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It has been that deadly assault of the events of October 7th, an event that deeply affected Jewish communities worldwide like no other occurrence following the establishment of Israel as a nation.

Within Jewish communities the event proved deeply traumatic. For the state of Israel, it was a profound disgrace. The whole Zionist endeavor was founded on the presumption that the nation would prevent things like this occurring in the future.

Military action appeared unavoidable. However, the particular response that Israel implemented – the obliteration of Gaza, the deaths and injuries of numerous non-combatants – was a choice. And this choice made more difficult the perspective of many Jewish Americans processed the initial assault that triggered it, and currently challenges the community's observance of that date. In what way can people honor and reflect on a horrific event against your people during an atrocity being inflicted upon other individuals connected to their community?

The Challenge of Mourning

The difficulty of mourning lies in the reality that there is no consensus about the implications of these developments. In fact, for the American Jewish community, the last two years have witnessed the breakdown of a decades-long unity regarding Zionism.

The origins of a Zionist consensus among American Jewry can be traced to writings from 1915 written by a legal scholar who would later become high court jurist Louis D. Brandeis titled “Jewish Issues; How to Solve it”. However, the agreement became firmly established subsequent to the Six-Day War in 1967. Before then, Jewish Americans maintained a fragile but stable cohabitation among different factions that had a range of views about the necessity of a Jewish state – Zionists, neutral parties and anti-Zionists.

Previous Developments

This parallel existence endured through the post-war decades, in remnants of Jewish socialism, through the non-aligned US Jewish group, among the opposing Jewish organization and other organizations. For Louis Finkelstein, the head of the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Zionist movement had greater religious significance than political, and he did not permit singing the Israeli national anthem, the national song, at religious school events during that period. Additionally, support for Israel the central focus for contemporary Orthodox communities until after that war. Different Jewish identity models existed alongside.

But after Israel defeated its neighbors in that war in 1967, taking control of areas comprising the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan and East Jerusalem, the American Jewish connection with the nation changed dramatically. The triumphant outcome, along with persistent concerns regarding repeated persecution, resulted in a growing belief regarding Israel's critical importance to the Jewish people, and created pride for its strength. Language regarding the “miraculous” aspect of the victory and the freeing of territory assigned the Zionist project a religious, almost redemptive, meaning. In those heady years, considerable previous uncertainty regarding Zionism dissipated. During the seventies, Publication editor the commentator declared: “Zionism unites us all.”

The Consensus and Restrictions

The pro-Israel agreement did not include Haredi Jews – who generally maintained a nation should only be established by a traditional rendering of redemption – but united Reform Judaism, Conservative, Modern Orthodox and most secular Jews. The common interpretation of this agreement, identified as liberal Zionism, was established on a belief about the nation as a democratic and liberal – albeit ethnocentric – nation. Many American Jews considered the control of local, Syrian and Egyptian lands after 1967 as provisional, assuming that a resolution would soon emerge that would maintain Jewish population majority in Israel proper and neighbor recognition of the state.

Several cohorts of US Jews grew up with Zionism a core part of their religious identity. Israel became a key component in Jewish learning. Yom Ha'atzmaut turned into a celebration. National symbols adorned many temples. Summer camps were permeated with Hebrew music and education of contemporary Hebrew, with visitors from Israel instructing American youth national traditions. Visits to Israel expanded and reached new heights via educational trips in 1999, providing no-cost visits to the country became available to US Jewish youth. The nation influenced virtually all areas of the American Jewish experience.

Shifting Landscape

Interestingly, in these decades post-1967, US Jewish communities grew skilled regarding denominational coexistence. Acceptance and dialogue across various Jewish groups grew.

However regarding support for Israel – that represented tolerance ended. Individuals might align with a rightwing Zionist or a liberal advocate, yet backing Israel as a Jewish homeland was a given, and questioning that position placed you outside mainstream views – an “Un-Jew”, as one publication termed it in a piece recently.

But now, amid of the destruction in Gaza, food shortages, dead and orphaned children and outrage over the denial within Jewish communities who avoid admitting their involvement, that consensus has collapsed. The liberal Zionist “center” {has lost|no longer