Jews (ethnoreligious group)
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| Jews (ethnoreligious group) | |
|---|---|
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| Group | Jews |
| Native name | Yehudim |
| Population | ~15 million |
| Regions | Israel, United States, France, Canada, United Kingdom, Argentina, Russia, Germany, Australia, Brazil |
| Languages | Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Arabic, English |
| Religions | Judaism |
| Related | Samaritans, Beta Israel, Karaites |
Jews (ethnoreligious group)
Jews are an ethnoreligious group originating in the ancient Levant, historically associated with the development of Judaism and the Hebrew language, and today constituting diverse communities across Israel, the United States, and the Diaspora. Their history encompasses the biblical kingdoms of Israel and Judah, exile experiences such as the Babylonian captivity, major scholarly traditions like the Talmud, and modern political events including the Zionist movement and the establishment of the State of Israel.
Origin and Early History
Scholarly reconstructions situate origins among ancient inhabitants of the Southern Levant and links to the Iron Age polities of Israel and Kingdom of Judah, with formative texts compiled in contexts involving the Assyrian Empire, the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and the Achaemenid Empire. The exilic and post-exilic era saw return under figures tied to the Achaemenid Empire and building campaigns associated with Second Temple restoration, while Hellenistic influences under the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Seleucid Empire gave rise to sectarian developments later pivotal in the Great Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire. The destruction of the Second Temple and subsequent dispersals contributed to the formation of rabbinic traditions codified in the Mishnah and the Jerusalem Talmud and the later Babylonian Talmud.
Religion and Beliefs
Religious life centers on Judaism with foundational texts including the Tanakh, the Talmud, and medieval commentaries by figures such as Rashi, Maimonides, and Nachmanides. Worship practices often involve synagogues linked to communities like those of Sephardi Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, and Mizrahi Jews, observance of rites tied to Shabbat, Passover, Yom Kippur, and legal systems derived from Halakha. Philosophical and mystical currents range from Jewish philosophy exemplified by Saadia Gaon and Gershom Scholem's studies of Kabbalah, to modern theological responses by thinkers such as Abraham Joshua Heschel, Emmanuel Levinas, and Martin Buber.
Demographics and Distribution
Population centers developed through migrations and expulsions across the European Union territories, Ottoman Empire provinces, and later transatlantic movements to the United States and Argentina, while the 20th century saw major demographic shifts associated with the Holocaust, waves of aliyah to Israel after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and immigration from the Soviet Union during and after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union. Contemporary census and community studies show concentrations in metropolitan areas such as New York City, Los Angeles, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Paris, Moscow, and London, with linguistic diversity including Hebrew, Yiddish, and Ladino.
Culture and Language
Cultural production spans religious liturgy, legal scholarship, philosophy, and arts with seminal works like the Tanakh and the Encyclopaedia Judaica-era scholarship, and notable contributors across fields including Franz Kafka, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Marc Chagall, Felix Mendelssohn, Gustav Mahler, Leonard Bernstein, Amos Oz, Philip Roth, and Hannah Arendt. Linguistic traditions include revival movements that established Modern Hebrew via figures linked to the Zionist movement and institutions such as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, while diasporic languages such as Yiddish and Ladino shaped newspapers, theater, and folklore in communities across Poland, Lithuania, Spain, and the Ottoman Empire.
Identity, Ethnicity, and Community Structure
Identity weaves religious, ethnic, and national threads, with communal structures ranging from local kehillot affiliated with organizations like the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel to philanthropic and communal bodies including the American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, and World Jewish Congress. Ethnic subdivisions — Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Beta Israel — reflect historical geographies tied to regions such as Central Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, and Abyssinia. Debates over matrilineal descent, conversion, and civil definitions intersect with state institutions like the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and legal frameworks in countries including United States and United Kingdom.
Historical Experiences and Persecution
Persecution and violence shaped communal memory through events including the Babylonian captivity, the Expulsion from Spain, the Khmelnytsky Uprising, the Pogroms in the Russian Empire, and the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany and collaborators during World War II. Responses included rescue and relief efforts by entities like the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and political mobilization resulting in movements such as Zionism and the creation of legal and memorial institutions including Yad Vashem and the United Nations debates on refugee resettlement after World War II.
Modern Movements and Denominations
Contemporary denominational landscapes include Orthodox Judaism branches such as Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism, non-Orthodox movements like Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism, and emerging streams including Reconstructionist Judaism and secular humanist communities exemplified by organizations like the Jewish Reconstructionist Movement. Political and cultural movements range from secular Labor Zionism to religious nationalist currents connected to parties and ideologies active in Israel and diasporic advocacy through groups like Hadassah and Jewish National Fund.
Category:Ethnic groups