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Two years have passed since the horrific attack of the events of October 7th, which profoundly impacted global Jewish populations unlike anything else since the establishment of Israel as a nation.

Within Jewish communities the event proved profoundly disturbing. For the Israeli government, the situation represented deeply humiliating. The whole Zionist movement was founded on the belief which held that the Jewish state could stop things like this occurring in the future.

A response was inevitable. Yet the chosen course that Israel implemented – the obliteration of the Gaza Strip, the casualties of tens of thousands non-combatants – constituted a specific policy. This particular approach made more difficult the way numerous US Jewish community members processed the initial assault that triggered it, and presently makes difficult the community's commemoration of that date. How does one grieve and remember a horrific event affecting their nation while simultaneously devastation being inflicted upon another people attributed to their identity?

The Complexity of Grieving

The complexity of mourning exists because of the circumstance where there is no consensus regarding the implications of these developments. Actually, among Jewish Americans, the last two years have experienced the disintegration of a half-century-old unity about the Zionist movement.

The early development of pro-Israel unity within US Jewish communities extends as far back as an early twentieth-century publication written by a legal scholar and then future high court jurist Justice Brandeis named “The Jewish Question; Addressing the Challenge”. Yet the unity became firmly established subsequent to the six-day war during 1967. Before then, US Jewish communities maintained a fragile but stable coexistence across various segments which maintained diverse perspectives regarding the necessity for a Jewish nation – pro-Israel advocates, non-Zionists and opponents.

Historical Context

That coexistence persisted during the 1950s and 60s, in remnants of socialist Jewish movements, within the neutral US Jewish group, in the anti-Zionist American Council for Judaism and other organizations. Regarding Chancellor Finkelstein, the leader of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Zionism had greater religious significance rather than political, and he did not permit performance of Israel's anthem, Hatikvah, at religious school events during that period. Additionally, support for Israel the main element within modern Orthodox Judaism before that war. Different Jewish identity models remained present.

However following Israel overcame neighboring countries in the six-day war in 1967, occupying territories including the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan and East Jerusalem, the American Jewish perspective on the nation changed dramatically. Israel’s victory, combined with persistent concerns about another genocide, led to a growing belief about the nation's critical importance within Jewish identity, and created pride for its strength. Rhetoric regarding the extraordinary quality of the success and the reclaiming of areas provided Zionism a religious, even messianic, importance. In that triumphant era, much of existing hesitation about Zionism disappeared. In the early 1970s, Commentary magazine editor the commentator famously proclaimed: “Zionism unites us all.”

The Unity and Restrictions

The Zionist consensus excluded Haredi Jews – who typically thought Israel should only emerge via conventional understanding of the messiah – however joined Reform Judaism, Conservative, contemporary Orthodox and nearly all non-affiliated Jews. The predominant version of this agreement, identified as left-leaning Zionism, was established on the conviction in Israel as a liberal and free – albeit ethnocentric – state. Countless Jewish Americans saw the administration of local, Syrian and Egyptian lands post-1967 as temporary, thinking that a resolution was forthcoming that would ensure Jewish population majority within Israel's original borders and neighbor recognition of the nation.

Several cohorts of American Jews grew up with pro-Israel ideology a core part of their Jewish identity. The nation became a central part in Jewish learning. Israeli national day turned into a celebration. National symbols were displayed in religious institutions. Youth programs became infused with Hebrew music and education of the language, with Israeli guests and teaching American youth national traditions. Visits to Israel increased and peaked with Birthright Israel during that year, when a free trip to the country was offered to young American Jews. The nation influenced nearly every aspect of US Jewish life.

Evolving Situation

Paradoxically, in these decades post-1967, American Jewry grew skilled in religious diversity. Tolerance and communication between Jewish denominations increased.

Yet concerning Zionism and Israel – there existed pluralism ended. One could identify as a right-leaning advocate or a progressive supporter, but support for Israel as a majority-Jewish country was assumed, and criticizing that position categorized you outside mainstream views – a non-conformist, as a Jewish periodical termed it in a piece recently.

However currently, under the weight of the ruin in Gaza, food shortages, child casualties and frustration regarding the refusal by numerous Jewish individuals who avoid admitting their responsibility, that consensus has broken down. The liberal Zionist “center” {has lost|no longer