The recent Gaza conflict and the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government have put a strain on the relationship between the American Jewish community and Israel. There is now a dispute over US commitment to supporting Israel and over Zionism itself, which used to be the basis of most American liberal Jews’ self-identity.Some American Jews are losing hope in Israel and are being lured by dangerous conceptions that no longer regard Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, but rather, as an oppressive colonial power. This is leading to a crisis of identity within the American Jewish community, as many Jews are struggling to reconcile their support for Israel with their liberal values.Some believe that Zionism and liberalism are incompatible, and that American Jews must choose between supporting the right of the Jewish people to a national homeland and the liberal values that constitute the core of their self-identity. Others argue that it is more important than ever to support Israel’s security while demanding an end to the disproportional killing of innocent civilians.Members of J Street, a liberal Jewish organization, contend daily with the need to create and sustain a space for nuanced discussion of Israel in an environment in which Zionism, or Zionist, has become a negative term, a slur. The challenge, and mission, is to continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas’s terrorism and the need to remove that organization from its position of power and control in Gaza, while at the same time demanding that the Israeli government end the disproportional killing of innocent civilians, allow into every place in Gaza the humanitarian aid needed to alleviate the current starvation, and articulate a political vision and horizon for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Jews in the US are horrified to learn that most Israelis are unaware of the full extent of the suffering in Gaza, and of the moral and strategic harm it does to Israel. They think Netanyahu has been not merely ungrateful to Biden and his overwhelming and unprecedented support of Israel, but actively trying to undermine Biden’s campaign for a second term. For many American Jews, nothing could be more dangerous for the future of the free world and of US democracy than a Donald Trump win in November; and the thought that the Israeli government might play a role in bringing it about is horrifying.Polarization over Israel is present all across the US liberal public – in the Jewish community, in the Democratic Party, on university campuses, and in society at large. Today more than ever it is essential that there continue to be Jews in the US who object to the policies and actions of the Israeli government, but who at the same time are proud Zionists. Jews who believe in the right of the Jewish people to a national homeland, but who also understand that in order to protect that very right, the US must use every possible lever of power to save liberal Israel, which is being oppressed by the Netanyahu government, and thus help Israelis and Palestinians escape the never-ending cycle of violence.
Liberal American Jewish Americans’ Support for Israel is Under Stress
