I recently participated in the impressive event commemorating Jewish peoplehood and the legacy of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of the prominent leaders of American liberal Judaism in the 20th century, which is organized annually by Yizhar Hess, the Deputy and Acting Chairman of the Zionist Federation in Israel.

This year, the backdrop of the conference was the impact of the shocking massacre that occurred at the Chabad Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia, just two days before we gathered. The horrific event in Bondi Beach brought to the forefront the connection between world Jewry and the State of Israel and the impact of anti-Zionism on antisemitism.

For many years, I was unaware of Jewish peoplehood. When I served on my first diplomatic mission at the Israeli embassy in Washington, my interactions were primarily with Jewish organizations, rather than with the broader communities. I treated the representatives of the organizations in a utilitarian manner – a tool to influence U.S. policy toward the State of Israel, which I represented, not as inherently valuable in and of themselves, or even simply because they were our sisters and brothers.

I was supposed to understand what Jewish peoplehood was, because our Declaration of Independence uniquely defines Israel as the nation-state of the entire Jewish people, in addition to being the state of its citizens. However, like many Israelis, my Jewish identity had been taken for granted my whole life – both by others and myself—so I didn’t bother to delve into the issue.

During the year I spent among the Jewish community of Boston as a Wexner Foundation Fellow, Jewish peoplehood finally took on significant importance in my life and became a deeply personal issue. I learned that we are an extended family, including those in Israel and the Diaspora. And so our country is also theirs. I understood that Jews in the Diaspora should not be treated solely instrumentally as a source of financial or political support, or to encourage immigration to Israel, but as a........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)