Current American Jewish Views on Israel
(JTA)
— Last Tuesday night (May 13, 2025), the author and podcaster Dan Senor, in a
stirring address at New York's 92nd Street Y, ignited a spark of hope in the
hearts of many. Despite the rising tide of antisemitism and the backlash
against Israel's war in Gaza, which has left Jews feeling isolated and
vulnerable, Senor passionately proclaimed that the Jewish community has the
power to 'create nothing short of a Jewish renaissance.'
If
philanthropists and communities double down on supporting Jewish day schools,
summer camps, adult Jewish education, and gap years in Israel, we can be
optimistic about the Jewish future in the Diaspora. Despite the real challenges
we face, we have the tools to rebuild American Jewish life.
One
week earlier, The New Republic published a lengthy article by the
journalist and academic Eric Alterman, entitled "The Coming Jewish Civil
War Over Donald Trump." It also surveyed the State of World Jewry, but
with a markedly different analysis.
Alterman
sees a Jewish community divided between an influential, politically
conservative minority that unconditionally defends Israel and a majority that
votes Democratic and prioritizes defending democracy in both Israel and the
United States.
On
the extremes, meanwhile, is a far right that promotes Israel's annexation of
the West Bank and Gaza, and a far left that is non- or anti-Zionist.
For
Alterman, the Jewish challenge won't be resolved by funding Jewish identity
programs but by confronting, 'who gets to define what it means to be Jewish in
the U.S.' This means defending the educational and democratic institutions that
have allowed Jews to become the safest, most secure, and most economically
successful Jewish population to exist anywhere, anytime, ever. This is a call
to action, a reminder of our power to shape our own identity and future.
With
the war in Gaza still raging, after 19 months that altered Jewish
self-perceptions and perhaps their status in the United States, the two
observers laid out visions of the present and future that are both opposed, yet
in some ways complementary.
While there are opposing views on the subject of gaza....I think an aanalogy explains my position. If you have aa rodent infestation in your house...ridding 2, or 3, or 4...will not solve the problem. That's when one calls in the "exterminator" to rid the house of the infestation. Leaving a few opens the possibility of deadly health issues. Unless one is terribly naive....one must believe that a devout follower of the Koran....the very Koran that demands "eliminating" non believers - that killing is to be expected-not eliminated for good-will - where children are exploited to be martys killing Jews- A devout Torah Jew would not give up traditions under threat....ask conversos.
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