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

For Jews it was shocking. For the state of Israel, the situation represented a significant embarrassment. The whole Zionist movement rested on the assumption which held that Israel would prevent things like this repeating.

A response was inevitable. But the response Israel pursued – the obliteration of the Gaza Strip, the killing and maiming of tens of thousands of civilians – was a choice. This selected path made more difficult how many US Jewish community members understood the attack that set it in motion, and presently makes difficult their commemoration of the anniversary. How does one grieve and remember a horrific event against your people while simultaneously devastation being inflicted upon other individuals attributed to their identity?

The Difficulty of Grieving

The difficulty of mourning lies in the reality that no agreement exists as to what any of this means. Actually, for the American Jewish community, this two-year period have seen the breakdown of a fifty-year agreement about the Zionist movement.

The origins of Zionist agreement across American Jewish populations dates back to a 1915 essay written by a legal scholar and then future supreme court justice Louis D. Brandeis named “The Jewish Problem; Addressing the Challenge”. Yet the unity truly solidified after the Six-Day War during 1967. Earlier, US Jewish communities contained a vulnerable but enduring parallel existence between groups that had diverse perspectives concerning the need of a Jewish state – Zionists, non-Zionists and anti-Zionists.

Previous Developments

This parallel existence persisted during the post-war decades, within remaining elements of socialist Jewish movements, in the non-Zionist American Jewish Committee, within the critical American Council for Judaism and comparable entities. For Louis Finkelstein, the chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, pro-Israel ideology was primarily theological instead of governmental, and he prohibited singing Israel's anthem, the Israeli national anthem, during seminary ceremonies during that period. Furthermore, Zionist ideology the main element for contemporary Orthodox communities until after that war. Different Jewish identity models existed alongside.

However following Israel defeated neighboring countries in that war that year, seizing land comprising the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and Jerusalem's eastern sector, the American Jewish connection with Israel underwent significant transformation. Israel’s victory, coupled with persistent concerns of a “second Holocaust”, produced an increasing conviction about the nation's vital role within Jewish identity, and created pride in its resilience. Discourse about the remarkable nature of the outcome and the “liberation” of land gave the Zionist project a theological, potentially salvific, significance. In those heady years, a significant portion of the remaining ambivalence toward Israel disappeared. During the seventies, Writer Norman Podhoretz stated: “We are all Zionists now.”

The Unity and Restrictions

The pro-Israel agreement excluded Haredi Jews – who typically thought Israel should only emerge through traditional interpretation of redemption – however joined Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Modern Orthodox and nearly all unaffiliated individuals. The most popular form of the unified position, identified as liberal Zionism, was established on the idea regarding Israel as a liberal and liberal – while majority-Jewish – country. Countless Jewish Americans viewed the occupation of Arab, Syrian and Egypt's territories following the war as provisional, assuming that a solution was imminent that would guarantee a Jewish majority in Israel proper and regional acceptance of the state.

Several cohorts of American Jews grew up with pro-Israel ideology an essential component of their identity as Jews. The nation became a central part of Jewish education. Israel’s Independence Day evolved into a religious observance. National symbols decorated many temples. Seasonal activities were permeated with national melodies and education of contemporary Hebrew, with visitors from Israel educating American teenagers Israeli culture. Trips to the nation grew and peaked through Birthright programs by 1999, when a free trip to Israel was provided to US Jewish youth. The nation influenced nearly every aspect of US Jewish life.

Evolving Situation

Paradoxically, throughout these years post-1967, American Jewry grew skilled in religious diversity. Acceptance and dialogue between Jewish denominations increased.

Yet concerning Zionism and Israel – that’s where tolerance reached its limit. One could identify as a conservative supporter or a liberal advocate, yet backing Israel as a Jewish state was assumed, and criticizing that narrative positioned you outside the consensus – a non-conformist, as one publication described it in a piece in 2021.

Yet presently, during of the destruction within Gaza, food shortages, child casualties and anger about the rejection within Jewish communities who refuse to recognize their responsibility, that unity has broken down. The liberal Zionist “center” {has lost|no longer