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Marking two years after that mass murder of 7 October 2023, which shook global Jewish populations like no other occurrence since the creation of the Jewish state.

Within Jewish communities the event proved profoundly disturbing. For Israel as a nation, it was a significant embarrassment. The entire Zionist endeavor was founded on the assumption that the Jewish state would ensure against similar tragedies occurring in the future.

A response was inevitable. But the response Israel pursued – the obliteration of the Gaza Strip, the deaths and injuries of numerous of civilians – constituted a specific policy. This selected path created complexity in the perspective of many American Jews processed the initial assault that triggered it, and currently challenges the community's commemoration of the day. How does one mourn and commemorate a tragedy against your people during devastation experienced by a different population in your name?

The Difficulty of Grieving

The difficulty of mourning lies in the fact that no agreement exists about the significance of these events. Actually, within US Jewish circles, the last two years have witnessed the disintegration of a half-century-old consensus regarding Zionism.

The beginnings of pro-Israel unity within US Jewish communities can be traced to writings from 1915 written by a legal scholar who would later become Supreme Court judge Justice Brandeis called “The Jewish Problem; Addressing the Challenge”. However, the agreement became firmly established following the 1967 conflict in 1967. Earlier, American Jewry maintained a delicate yet functioning coexistence across various segments that had different opinions regarding the requirement for a Jewish nation – Zionists, neutral parties and opponents.

Historical Context

Such cohabitation endured throughout the mid-twentieth century, within remaining elements of socialist Jewish movements, through the non-aligned US Jewish group, among the opposing American Council for Judaism and comparable entities. Regarding Chancellor Finkelstein, the head at JTS, Zionism was primarily theological rather than political, and he forbade performance of Israel's anthem, the national song, during seminary ceremonies in those years. Additionally, Zionist ideology the central focus within modern Orthodox Judaism until after the 1967 conflict. Alternative Jewish perspectives existed alongside.

But after Israel defeated its neighbors in that war during that period, occupying territories comprising the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights and Jerusalem's eastern sector, the American Jewish perspective on the country underwent significant transformation. Israel’s victory, along with enduring anxieties regarding repeated persecution, led to a growing belief regarding Israel's essential significance for Jewish communities, and created pride regarding its endurance. Discourse about the remarkable aspect of the success and the reclaiming of areas provided the Zionist project a spiritual, potentially salvific, significance. In that triumphant era, much of existing hesitation regarding Zionism disappeared. During the seventies, Publication editor Podhoretz declared: “Zionism unites us all.”

The Unity and Restrictions

The unified position left out Haredi Jews – who typically thought a nation should only be established via conventional understanding of redemption – yet included Reform Judaism, Conservative, contemporary Orthodox and the majority of unaffiliated individuals. The common interpretation of the consensus, identified as progressive Zionism, was founded on the conviction about the nation as a progressive and free – while majority-Jewish – state. Numerous US Jews considered the occupation of Palestinian, Syrian and Egypt's territories following the war as provisional, believing that a solution was forthcoming that would ensure a Jewish majority in pre-1967 Israel and regional acceptance of the nation.

Multiple generations of US Jews grew up with Zionism a core part of their identity as Jews. The state transformed into an important element in Jewish learning. Yom Ha'atzmaut became a Jewish holiday. Blue and white banners decorated religious institutions. Youth programs integrated with national melodies and learning of modern Hebrew, with Israelis visiting instructing US young people Israeli customs. Travel to Israel increased and reached new heights through Birthright programs during that year, when a free trip to the country was offered to young American Jews. The state affected almost the entirety of Jewish American identity.

Evolving Situation

Paradoxically, throughout these years following the war, US Jewish communities became adept in religious diversity. Acceptance and dialogue among different Jewish movements expanded.

Except when it came to support for Israel – that represented tolerance found its boundary. Individuals might align with a rightwing Zionist or a liberal advocate, yet backing Israel as a Jewish state was a given, and criticizing that position categorized you beyond accepted boundaries – an “Un-Jew”, as one publication termed it in writing recently.

However currently, amid of the destruction of Gaza, starvation, young victims and anger about the rejection by numerous Jewish individuals who avoid admitting their involvement, that agreement has broken down. The liberal Zionist “center” {has lost|no longer