🔗 Share this article

It has been the horrific attack of the events of October 7th, which profoundly impacted Jewish communities worldwide like no other occurrence since the creation of Israel as a nation.

For Jews the event proved profoundly disturbing. For Israel as a nation, it was a profound disgrace. The whole Zionist endeavor rested on the assumption which held that the nation would prevent such atrocities occurring in the future.

Military action seemed necessary. But the response that Israel implemented – the widespread destruction of Gaza, the deaths and injuries of numerous of civilians – represented a decision. This particular approach complicated how many Jewish Americans processed the October 7th events that set it in motion, and presently makes difficult their observance of that date. In what way can people honor and reflect on an atrocity targeting their community while simultaneously a catastrophe being inflicted upon another people connected to their community?

The Complexity of Mourning

The complexity in grieving stems from the fact that no agreement exists as to the significance of these events. Indeed, for the American Jewish community, this two-year period have experienced the breakdown of a decades-long agreement regarding Zionism.

The early development of a Zionist consensus among American Jewry dates back to an early twentieth-century publication written by a legal scholar subsequently appointed supreme court justice Louis D. Brandeis titled “The Jewish Question; Finding Solutions”. Yet the unity became firmly established following the 1967 conflict that year. Before then, American Jewry housed a delicate yet functioning coexistence across various segments holding different opinions regarding the necessity of a Jewish state – pro-Israel advocates, non-Zionists and anti-Zionists.

Previous Developments

Such cohabitation endured during the 1950s and 60s, through surviving aspects of Jewish socialism, in the non-Zionist American Jewish Committee, within the critical American Council for Judaism and similar institutions. In the view of Louis Finkelstein, the chancellor of the theological institution, Zionism was more spiritual instead of governmental, and he prohibited performance of Israel's anthem, the national song, at JTS ordinations in the early 1960s. Nor were Zionist ideology the central focus within modern Orthodox Judaism until after the 1967 conflict. Alternative Jewish perspectives existed alongside.

However following Israel overcame its neighbors during the 1967 conflict during that period, occupying territories such as Palestinian territories, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and Jerusalem's eastern sector, the American Jewish connection with the nation changed dramatically. Israel’s victory, along with longstanding fears regarding repeated persecution, resulted in an increasing conviction regarding Israel's vital role for Jewish communities, and a source of pride in its resilience. Language concerning the “miraculous” aspect of the outcome and the “liberation” of land assigned the movement a spiritual, even messianic, meaning. In that triumphant era, considerable previous uncertainty regarding Zionism disappeared. In that decade, Commentary magazine editor Norman Podhoretz stated: “Zionism unites us all.”

The Unity and Its Boundaries

The unified position left out strictly Orthodox communities – who generally maintained Israel should only be ushered in via conventional understanding of the messiah – yet included Reform, Conservative, Modern Orthodox and the majority of secular Jews. The most popular form of the consensus, what became known as left-leaning Zionism, was founded on the idea about the nation as a liberal and liberal – though Jewish-centered – nation. Countless Jewish Americans considered the occupation of local, Syria's and Egypt's territories following the war as not permanent, believing that an agreement would soon emerge that would ensure Jewish demographic dominance in Israel proper and regional acceptance of Israel.

Multiple generations of US Jews grew up with support for Israel an essential component of their identity as Jews. The nation became a key component of Jewish education. Yom Ha'atzmaut became a Jewish holiday. Blue and white banners adorned religious institutions. Summer camps integrated with Hebrew music and the study of contemporary Hebrew, with Israelis visiting and teaching US young people national traditions. Trips to the nation grew and peaked via educational trips during that year, providing no-cost visits to the nation became available to US Jewish youth. The nation influenced nearly every aspect of US Jewish life.

Changing Dynamics

Ironically, during this period after 1967, US Jewish communities became adept regarding denominational coexistence. Tolerance and communication across various Jewish groups grew.

However regarding Zionism and Israel – that’s where tolerance ended. Individuals might align with a right-leaning advocate or a progressive supporter, but support for Israel as a Jewish state was a given, and criticizing that narrative positioned you outside mainstream views – outside the community, as Tablet magazine labeled it in writing in 2021.

However currently, during of the ruin in Gaza, famine, child casualties and anger about the rejection by numerous Jewish individuals who decline to acknowledge their involvement, that agreement has broken down. The liberal Zionist “center” {has lost|no longer