A profound question that worries American Jews today policy

The Jewish community in the United States of America is going through an unprecedented collective identity crisis, sparked by the stormy developments that followed the attack of October 7, 2023 and the wars launched by Israel subsequently.

This was stated in an article in the New York Times by Nicholas Lehman, former dean of the Columbia University School of Journalism, in which he stated that this crisis brought to the surface complex historical questions about the nature of the Jewish presence in the West, and the extent to which religious privacy can be combined with full integration into modern societies.

In his article, Lehman – author of the book “The Return: A Search for Homeland Across Three Centuries” – reviews this radical shift in American Jewish conscience, based on his family experience and an extended history of intellectual and political debates.

The Roots of Disparity and the “Pittsburgh Document” Narrative

Lehman begins his reading by going back to an old letter his father wrote six decades ago to the rabbi at Temple Sinai in New Orleans, where his family, who had immigrated from Germany in 1836, were part of the local Jewish elite.

In that letter, the father strongly objected to a children’s magazine that he accused of publishing “strong Zionist propaganda” and criticizing American policy in Vietnam. The writer explains that his father intellectually belonged to the “Pittsburgh Document” of 1885, the founding document of American Reform Judaism, which explicitly stated that the Jews are a religious group and not a nation, and therefore they do not aspire to return to Palestine or establish a political state.

Lehman points out that this position adopted by well-off German Jews was not widely accepted by subsequent waves of immigration from Eastern Europe, who soon constituted the majority of American Jews.

With the rise of Nazism in the 1930s, the Reform movement abandoned its opposition to Zionism after it became clear that the future of Jews in Europe had become bleak. Over time, Zionism turned into a fundamental pillar in the collective consciousness of American Jews, who considered support for Israel at the time to be a liberal position that supported an emerging democratic state for refugees.

Nicholas Lehmann:
Politicians in the Democratic and Republican parties are no longer insulated from public pressures against Israeli policies, which has created a shocking situation in which it is no longer possible for a Jew to be comfortable with his identity, a Zionist, a liberal, and completely accepted outside the Jewish sphere at the same time.

Collapse of the comfort zone and escalation of isolation

The author believes that the last decades of the twentieth century witnessed a boom in the integration of Jews into American society. The traditional barriers that defined their places of residence, work, and study collapsed. For more than half a century, they seemed able to live in a formula that combined professional success, Jewish cultural identity, Zionist orientation, and liberal democratic thought, without the need for strict religious observance.

However, these firm convictions have suddenly disappeared at the present time. The author explains that Israel is facing widespread international criticism, and the word “Zionist” has become a stigma or negative epithet in American progressive circles. Politicians in the Democratic and Republican parties are no longer isolated from the public pressures against Israeli policies, which has created a shocking situation in which it is no longer possible for a Jew to be comfortable with his identity, a Zionist, a liberal, and completely accepted outside the Jewish context at the same time.

The impossibility of psychological separation from Israel

Despite the sharp criticism directed at political Zionism by the younger generation or progressive circles, Lehman believes that the idea of ​​the possibility of a complete “psychological separation” from Israel is a fantasy for the majority of American Jews.

The writer conveys a statistical context published by the Washington Post in an opinion poll, which showed that three-quarters of American Jews agree that Israel is “vital to the long-term future of the Jewish people,” despite their harsh criticism of the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu, which took power in 2022.

Lehman attributes this close connection to the details of daily life and living. Nearly half of Jews live there, and many American families have relatives and friends in Israel, in addition to the educational system and summer camps in which they grew up.

He emphasizes that the historical and religious narrative centered around the longing for Jerusalem and rebuilding the Temple makes it difficult to separate Zionism as a protective idea and collective aspiration from their souls, considering that demanding this separation means abandoning an essential part of identity.

Redefining expectations

In today’s environment of escalating attacks on Jewish institutions and the spread of conspiracy rhetoric, Lehman offers advice and insight for liberal American Jews in a state of confusion.

The writer explains from his personal experience – where he went from leaving the Reform synagogue in his childhood to living as an active member of a religious group that follows the conservative trend in New York – that the solution lies in adjusting expectations and abandoning the illusion that Judaism can fit perfectly seamlessly into comprehensive global ideals.

Lehman advises on the need to actively participate in the religious life of society and devote oneself to studying the Torah and its essential texts. He believes that understanding history and texts gives a better perspective for contemplating the situation of Israel and the Jewish existence today, far from being subject to tests of political loyalty.

The writer concludes his reading by pointing out that, like his father, he lives in a middle region and an “in-between” state that approaches full belonging to society without achieving it completely, considering that the status of a “stranger” or historical outsider is a collective destiny that must be accepted and coexisted with by adhering to ritual privacy and group solidarity.