American Jews’ connection to Israel drops off with each subsequent generation, a new study suggests.
The authors of the study, sociologists Steven M. Cohen and Ari Kelman, found a consistent increase in alienation in each younger generation, with middle-aged Jews less attached to Israel than older Jews, and younger Jews less attached than middle-aged Jews.
“Every measure indicates a decline of attachment to Israel” from one generation to the next, Kelman, a sociologist at the University of California, Davis, told the Forward.
While the waning relationship between American Jews and Israel has been documented in past studies, the new survey, entitled “Beyond Distancing,” provides the most in-depth statistical picture to date of American Jewish attitudes toward Israel and the extent of the disaffection.
Cohen and Kelman used a broader variety of questions than past studies have to gauge attachment and alienation among different generations of Jews. They found that young adult Jews were less attached to Israel than any other living generation of Jewish adults. This low level of attachment was consistent across the political spectrum, independent of party affiliation or ideological attachment. The authors concluded that the changes are likely generational and permanent.
“Insofar as younger Jews are less attached to Israel,” the authors wrote, “the inevitable replacement of the older population with younger birth cohorts leads to a growing distancing in the population overall.”
Cohen and Kelman used a series of questions about Israel to gauge connection. Eighty percent of Jews over age 65 said that “caring about Israel is an important part of being Jewish,” compared with 72% of those 50-64 years old, 64% of those 35-49, and 60% of those under 35. From these responses, the authors compiled an index of overall attachment. They found that nearly 40% of Jews over 65 were found to be highly attached, compared with just over 20% of Jews under 35. The numbers are almost exactly reversed for low attachment, with more than 40% of Jews under 35 registering low attachment, compared with 20% of Jews over 65.
The one life-cycle event that Cohen and Kelman did point to as significant was intermarriage of Jews with non-Jews. Cohen, who has been an outspoken opponent of intermarriage, said that much of the rise in alienation and decline in attachment among younger generations could be accounted for by the rising levels of intermarriage.
The survey did make some unusual choices, particularly by choosing to exclude the responses of Orthodox Jews, who tend to have the closest connection to Israel. Cohen explained that this was done for two reasons: first, because the statistical sample of Orthodox responses was too small, and second, because Jewish policymaking’s focus is on non-Orthodox Jews.
Ted Sasson, a senior scholar at Brandeis University’s Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, said the study was “important and interesting.” He objected, however, to the author’s prediction of what the findings might mean for the future. Sasson said that the data underpinning the study provided a snapshot of current attitudes, not a trend.
One finding that Cohen, Kelman and Sasson could all agree upon was the positive influence of a trip to Israel. Cohen and Kelman’s study found that attachment levels increased dramatically, particularly among young Jews, after a trip to Israel. This confirmed previous studies, including one co-authored by Sasson, that had documented the rising sense of Jewish attachment among participants in Birthright Israel’s free trips to Israel.
Cohen and Kelman’s Israel study is one in a series of studies they will be writing for the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies to explore various aspects of identity among young American Jews. The Bronfman Philanthropies are a founder and sponsor of Birthright Israel.
Roger Bennett, vice president of the Bronfman Philanthropies, has long advocated the importance of understanding the identities of young Jews on their own terms and creating programs that respond in kind.
Bennett said that though the findings of the study were dramatic, he saw no cause for alarm. “It’s a rallying call to roll up our sleeves and move to action,” he said.
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The issue in American Jewry has never changed, and the issue is the loss of peoplehood. The Jews in American generally do not see themselves as part of an ancient nation; rather, they now see themselves as part of the American nation, and they define their own Jewishness as the Americans define it (a religion) - and not as Jews have always defined themselves (one of the peoples of the world). The absurdity of it all is that the Jewish religion defines the Jews as a nation named "Israel". However, the American peoplehood has replaced the historic sense of Jewish peoplehood - and so, ironically, an American Jew who prays in synagogue doesn't really notice the repeated messages of the siddur: the Jews as a unique nation, and the memory of Jerusalem and the Land of Israel. The trend seems to be irreversible simply because the adoption of the American identity is understood to be the very essence of the Jewish success story in America. However, with the adoption of American peoplehood, the general direction of American sociology will be the general direction of most American Jews. Americans see Israel as a "foreign" country, and so too will most American Jews ultimately see her as well.
B"H An important fact about the study is left out in this story. The study only included "non-orthodox" Jews in their sampling. This is a significant aspect of the study, and your story should be amended to include this fact.
This survey depicts a scary truth for young Jews around the country. As an 18-year-old, I am a part of the 20 percent of “highly attached” American Jews. While myself and many of my closest friends remain “highly attached” to Israel through a variety of outlets, I do see an unfortunate apathetic attitude towards Israel amongst many of my uninvolved peers which raises a great cause for concern. The challenge for my generation lies in reaching out to and focusing our attentions on those who are not “highly attached,” whether it be through trips to Israel, Jewish education or encouragement to marry other Jews. We must continue our efforts as leaders of the Jewish Community in finding new ways to reach out to those young people you might not think would be interested in going to Israel…there are tons of trip opportunities for all kinds of interests. It might just save our country’s relationship to Israel. – Jason Wachs, 18, BBYO International President (Grand Aleph Godol)
Aren't these results consistent with other ethnic groups in the US? For example, the younger Cuban-Americans have less attachment to Cuba and are less hung up on Castro than their parents and grandparents. I don't see how this withering of ties to Israel is unique to Jews. If I'm right, then shouldn't we expect the same thing with Muslim Arab-Americans? There are large Christian Lebanese communities in the US. I know from personal experience that the younger generation considers itself American through and through, although of Lebanese descent. I would expect Muslim Arab-Americans to go through the same process, at least when they stop being viewed as a suspect group.
The main reason that a majority of younger "Jews" are not attached to Israel is because they come from intermarried families. Many of them have a tenious connection to Judiasm and a lot of them consider themselves half-Jewish. Jewish education for them is minimal at best. Intermarriage has been rampant among the Jewish community in America for decades and has caused great harm. Nobody should be surprised that indifference towards Israel is common among younger self-described Jews. That is one of the many negative consequeces of intermarriage. The good news is that in the future the Orthodox will represent the majority of the American Jewish population and support for Israel among American Jews will be be at unprecedented levels.
Its interesting to read the websites of pro-intermarriage organisations. You would never know there was a mid-east conflict if you read them.
Assuming the numbers and conclusions are accurate and verifiable, I would consider this good news. The less people identify themselves with any state, the more they are able to live with intelligence and empathy. I see no more reason to be attached to the State of Israel than to be attached to the United States of American, the United Arab Emirates, or any other state.
Nu, what did you expect? The days of solid-block Jew=Israel supporter are dying. Its a good thing, because maybe finally we can, or Israel can start living in the real world again. How long is Israel supposed to hide behind the walls of the most insecure ghetto ever built? It is time for Israel to be a moral country, a nation among the nations, time to strip the frumes of power and finally develop a democratic state. That's what I learned Israel was. Being born in 1951 helped. Just for clarification, I lived in Israel for almost three years--I left after my best friend came back from duty in the sh'tachim, and Sharon rode his Big Hat into Lebanon, just to show everybody his gonadic hypertrophy. I saw it, and left. Unfortunately for the stick-in-the-mudkes, Jews have been moving away from the right very nicely, thank you, since the 70s, and with any luck we may even have a responsible government there, one without hubris, and a leader the rest of Jewry can once again be proud of, and support.
Does the survey consider that this weakening attachment might have something to do with the way Israel has conducted itself since 1967, rather than the exogamy Steven Cohen has deplored? OK, I know the owners of the mainstream media do their best to sanitize the picture for Americans. But maybe Herzltopia-- with its unadmitted nuclear arsenal, its fanatical squatters frolicking in swimming pools on Arab land, its special roads and great big fences snaking through the landscape and cutting Palestinian villages in half, its intractable poverty among Sephardi Jewish kids, its corrupt families of politicians and its elevation of such charming characters as Avigdor Lieberman into government-- maybe, just maybe, that state doesn't inspire QUITE as much idealism as the country America's young Jews flocked to defend during the Six Day War, eh? That's bring the wrath of the neocons, Dershowitz, Foxman, Bronfman & Co down on me! I forgot that Israel is 99.44pc infallible, and even when it isn't nobody must say so in the goyim's hearing, because it wouldn't be "good for the Jews". Whisper it cautiously, but maybe as apologists for Israel those guys have a teeny-weeny bit to do with the waning of affection as well...
Always in such a discussion about identification with Israel, there will be those such as David L Nilsson who will claim that it is Israel's behavior that is the real cause for change in attitudes towards her. However, when one views attitudes of American Jews towards America, it is obvious that they have had the strongest of criticism throughout the years - criticism of racial discrimination, criticism of the war in Vietnam, criticism of the war in Iraq, criticism of corruption, etc, etc. Yet, the fond feelings that one has towards America were always obvious. Good feelings and identification have never been a function of politics or war; rather, they are a function of a sense of belonging. Hence, a drop in identification of a Diaspora community with Israel is indeed a function of the weakening of Jewish identity and sense of community (i.e. assimilation) - not at all a political issue. Indeed, if it were a political issue, then why would support for Israel be gauged in accordance to generation? The generation factor makes it clear that the issue at hand is assimilation and the weakening of the Jewish experience in America.
The degree of attachment to zionism (Jewish nationalism) in general, and the State of Israel in particular, rises and falls in direct correlation to perceived antisemitism in the society as a whole. It's been that way all along since the time of Herzl at the very least. The majority of Jews who emigrated to Israel came as a result of the "push" out of their countries rather than the "pull" of zionism into Palestine and Israel. The newest cover for antisemitism today in the US today is the failed war in Iraq, the architects of whom are the now reviled "neocons," which is another rubric for the eternal and ongoing grand Jewish conspiracy. On the other hand, Israel had done very little to be accommodating towards Jewish-American immigrants, which is another reason for the paucity of Jewish immigration to Israel.
It's hard to imagine that Israel could do something in order to attract American Jewish immigrants. Often one hears an attitude that events are exclusively in the hands of Israel (see Jack Garbuz's comment about immigration) - that if she would do things this way or that way, then events would turn out differently. However, historical events and social dynamics are much more complicated. Throughout history, Jews regarded themselves as a "nation in exile". Certainly, the pre-Holocaust Yiddish speaking Jews of Eastern Europe - even the anti-Zionist Bund - regarded themselves to be a nation. The masses of Soviet Jewish immigrants to Israel in the last twenty years - despite their general ignorance of Jewish culture since the Communist era - still defined themselves as "Jews by nationality". They never called themselves "Russians". This historic identity does not exist today in the Jewish community in America. The American Jews are not a "nation" in their own eyes, nor are they in "exile". They are Americans who may or may not attend a synagogue. Israel could bend over backwards for immigrants, the conflict could end and the messiah could arrive tomorrow on his white donkey - and still the masses of American Jews wouldn't even consider participating in our Jewish society. It's not really that important to them.
i am not jewish but i am american. i live overseas and travel throughout asia - for 15 years. the young isreali punks i endure on the road have throughly spoiled the adventure. they are arrogant, annoying, rude and abrasive - to me an dthe locals. i havenever, ever met an isreali i thought was polite or i liked. the often try to bum something from you (money, cigarettes, switch seats). becasue of this i have absolutely no support for isreal. it can be over run by arabs and i could care less - ive neve met an isreali i could even say was a decent person - so why should i support this nation esp in light of its inability to make peace on its own terms in the region. thank you.
Israel's treatment of American Jews probably has something to do with this alienation. A large number of committed American Jews identify with the Conservative and Reform movements, and these movements have been disgracefully treated by Israel. Even worse, some of our children have been harassed and stoned for "daring" to pray in mixed groups. They discover that "freedom of religion" does not exist in Israel for non Orthodox Jews -- and even their the Israel religious authorities are starting to distance themselves from their American counterparts. It's a wonder that so many of these kids return to Israel and try not to let their mistreatment destroy their love for the country.
R Lee Smith claims that "Israel's treatment of American Jews probably has something to do with this alienation". It should only be so! It should only be that American Jewish visitors arrive in Israel in massive numbers, and they now have this or that complaint! It should only be a situation in which the problem's source could be so readily defined. Once a problem has been identified, a solution can be found. Unfortunately, the problems of Jewish identity in America cannot be so readily defined, and the trends of ongoing and weakening Jewish commitment seem to be quite irreversible. What percentage of the Forward's readers know the Hebrew alphabet? What percentage of them have visited the British Museum in London as opposed the percentage who have visited to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem? Israel is a very clear and organized Jewish entity - so it's easy and convenient to point fingers, and to ask tough questions and to demand some results. American Jewry is not such a clear entity. No one has to belong, and no one has to answer any questions or to give any explanations. There are no "draft notices", no one has any obligations or duties to serve the common Jewish good. So it's not so easy to ask: "Hey, what's happening there? Why is the Jewish public so Jewishly illiterate?" To whom should I direct such tough questions? And, yet, that is the central issue. It is a very weak and ignorant Jewish public in the Jewish cultural sense. Jewish education is such a multi-generation failure. However, there's no one to hold accountable - so let's focus our attention on Israel and hold her responsible for the level of identification of American Jewry...
September 9, 2007 To The Editor: Long over due recognition of reality. How difficult is it for the so-called American Jewish Establishment to realize that the future of American Jewry is here in our beloved U.S. of A, and that nonsense such as "Birthright Israel," is treated as so much "bull[word deleted]," by American Jewish youth. Post-Zionism is here and now! David E. Blank, a youthful 71
The fanaticism and intellectual degeneracy of the Jewish Right make it almost impossible to even have meaningful discussion about the nature of and reasons for the changing attitudes of American Jewry towards Israel. “The main reason that a majority of younger "Jews" are not attached to Israel is because they come from intermarried families . . . . The good news is that in the future the Orthodox will represent the majority of the American Jewish population and support for Israel among American Jews will be at unprecedented levels.” Ahhhh, yes, more “Conservative-Judaism-is-a-made-up-religion-to-impress-the-goys” stupidity. First, we have the usual nonsense about Conservative and Reform Judaism getting ready to disappear ANY DAY NOW, while the Orthodox stand ready to inherit the Earth. I can’t help wondering, though; if Conservative and Reform Judaism have continued their long and steady decline into obscurity while Orthodoxy grows year by year, then why hasn’t support for Israel increased in exact proportion to the forward march of Orthodoxy itself? Oh well, I guess that’s part of the beauty of rightwing Jewish fanaticism; after all, why bother with qualities like logic and coherence – much less a reliance on actual facts or evidence – when you can tap your ruby slippers together and embrace whatever appealing fairy tale your rabbi tells you that morning. Even more laughable is the notion that the Orthodox have been more supportive of Israel than the rest of the American Jewish community. Quite simply, this reflects nothing more than the application of Chickenhawk Republicanism to the Israeli context, with its “Why-do-liberals-hate-America” fantasy. Of course, you can hardly blame the Jewish Right for their defensiveness. After all, the involvement of secular Jewry in establishing the State of Israel consisted of fighting wars against actual soldiers armed with tanks and machine guns, while the historical contribution of the Orthodox community has been limited to vigorous shuckling and beating up 11-year-old Palestinian girls.
The views of those such as Yehuda and Ben-Levi are quite different, of course. Though respectful and coherent – unlike the sneering contempt of loathsome Cult Jews like Tatiana – they, too, are wrong. For example, Ben Levi attributes the decline in American Jews’ identification with Israel to assimilation, as demonstrated by the ostensible distinction between their critical-but-supportive attitude toward America itself, and their supposed alienation from Israel. But this is where I think he is wrong; American Jews’ “lack of identification” with Israel is not a rejection of its right to exist or of Zionism per se, but is precisely analogous to their harsh criticism of Bush and the Republicans’ ugly imperialist adventure in Iraq. In short, the growing hostility of some American Jews’ attitudes toward Israel is, indeed, the result of “Israel's behavior,” rather than – as Ben Levi and Yehuda believe – the inevitable byproduct of assimilation. The offending Israeli policies in question are described superbly by David Nilsson and R. Lee Smith respectively, certainly to the extent they identify the source of my own feelings of anger and hopelessness toward the country. As Nilsson articulates perfectly, Israel continues with its desecration of the democratic principals that underlay the rationale for the state’s founding since my grandmother stood with the blue-and-white pishke in Brownsville, and our Talmud Torah teachers explained how Israel was a country in which Jew and Arab alike were equal before the law. Rightwing Jews can keep up the drumbeat of their “Palestinians-are-Nazis” rant till the cows come home, but that will never change the fact that the Occupation is a legal and moral obscenity, a political cancer, and a monument to racist, democracy-hating religious fanaticism. Additionally, R. Lee Smith provides what is, for me, an even more salient reason for my diminished support for the State of Israel. Quite simply, the very existence of the Rabbinate with coercive power over anyone but its own Orthodox adherents is bad enough. But the second Israel imposes any – and I mean ANY – legal disability on the rights of Conservative Jews (including, of course, the eligibility of Conservative converts for Israeli citizenship under the Right of Return), the rationale for my allegiance disappears entirely, and my support for the state is instantly and completely over as well. Moreover, I will do everything in my power to persuade every Conservative Jew, congregation and institution in America to embrace that position as well. In short, American Jews’ growing alienation from Israel doesn’t reflect the indifference of assimilation, but the bitterness of betrayal.
yehuda: I unfortunately have to agree that what Mr. Smith said. What he is talking about is a small part of a much larger problem of decreasing Jewish committment to Israel. To set the record straight I think tthe existence and survival of Israel is a the core of the existence and survival of Judaism. I am not commenting on any of the politics of Israel vs. the many enemies in the world outside of the Israel and the Jews. What I am talking about is the politics of Jew versus Jew where Israel invariably takes the side of a particular movement -- Orthodoxy, and one which is a minority in North America (as well as in Israel). There are some things that should be easier to fix then others and I am hoping that the treatment of North American Jews and approaches to Judaism in Israel is one of the things that can be improved upon. We will know this problem is solved when Conservative and Reform Jews are as free to (actually freer to) practice their Judaism in Israel as they can in the US. Right now the opposite unfortunately exists. Let me recall a couple of incidents. One of my kids, just out of college, left for Israel for a year of study. Early the next morning we got a call -- folks, have you seen CNN? Don't worry, the Sabaro explosion was a block from me and I'm not hurt. We knew this was part of the expectation -- evey time my kids went to Israel and they all have gone at least once for several months, there would likely be terrorist attacks. When Iraq invaded Kuwait and there were pictures in the NY Times of hypothetical chemical weapons reaching Tel Aviv, my kids didn't rush home. They tried to brave it out as best they could for which I have great respect. What they and I had difficulty dealing with was being surrounded by "men in black" near the Kotel who attacked them because men and women were praying together, and showered them with insults, feces, and stones. When Arabs do the stoning Israeli police attack them and rightfully so, but one Jews do it, Israel looks the other way. My kids had trouble seeing young women rudely ejected from the synagogue at Tel Aviv airport for trying to daven scharit before catching an early morning flight home. Judaism was never a numbers game and we need to cherish and protect every committed Jew. Unfortunately Israel sometimes finds fault in this regard, and as so often happens we Jews become our own worst enemies. So, my dear Israeli politicians,lets have some assurance that these sorts of incidents are a thing of the past. Perhaps this will be a significant step forward in attracting the interest and support of North American Jewish youth.
David Smith claims that the sense of alienation of American Jews is a reflection of the "bitterness of betrayal". I think that it's obvious that the real issue is the crisis of identity in the American Diaspora. One's sense of affinity to one's fellow Jews is not based on politics or on social issues - it is part of an ancient solidarity that has absolutely no strings attached. However, the use of the very strong term "betrayal" has me wondering about the perceived nature of the Israel-Diaspora relations to which such a term hints. What was Israel supposed to have done for the Diaspora that, not having done it, would be called "betrayal"? Well, I don't really know, but perhaps David Smith expected that Israeli society and policy should be only a source of pride for American Jews - hence, since Israel has not fulfilled this role (in his eyes), this is "betrayal". Whether this was the intention or not, any kind of fulfilled or unfulfilled expectation from Israel raises the question of reciprocity. Is it just Israel that has to perform and then stand in judgement, or are there also expectations from American Jewry that should also be scrutinized and judged? Well, American Jewry is not in a position to make state policy and to decide on life and death issues - and so, not having to make dramatic decisions of historical dimensions, American Jewry will never have to explain itself. One who makes no decisions, obviously, never makes bad decisions - and one who never has to perform, never gives a bad performance! However, this seemingly convenient reality of not having to perform is actually not so envious. Half of our people is at the focus of Jewish history, and their successes and failures will shape Jewish destiny. The other half has decided to become mere spectators in this drama, applauding or criticizing as the case may be. The sense of "betrayal", i.e. the sense of disappointment, is not a one-way street.
David Smith; What an idiotic jerk you are! The only sneering, loathsome individual is yourself who doesn't know anythig about Israel or Judaism. You are either a half-Jew or married to a shiksa. Probably both. Go to Church with your wife and leave the disussion about Israel and Judaism to real Jews. You obviously didn't read the study and the conclusions of the authors who claim that one of the main reasons for lack of support of Israel is INTERMARRIAGE! That is a fact because the young "Jews" that were polled in the study were either non-affliated or in the Reform Movement. These means the study was skewed because the participants were from liberal urban areas where the intermarriage rate is close to 80%. These are not even real Jews! There is alot of support for Israel from even liberal Jewish young people, with two Jewish parents. The Reform Movement is disappearing and that is why their leadership is panicking and now requiring non-Jewish spouses to convert and making it easier for children of intermarriage to go to their Jewish day schools. I never attacked the Conservative Movement so learn how to read and comprehend words better. You obviously have a problem with logic. How dare you accuse the Orthodox of beating up 11-year old Arab girls. Where's your evidence? What a hateful pro-Islamist propagandist bigot you are! You obvioulsy get your information from the Hamas terrorist website and Al-Jizheera. We do know that Arab Islamic terrorists have blown up Jewish children on purpose, bashed in the heads of little Jewish girls until their brains were sticking out of their skulls, shot little Jewish girls point-blank in the head after murdering their pregnant mother. After their urderous rampage they went back to their village gave candy to all the little Arab children, while they sang and danced. You don't care because you hate Jews and their children. You have never been to Israel so you know nothing about what goes on there. Israel has acted humanely and dignified in dealing with modern day Nazis who want to destroy it and murders their children almost everyday. Arabs terrorists = Nazis is correct, so deal with it! Your ridicoulous assumption that lack of Israel support among half-Jews is because of Israeli agression against the violent Arab occupiers is absoutley false! In fact, Israel is getting less support, even among Gentiles, because of their passive and appeasement behavior toward the terrorists. You know are a know-nothing and should just shut up!
I would love to read some more comments on the treatment of Conservative and Reform Jews in Israel and how that influences things, especially from Yehuda and Tatiana. Do you really think that doesn't hurt relationships between Israel and the Diaspora. If cleary hurts relationships so what do you recommend Israel do to mend it's ways.
For Michael Goldman - I'm quite certain that the struggle of Reform and Conservative Judaism in Israel does NOT in any way hurt Israel-Diaspora relations. The Reform Movement, for example, has even called upon its members to make aliya, because this movement understands the very deep and unique Jewish experience that can only be had in the Land of Israel. The attitude that Israel has to be problem-free in order for it to be cherished or supported is absolutely silly. Does your child have to get a good report card from school in order for you to love him? No. You might ask him to do better next time, but family ties and solidarity are quite self-evident and very strong. The lack of attachment to Israel - now one half of the Jewish people - can only have come about as a result of assimilation and the lessening of identification with other Jews.
Yehuda; One can take only so much rejection even from beloved family members then other things take center stage. Assimilation and lessening of identification are not "all or none" but can occur gradually just as a return to Judaism can occur gradually. Putting your head in the sand does not make the problem of mistreatment of North American Jews disappear so I would suggest you do what you can to make Israel a more welcoming place for all Jews to practice their Judaism. Perhaps that way you can be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
The young Jews are looking in to the futture.They are not interested in being the objects of hatred.The arrogance of outfits like ADL and AIPAC attract unwanted attention and hotility from others for wich backlash is certain. So they will gradually disentangle themselves fron organised Jewry.Wisdom is dawning on these youngsters
“The attitude that Israel has to be problem-free in order for it to be cherished or supported is absolutely silly. . . . The lack of attachment to Israel - now one half of the Jewish people - can only have come about as a result of assimilation and the lessening of identification with other Jews.” Yehuda, I suppose you’re sincere, but I don’t know how you can possibly ignore what’s right in front of your eyes. What Michael Goldman and Sam Abrahamson and I have all stated is that our “lessening of identification” with Israel doesn’t have a dam thing to do with assimilation, but with the country’s contemptuous and dismissive treatment of non-Orthodox Jews. My family and I have supported Israel – financially, politically, and emotionally – our entire lives, and the notion that our support has wavered because Israel isn’t “problem-free” is – pardon me – just ludicrous. The issue has nothing to do with being “problem-free,” but with the rather specific problem that Israel is instituting policies that establish it as the national homeland for Orthodox Jews, and not for the rest of us. Of course, I can only speak for myself; maybe Messrs. Goldman, Abrahamson and I are unique in our indignation at Israel’s treatment of Reform and Conservative Jews, and the remainder of the opposition to Israel’s policies among the American Jews is due to the fact that they just don’t care about being Jewish anymore. But I doubt it. Tatiana, How many hours a day do they let you out of your cage? I’d like to come by and toss you a couple of bananas.
I don't believe that Israel's attitude towards non-orthodox Jews has much to do with the declining attachment of young Jews to Israel. Most of these young people have never been to Israel. As a matter of fact young Jews become much more attached after a visit to the Holy Land. The fault lies squarely in the lap of the parents of these young Jews. They have poisoned their children's minds with the idiocy of liberalism. These young people have been raised to be moral relativists thus rendering them incapable of recognizing evil and rather then directing their anger at the people who perpetuate evil they focus their anger at those who fight evil. Liberals tend to be pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel. This is especially true of college students. It's hard to feel an attachment to a country that you feel is perpetuating evil.
For David Smith - If you have the chance to speak with an orthodox Jew from Israel, I really doubt if he would agree with you that Israel is the "national homeland for Orthodox Jews". He probably would criticize the fact that the Jewish state is "secular". However, I don't mean to belittle the problems that you raise. The state budgets synagogues and rabbi salaries, and indeed there is very little budgeting of any non-Orthodox group. Yet, I wish to emphasize yet again: Despite these and other problems, the Reform Movement (for example) calls upon its members to study modern Hebrew, to visit Israel often - and even to make 'aliya! In other words, although there are issues that trouble the Reform Movement, still, the central importance of Israel in today's expression of Jewish existence outweighs any other consideration. So, on the one hand, the legal struggle continues on behalf of non-Orthodox Judaism (and there have been many successes in recent years) - and on the other hand the intense love for Israel and its central role in the struggle for Jewish identity remain a priority also in non-Orthodox Jewish movements in America. This is true, obviously, for committed Jews. The survey that we have been discussing presents also the less-committed among whom assimilation is the one and only issue worthy of analysis.
I believe that caring about Israel has become part of being American. The European psyche in the post-holocaust era is also programmed to be pro-Jewish and pro-Israel. Even if a significant percentage of Jews in America distance themselves from Judaism and Israel, the political and socio-religious spirit of both Europe and America will be symbiotically bound up with the cause of Israel. Even right-wing politicians in the West talk about the Judeo-Christian civilization when Jews account for less than one percent of the population. Why? Because Judaism and Jewish history are quintessentially European. Judaism is more European than Christianity! Europe cannot think of itself, of its history and of its achievements without reference to Jews and Judaism. Jews in America and AIPAC in particular have nothing to worry about. Their cause has been structurally built into the collective psyche of the countries of the West. All this liberates the average Jew from the compelling need to be pro-Israel and pro-Jewish. Antisemitism is no longer the obsession of ADL and other Jewish agencies. Average politicians in the West have a sharper antennae to pick up anti-Semitic signals than ADL. And thank god for that. The WEst realizes that if Israel falls the West falls along with it. In my various interactions with Arabs during the months and years I spent among them, I witnessed unabashed and self-assertive anti-semitism which convinced me that there is enough hatred for Jews among Arabs for them to kill Jews several times over. And once that job of getting rid of Jews is completed the same maniacal hatred will be directed towards the West. The desire, the urge to kill Jews wherever they are found and in whatever manner possible is the single most appalling evil in the world today. Jews ignore it at their peril. I feel sad when I find many thinking Jews minimize it by making use of the freedom they enjoy in their community to criticize themselves. I know middle class Jews have heard a lot of anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish comments and views from their own children at the dinner table. This experience of permitting fellow Jews to criticize their collective tradition attests to the vibrancy and the democratic spirit of Jewish religion. But the larger picture is this: there are one billion people out there subscribing to a faith which teaches them that the shortest route to heaven is through suicide bombing in which Jews are killed. There are only 15 million Jews in the world so there are only 15 million premium tickets to heaven. Where would the rest of the one billion people go, for their easy entry into heaven? They will have to target the non-Jewish Westerners and perhaps also the Hindus and Buddhists in far off lands. In crude terms, that is how the historical cookie has crumbled in the Arab and Muslim lands today. If you are interested in my experiences with Arab attitudes to Jews and my views on Israeli from a Hindu perspective, you can contact me at iyerenglish@gmail.com. R K Iyer
There are accusations within Israel the IDF possibly committed war crimes when it killed unarmed Egiptian prisoners of war in the Sinai several decades back. Support for Israel among diaspora Jews and the mayority of non Jews in the West depends on Israel's moral credibility as a society. If Israel is unable to carry out a thorough investigation to prove the allegation false, or to exemplary punish those responsible then Israel can not maintain its cornerstone claims of being a moral society and will even more rapidly the support of diaspora Jews and Westerners in general. If Israel does not nehave ethically as a society then it only harms Judaism and Jews in general. The point will come when Israel will cease to exist. It will slowly wilt because fewer and fewer younger israelis will want to stay in such a Jewish socitey To be honest, just the fact that Israel has not been able to investigate this accusations on her own, right within the IDF, soon after they supposedly took place is worrisome. What the US Army did in Abbu Grabi (or whatever its name) is far less serious but has already been investigated and punisment handed out. Israel needs to be very careful because the heavy influx of inmigrants from societies with very poor ethics: Argentina, all other Third World countries, the former Soviet Union, is also an infux of such ideas. That the Jewish inmigrants may be among the more ethical people in those societies does not mean their values are adecuate to maintain the democratic and ethically healthy society Israel wishes, and needs, to be. I am looking forward to everyone else ideas on this issue that troubles me nore than almost anything I can think, victor
There is one elephant in the room everyone has ignored: Classism. How many Jewish institutions and activites here in the American Diaspora are sensitive to their fellow Jews who are struggling with poverty? Those who are poor; the orphaned, the middle-aged women who are inadequately employed (if employed) due to age discrimination, women made poor due to divorce, etc., are basically ignored in American Jewish communities. Poor Jews scraping by on food stamps and low paying jobs can't afford to live decently - never mind go to Israel, but is anyone donating funds to help poor Jews over the age of 25 go? No. Israel is apparently only for the young and non-poor - that's the message we're sent. Yet no one wants to talk about how classism and the injustices of poverty compounded by classism plays a role in fracturing Jewish life, thereby contributing directly to intermarriage in the first place. Who is a poor Jew going to find more acceptance and comraderie among - those who socially nub them except for the occaisonal "Shabbat Shalom" at shul or other poor people whom are among the non-Jewish population in America's poorer neighborhoods? I will never forget the time a poor woman only a few years older than me was told by the wife of one of my shul's "machers" that if she took out student loans and got a college education, she'd be able to get a better job than just a minimum wage cashier. What the more well-heeled congregant failed to consider was the fact that this woman already had a college education; a BA in Journalism. Grad school is out of reach when you're poor. Decent jobs are out of reach when you're middle-aged. (So are the economically successful marriageable Jewish men who can have their pick of younger, thinner "trophy wives" who can afford fancy clothes and regular trips to the beauty parlor) Then there are the issues that Sam Abrahamson mentioned: abuse from one's fellow Jews. Those pious Yeshiva "Torah-true" Jewish boys who, instead of studying Torah and being a light among nations, threw rocks and fecal matter at Jewish women praying at the Wall. Fellow human rights journalists and watchgroups have documented an alarming rate of sexual exploitation of poor non-Jewish children and poor non-Jewish women from former east block countries by "white slavery" rings operating in Israel that the Israeli government is too lax in prosecuting, or even trying to crack down on. Because they're poor, their human rights don't matter - just sweep it all under the carpet. Instead of passing stricter laws to curb this disturbing activity, the Israeli government would rather pass stiffer laws concerning the Right of Return and the non-Orthodox Jews in the American Diaspora. Is this how G-d wants us to behave in what is supposed to be the Holy Land? What does the Torah say about how we are to treat the stranger among us as we were strangers ourselves in Egypt? Then there's the recent rise in the black market human organ-selling issue in which Israel has received negative publicity for, which is giving rise to what I fear may be a "new and improved" blood libel for which we Jews in the Diaspora will bear the brunt. Yet, making Reform or Conservative Jews feel uncomfortable is justified by this same government that winks at these other major problems. How much more difficult is it over in Israel when you're poor? I wouldn't know because I never had the opportunity to go when I was young. Jacqueline S. Homan, Author: "Classism For Dimwits"
I think were becoming less and less attached to Israel because were not getting any Israeli pussy
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It is indeed sad that young Jews in America are slowly losing their connection to Israel. Alot of it has to do with several aspects. The Orthodox Jews like Satmar and Neturei Karta have betrayed the Jewish peole. And on the other side we have Reform Jews joining with groups like ANSWERLA and CODEPINK groups that are Anti Jewish and Anti Israel. While Conservative and Modern Orthodox Jews remain loyal to Israel and to the Jewish Peoplehood to many on the far right (Orthodox/Satmar/Neturei Karta) are in bed with those who want to murder Jews and on the left we have Reformed who want to be like their neighbors and put Christmas trees in their homes and want to be liked. We Jews are Gods Chosen we are the Children of Israel and NATION of Priests to the gentiles. There needs to be more options for connection to Israel. more youth groups going to israel.. a stronger teaching of the ETHNIC relation of Jews as apposed to religious. Also we need to get the orthodox to recognize the legitimacy of Conservative, Modern Orthodox and even Reformed expressions of Judaism. I find it interesting that at one time many of the hard core orthodox (Hasidic) were once considered to be heretics but now are the ones calling everyone else a Heretic. And of course the Haredim in Israel who refuse to serve in the military and who refuse to recognize the right of israel to exist but are allowed to live in and benefit from the existance from Israel. While Secular and Masorti Jews are made to feel unwelcome by orthodox.