, which is, is Israel a strategic ally? Yes. Is Israel contributing to American national interests, security interests? Absolutely yes. Is Israel a beacon of democracy in the Middle East? Absolutely yes.”
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Syria’s Sharaa Charges Israel ‘Exports Its Crises to Other Countries’
FILE PHOTO: Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday escalated his messaging against Israel at the Doha forum.
“Israel is working to export its own crises to other countries and escape accountability for the massacres it committed in the Gaza Strip, justifying everything with security concerns,” he said.
“Meanwhile, Syria, since its liberation, has sent positive messages aimed at establishing the foundations of regional stability.
“Israel has responded to Syria with extreme violence, launching over 1,000 airstrikes and carrying out 400 incursions into its territory. The latest of these attacks was the massacre it perpetrated in the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, which claimed dozens of lives.
“We are working with influential countries worldwide to pressure Israel to withdraw from the territories it occupied after December 8, 2014, and all countries support this demand.
“Syria insists on Israel’s adherence to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. The demand for a demilitarized zone raises many questions. Who will protect this zone if there is no Syrian army presence?
“Any agreement must guarantee Syria’s interests, as it is Syria that is subjected to Israeli attacks. So, who should be demanding a buffer zone and withdrawal?”
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Turkey’s Fidan: Gaza Governance Must Precede Hamas Disarmament in Ceasefire Deal
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, May 27, 2025. Photo: Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via REUTERS
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters on Saturday that not advancing the US-backed Gaza ceasefire plan to its next stage would be a “huge failure” for the world and Washington, noting that President Donald Trump had personally led the push.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, Fidan said a credible Palestinian civil administration and a vetted, trained police force needed to be in place to allow Hamas to disarm, and that the group was prepared to hand over control of the enclave.
“First of all, we need to see that the Palestinian committee of technical people are taking over the administration of Gaza, then we need to see that the police force is being formed to police Gaza – again, by the Palestinians, not Hamas.”
NATO member Turkey has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s assault on Gaza. It played a key role in brokering the ceasefire deal, signing the agreement as a guarantor. It has repeatedly expressed its willingness to join efforts to monitor the accord’s implementation, a move Israel strongly opposes.
Talks to advance the next phase of President Trump’s plan to end the two-year conflict in Gaza are continuing.
The plan envisages an interim technocratic Palestinian administration in the enclave, overseen by an international “board of peace” and supported by a multinational security force. Negotiations over the composition and mandate of that force have proven particularly difficult.
Fidan said the Gaza police force would be backed by the international stabilisation force. He added that Washington was pressing Israel over Turkey’s bid to join the force, to which it has voiced readiness to deploy troops if needed.
FIDAN SAYS KURDISH SDF IN SYRIA NOT WILLING TO INTEGRATE
Asked about a landmark deal in March in which the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and Damascus agreed that the SDF would be integrated into Syria’s state structures, Fidan said signals from the SDF showed it had “no intention” of honouring the accord, and was instead seeking to sidestep it.
Ankara, which considers the SDF a terrorist organisation, has threatened military action if it does not comply, setting a deadline of the end of the year.
“I think they (SDF) should understand that the command and control should come from one place,” Fidan added. “There can be no two armies in any given country. So there can only be one army, one command structure … But in local administration, they can reach a different settlement and different understandings.”
Almost a year after the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, Fidan said some issues of minority rights were unresolved, insisting that Turkey’s backing of the new Syrian government was not a “blank cheque” to oppress any groups.
He said Damascus was taking steps toward national unity, but that Israeli “destabilisation policies” were the chief obstacle.
Israel has frequently struck southwestern Syria this year, citing threats from militant groups and the need to protect the Druze community near the frontier. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he expected Syria to establish a demilitarised buffer zone from Damascus to the border.
TURKEY: U.S. COULD REMOVE SANCTIONS ‘VERY SOON’
Fidan also said Washington’s initial 28-point plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war was just a “starting point,” and that it was now evolving in a new format. He said mediation by US officials was “on the right path.”
“I just hope that nobody leaves the table and the Americans are not frustrated, because sometimes the mediators can be frustrated if they don’t see enough encouragement from both sides.”
Asked about efforts to lift US sanctions imposed in 2020 over Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems, he said both sides were working on it, adding: “I believe we’ll soon find a way to remove that obstacle.”