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It has been the horrific attack of October 7, 2023, which shook global Jewish populations more than any event since the founding of the state of Israel.

Among Jewish people it was deeply traumatic. For the Israeli government, it was a significant embarrassment. The whole Zionist movement had been established on the presumption which held that Israel would ensure against such atrocities repeating.

Some form of retaliation appeared unavoidable. However, the particular response undertaken by Israel – the obliteration of Gaza, the deaths and injuries of many thousands ordinary people – constituted a specific policy. And this choice complicated the way numerous Jewish Americans understood the initial assault that triggered it, and it now complicates the community's remembrance of that date. How does one honor and reflect on a tragedy against your people during an atrocity being inflicted upon other individuals in your name?

The Difficulty of Mourning

The challenge in grieving exists because of the fact that there is no consensus regarding the implications of these developments. Actually, within US Jewish circles, this two-year period have seen the breakdown of a half-century-old agreement regarding Zionism.

The early development of Zionist agreement within US Jewish communities can be traced to writings from 1915 written by a legal scholar and then future supreme court justice Louis Brandeis titled “Jewish Issues; Finding Solutions”. But the consensus became firmly established after the Six-Day War during 1967. Before then, US Jewish communities maintained a vulnerable but enduring cohabitation across various segments which maintained a range of views concerning the necessity for a Jewish nation – pro-Israel advocates, neutral parties and anti-Zionists.

Background Information

This parallel existence continued during the mid-twentieth century, in remnants of leftist Jewish organizations, within the neutral Jewish communal organization, within the critical Jewish organization and comparable entities. For Louis Finkelstein, the leader of the theological institution, pro-Israel ideology was more spiritual than political, and he forbade singing the Israeli national anthem, the Israeli national anthem, at religious school events in the early 1960s. Furthermore, Zionism and pro-Israelism the centerpiece within modern Orthodox Judaism before the six-day war. Different Jewish identity models existed alongside.

However following Israel defeated adjacent nations during the 1967 conflict in 1967, taking control of areas such as the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights and Jerusalem's eastern sector, US Jewish relationship to the country evolved considerably. The military success, combined with enduring anxieties about another genocide, led to a developing perspective regarding Israel's vital role within Jewish identity, and created pride regarding its endurance. Language concerning the extraordinary quality of the outcome and the reclaiming of areas gave Zionism a religious, even messianic, importance. In that triumphant era, considerable previous uncertainty regarding Zionism disappeared. In that decade, Writer the commentator famously proclaimed: “Everyone supports Zionism today.”

The Unity and Its Boundaries

The pro-Israel agreement excluded the ultra-Orthodox – who generally maintained Israel should only emerge via conventional understanding of the messiah – but united Reform, Conservative Judaism, Modern Orthodox and nearly all non-affiliated Jews. The common interpretation of this agreement, what became known as progressive Zionism, was established on a belief in Israel as a progressive and democratic – albeit ethnocentric – nation. Countless Jewish Americans considered the control of local, Syria's and Egyptian lands following the war as provisional, believing that a resolution was forthcoming that would maintain a Jewish majority in Israel proper and regional acceptance of the nation.

Multiple generations of US Jews were thus brought up with pro-Israel ideology a fundamental aspect of their Jewish identity. Israel became an important element in Jewish learning. Israel’s Independence Day turned into a celebration. National symbols decorated religious institutions. Youth programs were permeated with national melodies and education of contemporary Hebrew, with visitors from Israel educating US young people Israeli culture. Trips to the nation increased and peaked via educational trips by 1999, providing no-cost visits to Israel became available to Jewish young adults. Israel permeated nearly every aspect of US Jewish life.

Shifting Landscape

Paradoxically, throughout these years after 1967, American Jewry grew skilled regarding denominational coexistence. Tolerance and dialogue between Jewish denominations grew.

Yet concerning Zionism and Israel – there existed tolerance reached its limit. You could be a right-leaning advocate or a progressive supporter, yet backing Israel as a Jewish state was assumed, and questioning that perspective positioned you outside mainstream views – a non-conformist, as a Jewish periodical described it in writing in 2021.

But now, amid of the destruction in Gaza, food shortages, dead and orphaned children and frustration about the rejection within Jewish communities who decline to acknowledge their involvement, that consensus has collapsed. The centrist pro-Israel view {has lost|no longer