Israel is becoming a pariah state. Here’s what American Jews must do
American Jews can no longer afford to defer to institutions that ask them to check their conscience at the door
Demonstrators wave Israeli flags and hold signs at a protest in Tel Aviv on May 22. Photo by Itai Ron/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
Daniel Sokatch May 29, 2025
When Yair Golan, the chairman of Israel’s opposition party and a former deputy chief of staff of the IDF, accused Israel of “killing babies as a hobby” last week, a firestorm of condemnation erupted. Golan’s choice of words offended many (he later offered a clarification), but what got lost was the sentence that came right before: “Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state, like South Africa was, if we don’t return to acting like a sane country.”
Israel’s ruling coalition, promoting endless war and working to weaken Israeli democratic institutions, is moving the country further and further away from the family of democratic nations. As Middle East expert and The New York Times columnist Tom Friedman said a few weeks ago: “This Israeli government is not our ally.”
American Jews are now watching Israel become a pariah state in real time.
Last week President Donald Trump toured the Middle East — visiting the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia—but skipped Israel. Because of the Gaza war, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy froze negotiations over a trade deal with Israel. The U.K., France and Canada threatened to sanction Israel unless it stopped bombing and let in aid. Most dramatically, 17 out of 27 European Union countries voted to take another look at the agreement that governs the EU’s trade with Israel, worth €45 billion. Israel’s slide towards pariah-dom is no longer theoretical. It is happening before our eyes.
As this colossal shift takes place, the major institutions of American Jewish life are mostly silent. But American Jews themselves can no longer afford to look away or defer to institutions that ask them to check their conscience at the door. As CEO of the New Israel Fund, the leading funder of progressive, pro-democracy organizations in Israel, I believe that it is time for American Jews to rethink what it means to “support” Israel, because it can mean something very different than what we’ve been led to believe. It can mean supporting those Israelis trying to save the soul of their country, the keepers of the flame of Israel’s founding values.
The current Israeli government blocked most humanitarian aid for starving civilians in Gaza for more than 12 weeks. The Jewish Federations of North America mentioned the vast humanitarian need, only to defend Israel’s actions: “There is a lot of misinformation out there,” they wrote on their official Facebook page in early May, “so it’s important to know the truth: Israel has increased the amount of humanitarian aid going into Gaza, but there are many challenges in getting it quickly delivered to civilians.”
The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations did not mention the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but did issue a number of statements applauding arms transfers to Israel. This, even as Israel’s prime minister leaves little doubt as to his goals in Gaza, which certainly do not include humanitarian relief. “We are demolishing more and more houses,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently. “They have nowhere to go back. The only obvious result will be the desire of the Gazans to emigrate out of the Gaza Strip.” Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon described that as ethnic cleansing. Is this what our institutions should be defending?
Here’s what we know: American Jews, at the astonishingly high rate of 69%, feel emotionally connected to Israel, according to a poll conducted this month. Most of those people also distrust Netanyahu and believe this war serves his political survival, not Israel’s security. This puts our community in a bind. We can either continue to support an Israeli government driving Israel towards the abyss, backed by the American Jewish organizations that defend, justify, rationalize, or ignore Israeli actions, or they can choose to stand with those Israelis who are risking everything to oppose war, civilian starvation, and authoritarianism.
You might think that American Jews can best support Israel by continuing to bolster American Jewish organizations that side with the Israeli government no matter what. But it’s not true. The majority of Israeli people — like American Jews — think that Netanyahu is only prosecuting this war for his own political survival. A Channel 12 poll from last week showed that 55 percent of Israelis believe Netanyahu’s number one priority is staying in power, and 50 percent think there is a possibility he might actually cancel elections scheduled for next year by claiming a “national emergency.”
So why aren’t some of America’s largest Jewish communal organizations ringing alarm bells about this? The main reason is that they weren’t built to: they were built for defense. In the decades since the Holocaust, they have made the case that Israel is the tie that binds Jews to their Judaism, and that it will ultimately keep Jews safe. It is just not part of their DNA to be critical of Israel. And so now they find themselves in the position of defending the indefensible.
But as the saying goes, true friends don’t let friends drive drunk. The Israeli government’s official and explicit policy today is the equivalent of drunk driving. It is not about hostages or peace or democracy or equality — or any of the other values that American Jews broadly hold dear. Their policies are about punishment, expulsion and occupation.
So, to those who are searching for another way to stay in relationship with Israel without betraying their values: Support those who share the same values and vision for Israel’s future that you believe in. One that is inclusive, just and peaceful. Two peoples live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, and neither of them are going anywhere. They must live together.
American Jews looking for a new path forward can start by supporting the Israelis who have protested every single week for the last 19 months, insisting that their government make a deal, bring the hostages home and end this war. They can support organizations like the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Israel’s version of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is challenging authoritarian laws in court. They can get behind those Israelis who are traveling to the Gaza border every week — sometimes carrying food — and demanding that the army let more aid in.
These citizen activists are not fringe voices. They are the moral center of Israeli society. Because if our Jewish communal institutions won’t support them, it’s time for American Jews to find new organizations that will.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misstated the percentage of American Jews in a recent poll who feel emotionally connected to Israel.
