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It has been the horrific attack of 7 October 2023, an event that shook Jewish communities worldwide like no other occurrence since the creation of the state of Israel.

For Jews it was deeply traumatic. For Israel as a nation, the situation represented a profound disgrace. The entire Zionist project had been established on the belief which held that the Jewish state could stop similar tragedies occurring in the future.

A response seemed necessary. Yet the chosen course Israel pursued – the comprehensive devastation of Gaza, the deaths and injuries of numerous ordinary people – constituted a specific policy. This particular approach complicated how many American Jews processed the attack that precipitated the response, and presently makes difficult their remembrance of the day. In what way can people mourn and commemorate a tragedy against your people in the midst of an atrocity done to other individuals attributed to their identity?

The Challenge of Remembrance

The complexity of mourning stems from the reality that there is no consensus about the significance of these events. In fact, for the American Jewish community, the recent twenty-four months have seen the disintegration of a decades-long unity on Zionism itself.

The beginnings of a Zionist consensus across American Jewish populations extends as far back as a 1915 essay by the lawyer subsequently appointed supreme court justice Louis Brandeis named “The Jewish Problem; Addressing the Challenge”. Yet the unity became firmly established after the Six-Day War during 1967. Before then, Jewish Americans contained a fragile but stable parallel existence between groups holding diverse perspectives regarding the need of a Jewish state – pro-Israel advocates, neutral parties and opponents.

Historical Context

This parallel existence continued during the post-war decades, in remnants of leftist Jewish organizations, in the non-Zionist Jewish communal organization, in the anti-Zionist Jewish organization and comparable entities. In the view of Louis Finkelstein, the chancellor of the theological institution, Zionism had greater religious significance rather than political, and he did not permit the singing of Israel's anthem, Hatikvah, at JTS ordinations in the early 1960s. Furthermore, Zionism and pro-Israelism the central focus for contemporary Orthodox communities until after that war. Alternative Jewish perspectives existed alongside.

But after Israel routed neighboring countries during the 1967 conflict that year, occupying territories such as the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan and East Jerusalem, the American Jewish connection with Israel evolved considerably. The triumphant outcome, coupled with longstanding fears regarding repeated persecution, produced a developing perspective regarding Israel's vital role to the Jewish people, and generated admiration in its resilience. Discourse about the “miraculous” aspect of the victory and the reclaiming of land provided the Zionist project a spiritual, almost redemptive, significance. During that enthusiastic period, considerable previous uncertainty about Zionism disappeared. During the seventies, Commentary magazine editor Podhoretz stated: “Zionism unites us all.”

The Unity and Restrictions

The unified position left out Haredi Jews – who largely believed a nation should only be established by a traditional rendering of the Messiah – yet included Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, contemporary Orthodox and the majority of secular Jews. The predominant version of the consensus, what became known as liberal Zionism, was founded on a belief in Israel as a progressive and liberal – while majority-Jewish – nation. Many American Jews saw the control of local, Syrian and Egyptian lands after 1967 as temporary, thinking that a solution would soon emerge that would ensure a Jewish majority in pre-1967 Israel and regional acceptance of the nation.

Two generations of US Jews were raised with pro-Israel ideology a fundamental aspect of their identity as Jews. The nation became an important element of Jewish education. Israeli national day evolved into a religious observance. Israeli flags adorned many temples. Summer camps were permeated with Israeli songs and learning of contemporary Hebrew, with Israelis visiting instructing US young people Israeli customs. Visits to Israel grew and peaked with Birthright Israel during that year, offering complimentary travel to Israel was offered to Jewish young adults. The nation influenced almost the entirety of US Jewish life.

Shifting Landscape

Interestingly, throughout these years post-1967, Jewish Americans became adept at religious pluralism. Tolerance and communication among different Jewish movements increased.

Except when it came to Zionism and Israel – there existed tolerance ended. Individuals might align with a conservative supporter or a leftwing Zionist, however endorsement of the nation as a Jewish homeland was a given, and questioning that perspective categorized you beyond accepted boundaries – an “Un-Jew”, as one publication labeled it in writing recently.

Yet presently, during of the devastation in Gaza, starvation, young victims and anger about the rejection by numerous Jewish individuals who decline to acknowledge their involvement, that unity has disintegrated. The centrist pro-Israel view {has lost|no longer