The Jewish People and Indigenous Resilience

Abstract

Throughout history, the Jewish people have suffered numerous challenges, including pogroms and killings and even a merciless attempt at total extinction. However, when we look at the Jewish people in the last decades, we witness an outstanding case study of resilience and exceptional recovery, healing, and growth. The Jewish people are an outstanding instance of a group of people who returned to their ancient homeland in order to revive their communal life and renew their biblical language, traditional calendar, and religious rituals. They even gained independence and re-established a Jewish sovereign state. This chapter is Yahel’s innovative attempt to examine the Jewish people’s survival strategies and achievements within the framework of Indigenous resilience studies. It begins with an introduction to the Indigenous discourse, literature addressing the resilience of Indigenous People, and a review of the history of the Jewish people, identifying means and methods of resilience. It looks at three prominent Jewish figures whose writings influence Jewish ways of thinking: Hillel the Elder, Judah Halevi, and Theodor Herzl. It concludes that the Jewish people’s methods of resilience are an overwhelmingly good example of Indigenous resilience.