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Two years have passed since the mass murder of 7 October 2023, which profoundly impacted Jewish communities worldwide more than any event following the creation of the state of Israel.

Within Jewish communities the event proved deeply traumatic. For Israel as a nation, the situation represented a profound disgrace. The whole Zionist endeavor had been established on the presumption which held that Israel would ensure against similar tragedies occurring in the future.

Military action appeared unavoidable. However, the particular response that Israel implemented – the widespread destruction of the Gaza Strip, the casualties of tens of thousands non-combatants – was a choice. This particular approach created complexity in the perspective of many US Jewish community members processed the October 7th events that triggered it, and it now complicates the community's commemoration of the anniversary. In what way can people grieve and remember an atrocity against your people in the midst of a catastrophe done to another people in your name?

The Complexity of Grieving

The complexity of mourning stems from the reality that no agreement exists as to the significance of these events. In fact, among Jewish Americans, the recent twenty-four months have seen the collapse of a half-century-old unity regarding Zionism.

The beginnings of pro-Israel unity across American Jewish populations can be traced to a 1915 essay authored by an attorney who would later become Supreme Court judge Louis Brandeis called “Jewish Issues; Finding Solutions”. However, the agreement became firmly established following the six-day war in 1967. Earlier, US Jewish communities housed a vulnerable but enduring coexistence between groups holding diverse perspectives about the need for Israel – pro-Israel advocates, non-Zionists and opponents.

Background Information

This parallel existence endured throughout the 1950s and 60s, through surviving aspects of Jewish socialism, in the non-Zionist American Jewish Committee, within the critical Jewish organization and other organizations. In the view of Louis Finkelstein, the leader at JTS, the Zionist movement was more spiritual rather than political, and he prohibited the singing of Hatikvah, the national song, at religious school events in those years. Additionally, Zionist ideology the central focus within modern Orthodox Judaism prior to the six-day war. Jewish identitarian alternatives existed alongside.

However following Israel defeated neighboring countries in that war that year, seizing land comprising Palestinian territories, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and Jerusalem's eastern sector, the American Jewish perspective on the country evolved considerably. The triumphant outcome, coupled with enduring anxieties regarding repeated persecution, resulted in a growing belief regarding Israel's vital role within Jewish identity, and generated admiration in its resilience. Discourse regarding the remarkable quality of the outcome and the reclaiming of land assigned the movement a religious, almost redemptive, importance. During that enthusiastic period, considerable existing hesitation regarding Zionism dissipated. During the seventies, Publication editor Podhoretz stated: “We are all Zionists now.”

The Agreement and Its Boundaries

The unified position did not include strictly Orthodox communities – who largely believed a nation should only be ushered in by a traditional rendering of redemption – yet included Reform, Conservative Judaism, Modern Orthodox and the majority of non-affiliated Jews. The predominant version of this agreement, identified as progressive Zionism, was established on the conviction regarding Israel as a democratic and democratic – while majority-Jewish – country. Countless Jewish Americans considered the control of Palestinian, Syria's and Egyptian lands after 1967 as temporary, believing that an agreement was forthcoming that would maintain Jewish population majority within Israel's original borders and regional acceptance of the nation.

Multiple generations of Jewish Americans were thus brought up with Zionism a core part of their religious identity. Israel became an important element of Jewish education. Yom Ha'atzmaut evolved into a religious observance. Blue and white banners adorned many temples. Summer camps integrated with national melodies and education of modern Hebrew, with visitors from Israel educating American teenagers national traditions. Visits to Israel expanded and peaked with Birthright Israel by 1999, providing no-cost visits to the country was provided to young American Jews. The nation influenced almost the entirety of the American Jewish experience.

Shifting Landscape

Ironically, throughout these years after 1967, Jewish Americans became adept in religious diversity. Open-mindedness and communication across various Jewish groups expanded.

However regarding Zionism and Israel – that’s where tolerance reached its limit. One could identify as a conservative supporter or a progressive supporter, but support for Israel as a Jewish state was assumed, and challenging that position positioned you beyond accepted boundaries – outside the community, as one publication labeled it in writing recently.

Yet presently, amid of the ruin of Gaza, food shortages, dead and orphaned children and anger over the denial by numerous Jewish individuals who decline to acknowledge their involvement, that agreement has collapsed. The moderate Zionist position {has lost|no longer