“Now then, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples.” So says the verse from the Book of Exodus that was read on Shavuot. “Treasured possession” is a translation of a term whose meaning is less than clearly defined – “Am Segula.”  What does the term mean? It could mean a special people, or a people especially loved by God, or a people owned by God (a common interpretation), or a people that is especially important. Some commentators suggest that “Segula” distinguishes the Jews from the rest of humanity. Others suggest that “Segula” requires the Jews to get highly involved with the world to try to fix it. Is the nation of Israel special? The Torah seems to say that it is. Most Jews in the State of Israel agree. Nearly half of them believe that Segula means “that the people of Israel have a special role in the world.” A minority (16%) think it means that the people of Israel “have obligations that other nations do not have.” A very small minority (2%) believes that “the people of Israel have rights that other nations do not have.”

The data is from a survey of JPPI in which about a third of Israeli Jews said that they do not believe that Israel is a special nation — Am Segula. Does this mean that they disagree with the Torah? Not necessarily. In the verse we quoted it is said that if the people of Israel behave as God demands — then they will be Am Segula. So those who do not believe that Israel is Am Segula assume one of two things. Either the people of Israel do not obey God and therefore are not Am Segula, or what the Torah states in the name of God is not true. Clearly, these are two very different assumptions.

One can guess which of the two assumptions is more common. First, because of the one-third of Jewish Israelis who do not agree that the people of Israel are Am Segula, the majority (19% of the total) say that Am Segula is an “arrogant/racist” idea. The concept of specialness is foreign to their world and outlook. And this is consistent with the sector to which they belong: of the seculars in Israel, 58% do not agree that Israel is Am Segula. Most of those (36% of the seculars) believe that the concept is arrogant or racist. In contrast, all religious Israelis agree that Israel is Am Segula. Overall, there is also a broad consensus among religious and ultra-Orthodox on the meaning of the term: the Jews have a special role in the world. This is what makes them Am Segula.

In a previous survey, when Israelis were allowed to mark more than one answer to the question, a majority of religious Israelis marked two — they said that Am Segula means both that the Jews “have a special role” and that they have “obligations that other nations do not have.” About a third of them also marked “rights that other nations do not have.” So religious Israelis believe that the Jews have a special role, special duties, and to some extent (but this is not the majority view) also have special rights.

Religious Israelis are used to the word “Segula,” and the meaning they attribute to it does not make them uncomfortable in any way. Seculars have difficulty with Segula as it is a word they identify with a tribal, separatist mindset. 

Is this social difference between religious and secular Israelis important? That’s not an easy question to answer. It may be a difference that mainly reflects differences in the way people use language. Religious Israelis are used to the word “Segula,” and the meaning they attribute to it does not make them uncomfortable in any way. Seculars have difficulty with Segula as it is a word they identify with a tribal, separatist mindset. That term isn’t a part of their Western, egalitarian, liberal terminology. By the way, that wasn’t always the case. David Ben-Gurion discussed the question of Segula unapologetically. Segula, according to him, is equivalent to prophets’ demand “to establish one’s life on the foundations of kindness and truth, justice and peace.”

And yet, the difficulty of seculars with the term “Am Segula” is understandable. If all people are equal, then the claim of “specialness” could seem awkward. 

We asked if the difference is important: it may be. It may be that on certain issues — say, the treatment of non-Jewish Israelis — acceptance of the term “Segula” leads to one practical conclusion, and its rejection leads to another practical conclusion. What will this conclusion be? Theoretically, it could be that those who think that the Jews are a special people will conclude that they should be less considerate of others. Theoretically, the opposite can also be the case: Those who think that the Jews are a people who have special obligations, will conclude that they are obliged to be more considerate of other peoples. Theoretically — both conclusions are possible. But practically … look at the data and understand for yourself what happens in practice.

Something I wrote in Hebrew

I was asked to write about Israel “hasbara” (PR). Here’s what I wrote:

It is easy to explain a good government, it is easy to explain a reasonable policy, it is easy to explain a balanced, considered leadership. It is impossible to explain Ministers Amichai Eliyahu, or Bezalel Smotrich, or MK Nissim Vaturi. It is impossible to explain Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. And no speaker, no magician, no pyrotechnics, no special office for special affairs, no investment in budgets, no appointment of polished English speakers – none of these is going to help. Therefore, Israel does not have a hasbara problem … because such a government cannot be explained, and it is not certain that there is any point in making an effort.

A week’s numbers

This nugget from the AJC annual survey of US Jews reminded me of the fact that most people believe they a better than average drivers.

A reader’s response:

Nathan Erlich commented: “Your negativity towards the current Israeli government is becoming tiring.” My response: Thinking about the government, I feel exactly the same. 

Shmuel Rosner is senior political editor. For more analysis of Israeli and international politics, visit Rosner’s Domain at jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain.