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Two years have passed since the mass murder of the events of October 7th, an event that deeply affected Jewish communities worldwide unlike anything else following the establishment of Israel as a nation.

For Jews the event proved shocking. For the state of Israel, the situation represented a profound disgrace. The whole Zionist movement was founded on the belief that the Jewish state would ensure against similar tragedies occurring in the future.

A response seemed necessary. But the response Israel pursued – the comprehensive devastation of the Gaza Strip, the killing and maiming of numerous ordinary people – represented a decision. This selected path made more difficult how many US Jewish community members understood the initial assault that triggered it, and currently challenges the community's remembrance of the anniversary. How can someone honor and reflect on a horrific event affecting their nation while simultaneously a catastrophe experienced by a different population in your name?

The Complexity of Grieving

The challenge surrounding remembrance stems from the reality that little unity prevails about the implications of these developments. Actually, among Jewish Americans, the last two years have seen the breakdown of a fifty-year agreement regarding Zionism.

The origins of pro-Israel unity within US Jewish communities can be traced to an early twentieth-century publication written by a legal scholar and then future high court jurist Louis Brandeis called “The Jewish Question; Finding Solutions”. But the consensus truly solidified subsequent to the Six-Day War during 1967. Before then, Jewish Americans housed a fragile but stable parallel existence among different factions that had a range of views concerning the requirement of a Jewish state – pro-Israel advocates, neutral parties and opponents.

Background Information

That coexistence continued during the 1950s and 60s, in remnants of Jewish socialism, through the non-aligned US Jewish group, among the opposing religious group and other organizations. Regarding Chancellor Finkelstein, the head at JTS, pro-Israel ideology was primarily theological than political, and he prohibited singing the Israeli national anthem, the national song, during seminary ceremonies during that period. Additionally, Zionism and pro-Israelism the central focus of Modern Orthodoxy until after that war. Different Jewish identity models coexisted.

However following Israel routed its neighbors in that war that year, taking control of areas including the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and Jerusalem's eastern sector, US Jewish perspective on Israel evolved considerably. The military success, along with persistent concerns about another genocide, resulted in a developing perspective regarding Israel's essential significance for Jewish communities, and created pride regarding its endurance. Discourse about the extraordinary nature of the outcome and the freeing of land provided Zionism a theological, potentially salvific, meaning. In those heady years, much of previous uncertainty toward Israel disappeared. In the early 1970s, Writer Norman Podhoretz stated: “Zionism unites us all.”

The Consensus and Restrictions

The Zionist consensus did not include Haredi Jews – who generally maintained a Jewish state should only emerge by a traditional rendering of the messiah – but united Reform, Conservative Judaism, contemporary Orthodox and most secular Jews. The common interpretation of the unified position, what became known as left-leaning Zionism, was founded on the conviction regarding Israel as a democratic and liberal – while majority-Jewish – country. Countless Jewish Americans saw the administration of Palestinian, Syria's and Egypt's territories after 1967 as provisional, believing that a solution was imminent that would guarantee Jewish population majority in pre-1967 Israel and neighbor recognition of Israel.

Two generations of American Jews grew up with pro-Israel ideology a fundamental aspect of their Jewish identity. Israel became a central part within religious instruction. Israeli national day turned into a celebration. Blue and white banners decorated most synagogues. Seasonal activities integrated with Hebrew music and learning of the language, with visitors from Israel and teaching US young people Israeli culture. Visits to Israel grew and reached new heights via educational trips by 1999, when a free trip to the country was offered to young American Jews. The nation influenced virtually all areas of Jewish American identity.

Shifting Landscape

Ironically, throughout these years post-1967, US Jewish communities became adept at religious pluralism. Tolerance and dialogue between Jewish denominations grew.

Except when it came to the Israeli situation – there existed pluralism reached its limit. You could be a conservative supporter or a liberal advocate, yet backing Israel as a majority-Jewish country remained unquestioned, and challenging that perspective categorized you outside the consensus – outside the community, as one publication labeled it in a piece in 2021.

But now, under the weight of the ruin of Gaza, food shortages, dead and orphaned children and frustration about the rejection within Jewish communities who avoid admitting their involvement, that consensus has collapsed. The moderate Zionist position {has lost|no longer