WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE JEWISH.
Declaration of the 5th conference of the International Federation of Secular and Humanistic Jews, Moscow, 23–25 September 1994.
In 1988, during its second biennial Conference in Brussels, the International Federation of Secular and Humanistic Jews declared:
“… A Jew is a person of Jewish descent, or any person who declares himself or herself to be a Jew and who identifies with the history, the ethical values, the culture, the civilization, the community and the destiny of the Jewish people.”
The worldwide secular and humanistic Jewish movement has developed by including many individuals and communities who wish to take part in the construction of a contemporary form of Jewishness and to define more precisely the meaning of their identification with the Jewish people.
There is no single way of being Jewish. Jewish identity is a historical phenomenon in development. Jews in many places over the course of history have developed diverse ways of affirming and expressing their identity. Secular and Humanistic Judaism recognizes this pluralism — both within the Jewish people as a whole and among Secular and Humanistic Jews — as an essential characteristic of Jewish life. An integral part of Jewish identity is a deep attachment to the State of Israel, to its culture and to its people. Secular and Humanistic Jews seek to ensure that their words and their actions are a reflection of their convictions.
In accordance with these principles, the International Federation affirms that:
Declaration
Secular and Humanistic Jews make no distinction among Jews who, whatever their descent, have chosen to identify with the Jewish people.
Secular and Humanistic Jews draw their inspiration from Jewish experience and creativity, present as well as past, as well as from the experience and creativity of other cultures.
Secular and Humanistic Jews encourage and support the activities that promote the continuing development of Jewish identity.
Secular and Humanistic Jews, by forming and joining secular and humanistic Jewish communities, organizations and schools, find the opportunity to enrich their Jewish experience, to learn more about the meaning of their Jewishness, and to cultivate a Jewish identification among children and young people.
Secular and Humanistic Jews actively explore the ways to make their Jewishness a meaningful part of their daily existence and to strengthen everywhere their solidarity with Jews. These ways include:
The study of Jewish history, literature and culture as a means of understanding the full scope of Jewish experience and, in particular, its secular and humanistic dimensions.
The celebration of Jewish festivals and of the ceremonies of the life cycle as cultural expressions of the cycles of nature and of human life and of events in Jewish history. Secular and Humanistic Jews feel free to adopt aspects of certain traditional observances that they find meaningful and to adapt others — or to create new forms — that meet the needs of present or future generations.
The study and use of one or more Jewish languages, particularly Hebrew, the historical language of the Jewish people and the modern language of the State of Israel, as well as Yiddish, Ladino and the other Jewish languages. Each of these languages adds its unique contribution to Jewish and human culture, and each affords an intimate contact with the memory, the creativity and the values of the Jewish people.
The implementation of ethical norms that rest on humanistic values such as autonomy, dignity, justice, and resistance to tyranny, to exploitation and to oppression — values that proceed from the experience and the literature of the Jewish people. e) Participation in the work of broader Jewish communities and the defense of the rights of man and of peoples everywhere.