Two recent events are at the center of this issue of Paths to Peoplehood. The first is the 2007 Conference on the Future of the Jewish People, sponsored by the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI), which convened during June in Jerusalem. We begin the discussion of the conference with a summary of sorts taken from The Jewish Standard and continue with various evaluations and critiques of the conference: Jerusalem Post writers debate whether too much time was devoted to Israeli national security. Rachel Fish and Tamar Fox offer opposing opinions on the question of the connection of the younger generation to Jewish Peoplehood while Jonathan Rosenblum asks why there were no Haredim at the conference. Fox's explanation why she is not making aliya, leads us to Einat Wilf's suggestion that as a result of globalization it is no longer necessary to have permanent residence in Israel in order to maintain a strong connection, and that Zionist organizations should consider alternatives to aliya.

The second issue discussed in this edition is that of intermarriage. Defining boundaries is of critical importance for any People that wishes to survive; the issue of intermarriage is the central locus for Diaspora Jewry's boundary drawing. Long seen as a 'problem' only for the liberal denominations, Noah Feldman, a graduate of a modern-Orthodox yeshiva high school who is now married to a non-Jewish woman, brought the issue of Orthodoxy's attitude towards intermarriage to the forefront. Feldman describes in a NYT's article how he has been ostracized by his alma mater, he explains this reaction as well as his own life choices as a result of what he calls the "Orthodox Paradox". Many American Orthodox Jews experienced Feldman's article as an attack upon their values and responded in kind. We bring here an example of such a reaction by Sultan Knish as well as a moderate Orthodox response by Shmuley Boteach, a view from a non-Orthodox perspective by Ami Eden and an overview by Yair Sheleg.

We close this issue with HUC's president David Ellenson's call to enhance Jewish Peoplehood by fostering closer relations between Israeli and Diaspora Jews in a presentation given at the 2007 Herzliya conference.