Articles

Even as we prepare today to be evacuated from our Sherman Oaks residence, I am reminded of the broader, and more significant, outcomes here.

The impact of this natural disaster will be significant not only on the LA story but more directly on the LA Jewish community, as in some measure this experience has a distinctive Jewish component to it, as many of the affected areas are densely settled by Jews.

We are on the cusp of a new age of Jewish political behavior. If the second half of the 20th Century and the first quarter of this century were dominated by Jewish liberal politics, then this moment will be driven by the emergence of Jewish conservatives, bringing with them a new set of political norms, policies, and priorities.

We are operating in a society where a number of fundamental patterns are reshaping our culture, redefining our economy, and reframing our social norms. Each of these elements has implications for the American Jewish communal system.

Transformational changes are redefining the Jewish organizing model. As a result, we note major shifts impacting the Jewish religious and communal market space:

We will need to be prepared for a profound state of cultural disruption and structural displacement! For some, the next four years will represent a political tsunami, while for others, the President’s policies and actions will affirm their expectations.

As I have written elsewhere, 21st Century American Judaism represents a fundamentally different experience, requiring us to reconsider how we as a community are organized. We find ourselves with a 19th Century communal legacy model, serving a 21st Century constituency, often representing a 20th Century agenda!

The results of the 2024 election won’t just shift political power in this nation to the right, as this moment will mark the undoing of the foundations of American Jewish liberalism. In its aftermath, Jews will be confronting a changing political landscape both within our community, and beyond.

With Donald Trump’s election, the liberal agenda that has defined much of American Jewish political practice will need to be recalibrated.

The results of the 2024 election won’t just shift political power in this nation to the right, as this moment will mark the undoing of the foundations of American Jewish liberalism. In its aftermath, Jews will be confronting a changing political landscape both within our community, and beyond.

We can identify some 36,000 Israel-directed charities and nonprofit institutions operating within the Jewish State and an additional number of American-based organizations supporting Israeli society. A 2012 study assessing giving to Israel focused on Jewish philanthropy estimated that 774 organizations had raised $2.1 billion ( $3.06 billion in 2023 dollars).

In the aftermath of the past Tuesday’s presidential election, we can identify a number of generic and more definitive trends and outcomes that have implications for America’s Jews. In this essay we will be examining some distinctive findings.