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It has been the horrific attack of the events of October 7th, an event that profoundly impacted world Jewry unlike anything else since the creation of Israel as a nation.

Among Jewish people the event proved shocking. For the Israeli government, it was deeply humiliating. The whole Zionist movement was founded on the presumption which held that Israel would ensure against things like this occurring in the future.

Some form of retaliation seemed necessary. Yet the chosen course that Israel implemented – the widespread destruction of Gaza, the deaths and injuries of numerous ordinary people – was a choice. This selected path made more difficult how many US Jewish community members grappled with the attack that triggered it, and it now complicates their observance of that date. How can someone mourn and commemorate a horrific event targeting their community during an atrocity being inflicted upon a different population in your name?

The Challenge of Grieving

The challenge of mourning stems from the fact that there is no consensus about the implications of these developments. Indeed, for the American Jewish community, this two-year period have experienced the breakdown of a decades-long consensus regarding Zionism.

The beginnings of Zionist agreement within US Jewish communities extends as far back as a 1915 essay by the lawyer subsequently appointed high court jurist Louis D. Brandeis named “Jewish Issues; Finding Solutions”. But the consensus truly solidified subsequent to the six-day war that year. Previously, US Jewish communities contained a delicate yet functioning cohabitation between groups holding diverse perspectives about the need for Israel – Zionists, neutral parties and opponents.

Background Information

This parallel existence continued during the 1950s and 60s, within remaining elements of Jewish socialism, through the non-aligned Jewish communal organization, within the critical religious group and similar institutions. For Louis Finkelstein, the head at JTS, pro-Israel ideology was more spiritual than political, and he forbade the singing of Israel's anthem, the Israeli national anthem, at JTS ordinations during that period. Additionally, Zionist ideology the central focus of Modern Orthodoxy until after the 1967 conflict. Jewish identitarian alternatives remained present.

But after Israel routed neighboring countries in the six-day war that year, occupying territories such as Palestinian territories, Gaza, the Golan and Jerusalem's eastern sector, the American Jewish relationship to Israel changed dramatically. Israel’s victory, combined with persistent concerns regarding repeated persecution, produced a growing belief about the nation's essential significance for Jewish communities, and created pride in its resilience. Rhetoric regarding the “miraculous” quality of the victory and the “liberation” of areas assigned the Zionist project a theological, even messianic, importance. During that enthusiastic period, a significant portion of existing hesitation regarding Zionism dissipated. During the seventies, Commentary magazine editor the commentator famously proclaimed: “We are all Zionists now.”

The Consensus and Its Boundaries

The unified position did not include Haredi Jews – who largely believed Israel should only be established through traditional interpretation of the messiah – however joined Reform, Conservative Judaism, contemporary Orthodox and the majority of non-affiliated Jews. The predominant version of the consensus, identified as liberal Zionism, was founded on the conviction in Israel as a progressive and liberal – while majority-Jewish – nation. Many American Jews viewed the administration of Arab, Syrian and Egypt's territories following the war as temporary, thinking that a solution was forthcoming that would guarantee a Jewish majority in pre-1967 Israel and neighbor recognition of the nation.

Two generations of Jewish Americans were thus brought up with support for Israel a core part of their Jewish identity. The state transformed into an important element in Jewish learning. Israel’s Independence Day became a Jewish holiday. National symbols were displayed in many temples. Youth programs were permeated with Hebrew music and the study of the language, with Israeli guests and teaching US young people Israeli culture. Visits to Israel increased and reached new heights via educational trips by 1999, offering complimentary travel to the country became available to young American Jews. Israel permeated almost the entirety of Jewish American identity.

Changing Dynamics

Paradoxically, during this period after 1967, American Jewry grew skilled regarding denominational coexistence. Acceptance and communication between Jewish denominations expanded.

However regarding support for Israel – there existed diversity reached its limit. One could identify as a conservative supporter or a progressive supporter, but support for Israel as a Jewish homeland was assumed, and challenging that position placed you beyond accepted boundaries – outside the community, as Tablet magazine labeled it in a piece that year.

However currently, amid of the devastation within Gaza, famine, young victims and frustration over the denial by numerous Jewish individuals who refuse to recognize their involvement, that agreement has disintegrated. The liberal Zionist “center” {has lost|no longer