Jews
Jews ( , ) or Jewish people are members of an ethnoreligious group and a nation originating from the Israelites and Hebrews of historical Israel and Judah. Jewish ethnicity, nationhood, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the ethnic religion of the Jewish people, although its observance varies from strict to none.

Jews originated as an ethnic and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE, in the part of the Levant known as the Land of Israel. The Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE (Late Bronze Age). The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population, consolidated their hold with the emergence of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as 'Hebrews'. Though few sources mention the exilic periods in detail, the experience of diaspora life, from the Babylonian captivity and exile to the Roman occupation and exile, and the historical relations between Jews and their homeland thereafter, became a major feature of Jewish history, identity and memory.

In the millennia following, Jewish diaspora communities coalesced into three, major ethnic subdivisions according to where their ancestors settled: "Ashkenazim" (Central and Eastern Europe), "Sephardim" (initially in the Iberian Peninsula), and "Mizrahim" (Middle East and North Africa). Prior to World War II, the worldwide Jewish population reached a peak of 16.7 million, representing around 0.7 percent of the world population at that time. Approximately 6 million Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust. Since then the population has slowly risen again, and was estimated at 14.6–17.8 million by the Berman Jewish DataBank, less than 0.2 percent of the total world population.

The modern State of Israel is the only country where Jews form a majority of the population. It defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state in the Basic Laws, Human Dignity and Liberty in particular, which is based on the Declaration of Independence. Israel's Law of Return grants the right of citizenship to Jews who have expressed their desire to settle in Israel.

Despite their small percentage of the world's population, Jews have significantly influenced and contributed to human progress in many fields, both historically and in modern times, including philosophy, ethics, literature, politics, business, fine arts and architecture, music, theatre and cinema, medicine, and science and technology, as well as religion; Jews authored the Bible, founded Early Christianity and had a profound influence on Islam. In these ways, Jews have also played a significant role in the development of Western culture.
Q11197007
ethnoreligious group
Concept
Q6266
nation
Concept
Q51669
Israelites
Concept
Q570868
Hebrews
Concept
Q193748
Israel and Judah
Concept
Q9268
Judaism
Concept
Q1189816
ethnic religion
Concept
Q900396
originated
UNK
Q7204
Middle East
LOC
Q81483
Levant
LOC
Q155321
Land of Israel
LOC
Q754378
Merneptah Stele
LOC
Q163329
Canaan
LOC
Q193748
kingdoms of Israel and Judah
Concept
Q1412733
diaspora
Concept
Q175447
Babylonian captivity and exile
Concept
Q1003997
Roman occupation and exile
LOC
Q961603
Jewish history
Concept
Q1570389
identity
Concept
Q1412733
Jewish diaspora
Concept
Q2698599
coalesced
UNK
Q2509271
ethnic subdivisions
PER
Q34069
Ashkenazim
Concept
Q16129257
Eastern Europe
PER
Q102251
Sephardim
Concept
Q18707533
the Iberian Peninsula
MISC
Q501837
Mizrahim
PER
Q362
World War II
EVE
Q2916388
Jewish population
UNK
Q2763
the Holocaust
EVE
Q16974777
Berman Jewish DataBank
LOC
Q11188
world population
Concept
Q801
State of Israel
LOC
Q2614401
Jewish and democratic state
Concept
Q2368137
Basic Laws
MEDIA
Human Dignity and Liberty
UNK
Q223732
Declaration of Independence
MEDIA
Q950320
Law of Return
UNK
Q2351730
human progress
UNK
Q837795
philosophy
Concept
Q174370
ethics
Concept
Q2642350
literature
Concept
Q4173144
politics
UNK
None
business
UNK
Q548478
fine arts and architecture
Concept
Q1716019
music
Concept
Q548478
theatre
Concept
None
cinema
UNK
Q6190077
medicine
UNK
None
science and technology
UNK
Q3001185
religion
Concept
Q3178041
authored the Bible
Concept
Q235329
Early Christianity
TIME
Q432
Islam
Concept
Q478958
Western culture
Concept
Q7325
Jews
Concept
Q7325
Jews
Concept
Q7325
Jews
Concept
Q7325
Jews
Concept
Q7325
Jews
Concept
Q7325
Jews
Concept
Q7325
Jews
Concept
Q7325
Jews
Concept
Q7325
Jews
Concept
+13^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
13
NUMBER
+16.7^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
16.7
NUMBER
+0.7^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
0.7
NUMBER
+6^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
6
NUMBER
+14.6^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
14.6
NUMBER
+17.8^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
17.8
NUMBER
+0.2^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
0.2
NUMBER
instance of
instance of
religion
history of topic
part of
part of
instance of
facet of