A Collapse of the Pro-Israel Consensus Among American Jewish Community: What's Emerging Now.

Two years have passed since that deadly assault of October 7, 2023, an event that profoundly impacted global Jewish populations unlike anything else following the founding of the state of Israel.

Among Jewish people the event proved deeply traumatic. For the state of Israel, the situation represented deeply humiliating. The entire Zionist movement had been established on the belief which held that Israel would prevent such atrocities occurring in the future.

Military action was inevitable. Yet the chosen course Israel pursued – the widespread destruction of the Gaza Strip, the deaths and injuries of many thousands ordinary people – represented a decision. And this choice made more difficult the way numerous US Jewish community members processed the initial assault that triggered it, and currently challenges the community's remembrance of that date. How does one honor and reflect on a horrific event affecting their nation in the midst of a catastrophe being inflicted upon a different population attributed to their identity?

The Difficulty of Mourning

The complexity of mourning lies in the reality that there is no consensus regarding what any of this means. In fact, for the American Jewish community, the recent twenty-four months have seen the disintegration of a fifty-year agreement about the Zionist movement.

The beginnings of a Zionist consensus within US Jewish communities can be traced to a 1915 essay authored by an attorney who would later become high court jurist Justice Brandeis named “The Jewish Question; Finding Solutions”. However, the agreement truly solidified following the Six-Day War in 1967. Before then, Jewish Americans housed a fragile but stable cohabitation among different factions holding different opinions concerning the need for a Jewish nation – pro-Israel advocates, non-Zionists and anti-Zionists.

Previous Developments

This parallel existence endured through the mid-twentieth century, within remaining elements of Jewish socialism, within the neutral American Jewish Committee, among the opposing Jewish organization and other organizations. In the view of Louis Finkelstein, the head of the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Zionist movement had greater religious significance than political, and he prohibited the singing of Hatikvah, the national song, at JTS ordinations in the early 1960s. Additionally, Zionist ideology the centerpiece for contemporary Orthodox communities before the six-day war. Alternative Jewish perspectives coexisted.

However following Israel routed adjacent nations in the six-day war in 1967, seizing land such as the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and Jerusalem's eastern sector, US Jewish connection with the nation underwent significant transformation. The triumphant outcome, along with persistent concerns about another genocide, produced an increasing conviction in the country’s vital role for Jewish communities, and generated admiration for its strength. Discourse about the remarkable aspect of the outcome and the reclaiming of land assigned Zionism a theological, almost redemptive, significance. In those heady years, much of the remaining ambivalence about Zionism dissipated. In that decade, Writer Podhoretz stated: “We are all Zionists now.”

The Unity and Restrictions

The unified position left out the ultra-Orthodox – who typically thought Israel should only be established by a traditional rendering of the Messiah – yet included Reform, Conservative, Modern Orthodox and most unaffiliated individuals. The predominant version of the consensus, identified as liberal Zionism, was based on a belief regarding Israel as a progressive and liberal – though Jewish-centered – state. Countless Jewish Americans viewed the administration of local, Syrian and Egyptian lands after 1967 as temporary, thinking that an agreement would soon emerge that would ensure a Jewish majority in pre-1967 Israel and regional acceptance of the nation.

Several cohorts of US Jews grew up with pro-Israel ideology a core part of their identity as Jews. The state transformed into an important element within religious instruction. Israel’s Independence Day became a Jewish holiday. National symbols adorned religious institutions. Seasonal activities were permeated with national melodies and learning of the language, with Israelis visiting educating American youth Israeli customs. Visits to Israel expanded and peaked through Birthright programs during that year, offering complimentary travel to the country was offered to Jewish young adults. The state affected almost the entirety of US Jewish life.

Shifting Landscape

Paradoxically, throughout these years following the war, Jewish Americans became adept at religious pluralism. Acceptance and communication among different Jewish movements expanded.

Yet concerning the Israeli situation – there existed tolerance ended. Individuals might align with a conservative supporter or a progressive supporter, yet backing Israel as a Jewish homeland was a given, and questioning that perspective placed you outside mainstream views – a non-conformist, as Tablet magazine labeled it in writing that year.

Yet presently, during of the ruin of Gaza, food shortages, dead and orphaned children and outrage regarding the refusal within Jewish communities who avoid admitting their involvement, that agreement has disintegrated. The moderate Zionist position {has lost|no longer