The underlying foundation of Judaism is the covenant between God and the Jewish people. The tradition of this covenant, coupled with centuries of shared history, values and experience, has contributed to an empathic emotional bonding among Jews that is unique. Judaism is more than just a religion. Among Jews, there is a community of feeling and identification–what some call a "peoplehood." This concept has had many positive benefits ranging from shared community responsibility and concern for the care and education of children to substantial charitable commitments for the care of the elderly and concern for the welfare of other Jews, including those in other countries who need help.

The concept of Jewish community and peoplehood is one of the most important reasons underlying the major Jewish charitable commitments in support of Israel. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, Jews throughout the world joined together to help in the creation and support of a free democratic nation in the land of Israel where any Jew could go to live in freedom, dignity and peace. Since its declaration of independence in 1948, Israel has been an island of democracy in a Middle East region of authoritarian states. Literally, the desert was made to bloom. Tragically, it did not bloom in peace.

Surrounded by enemies pledged to its destruction, Israel has been forced to pay a tremendous economic price for its survival and spend an extraordinarily high percentage of its gross national product on self-defense. An even greater psychological and emotional price has been paid by Israeli women, men and children living in an environment where their lives have been in constant danger. Threats have been made by dictators in neighboring states on a regular basis. There have been repeated terrorist raids across the border including bombings of public schools, civilian buses and marketplaces. Terrorist acts have also occurred outside of Israel, such as the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.

Day after day, for over five decades, Israelis have lived under a threat of annihilation by nations ruled by dictators. Their threats have been made all the more real because the richest oil fields in the world have generated billions for buying arms for Arab armies and giving financial support for Arab terrorist groups sworn to destroy Israel. In the 1991 Gulf War, the entire world witnessed the indiscriminate bombing of civilian Israeli neighborhoods by Scud missiles launched by Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein.

Although people of good will of every faith have admired the emergence and survival of a democratic nation in the Biblical land of Israel, there is particular empathy and support for Israel by most Jews. In part, this is because of the concept of peoplehood and Jewish tradition, including centuries of Jewish prayers for the return of the Jewish People to Jerusalem. In part, it is because most Jews are well aware of the Holocaust and other tragedies in Jewish history where Jews had no place else to turn. Most North American Jewish families are only one or two generations removed for grandparents or great-grandparents who fled Europe n the face of terrible anti-Semitism, such as the pogroms in Russia in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century where thousands of Jews were killed. Jews found it very natural to identify with Israelis, many of whom emigrated to escape anti-Semitism in the countries where they lived.

This does not mean that Jews in North America agree with everything that takes place in Israel. Indeed there is disagreement on many issues, from dissatisfaction with the lack of religious Pluralism in Israel to differences on how best to attain a genuine peace in the Middle East.

But despite disagreements, there is universal pride in the fact that Jews were able to return to the land of Israel after an exile of twenty centuries; that Jews were able to help rebuild a free democratic nation in their biblical homeland of Israel; that in this nation there is creativity in so many areas ranging from science and medicine to literature and the arts; and that a new center of Jewish culture has been created that energizes Jews throughout the world and helps ensure the remarkable chain of dynamic Jewish survival.

Most Jews believe that there will never be any lasting peace in the Middle East until all Arab nations genuinely recognize the right of Israel to exist as a free nation. Unfortunately, the repeated threats of Arab leaders to annihilate Israel and the absence of full-fledged democracies among the Arab nations have made it extremely difficult to overcome the many barriers that block the road to peace.

The traditional word of greeting in Hebrew is Shalom, which literally means "peace." Every Sabbath prayer service and every daily prayer service includes a prayer for peace–not only for Israel, but for all humankind. This never-ending quest for peace is a primary goal of all branches of Judaism.

There is an old Jewish story that when two Jews discuss any issue, you have three opinions. For centuries, diversity has been part and parcel of Judaism, and today it occurs in all branches of Judaism. Although rabbis and lay leaders within the various branches may disagree, they all seek to make Judaism a more meaningful, relevant, intellectually stimulating and spiritually and emotionally satisfying religion, culture and community for born Jews, Jews by choice, and intermarried families that identify as Jews.

All branches of Judaism have materials that are available for people interested in choosing Judaism. They can be obtained from local synagogues or from national synagogue organizations. In addition, in larger communities in North America where there are Jewish Community Centers, or Jewish Federations, books and pamphlets about Judaism are also available.

For 4,000 years, Jews have overcome every obstacle that they have faced–the most miraculous survival in recorded history. But now Jews face perhaps the greatest test of all: The challenge of survival in a wonderful land of freedom and opportunity.

Most thoughtful Jews have both an intellectual conviction and an emotional desire to see Judaism continue to grow and develop. However, together with many non-Jews, they believe that Jewish survival is also vitally important for pluralism in the United States and Canada and, indeed, for the entire world, for the contributions of Jews to society have been far beyond their numbers. Though many point with pride to the outstanding accomplishments of Jews in a broad spectrum of activities ranging from science and medicine to literature and the arts, the most important Jewish contributions have been the intangibles that are an outgrowth of the heart of Jewish tradition–the optimistic belief that people and society are perfectible–the universalism of Judaism–the centrality of the family and the home in Judaism–the emphasis of Judaism on charity, freedom and social justice–and the Jewish tradition for education and study.

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