Shalom & Shavuah Tov,
Regarding the question of who the Jewish people are... The Torah portion which we all read today (Shabbat) contains a beautiful explanation. In the commandment of the 'First Fruits' we find the following vow made by the pilgrims to Jerusalem:
Deuteronomy Chapter 26
3. And you shall come to the kohen who will be [serving] in those days, and say to him, "I declare this day to the Lord, your God, that I have come to the land which the Lord swore to our forefathers to give us."
4. And the kohen will take the basket from your hand, laying it before the altar of the Lord, your God."
5. And you shall call out and say before the Lord, your God, "An Aramean [sought to] destroy my forefather, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there with a small number of people, and there, he became a great, mighty, and numerous nation.
6. And the Egyptians treated us cruelly and afflicted us, and they imposed hard labor upon us.
7. So we cried out to the Lord, God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
8. And the Lord brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with great awe, and with signs and wonders.
9. And He brought us to this place, and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
10. And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground which you, O Lord, have given to me." Then, you shall lay it before the Lord, your God, and prostrate yourself before the Lord, your God.
11. Then, you shall rejoice with all the good that the Lord, your God, has granted you and your household you, the Levite, and the stranger who is among you.