Originally published in eJewishPhilanthropy, Levy & Chivo tell about a community call to discuss the Peoplehood crisis that brought out almost 800 participants within the Seattle area. A strategic roadmap was proposed at the meeting, including: (i) adult education aimed at self-transformation (starting with leaders of any Jewish institution); (ii) incorporation of peoplehood in school…
Looking back on an article she wrote almost a decade ago (“The Mitzvot of Peoplehood”) where she posed the question, “I’m a member of the Jewish People, so what should I do when I wake up in the morning?”, Wilf offers five potential avenues of action to nurture a sense of belonging to a Jewish…
Schwarz reports on the program he directs, the Rene Cassin Fellowship Program (RCFP), a yearlong program on Judaism and human rights for young adults with hubs in New York, London and Jerusalem. He believes that the "lesson for those who care about strengthening the Jewish people is…to meet today's young adults where they are at…
Schusterman shares her family foundation's approach towards the development of a virtuous cycle of vibrant Jewish life. "If we are successful, we will see a time when the vast majority of young people readily participate in Jewish life, draw on Jewish values to inform their worldviews and take on leadership roles in their communities. We…
Porat is the director of the NY-IL connections office of the UJA Federation of New York, which oversees joint programs that partner NY and Israel-based institutions, with the aim of enhancing connections and nurturing Jewish Peoplehood. All programs include a mifgash (encounter) element. He highlights what happens as a result of including a mifgash experience…
Pianko proposes a paradigm shift, from nationhood to neighborhood. Peoplehood based on a neighborhood rather than a nationhood model promotes understanding of Jewish collectivity as the sum of divergent processes of Jewish exploration and community building. "Neighborhoods" broadly construed, either in-person or via focused global networks, create a platform for engagement, meaning, creation, and innovation,…
Flint points to an untapped resource of global Peoplehood change agents: individual Jews who relocated to other countries on the globe. Using the examples of Israelis who reside abroad and Olim who moved to Israel, she proposes that our goal should be to cultivate and nurture those individuals who can serve as "living bridges," and…
Goldwater and Ravid focus their response broadly on education. They introduce the Toolkit for Peoplehood Education, acknowledging that there is an identity crisis requiring a holistic educational approach, facilitated by educators as key change agents for assuring a strong and rich Jewish collective future. It reflects their conviction that the response should be practical, proactive…
In responding to the task at hand of how to change the Jewish landscape to one that is nuturing to the collective, Brown proposes bringing a national version of Limmud to the United States. He believes that a strong, national Limmud is the perfect vehicle to connect, and engage young American Jewish adults in Jewish…
When the challenges of Jewish Peoplehood emerged in the Jewish world, most efforts went into trying to understand the meaning and significance of Jewish Peoplehood in the present. Some lead questions included: what does peoplehood mean today? Why is it important? How do we define it? Later, Jewish organizations and leaders asked: How do we…
