Articles

Earlier this week, a new poll reflecting Jewish political behavior since the outbreak of the Gaza Conflict was released:[1]

…the non-partisan Jewish Electorate Institute found that 74% of Jewish voters approve of President Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas. The survey, conducted from November 5-9 by GBAO Strategies, measured the attitudes of the American Jewish electorate in response to Hamas’s attack on Israel, the threat of antisemitism, and their preferences for the 2024 presidential election.

Voters are already telling us a great deal already about next year’s election. While some folks are currently dismissing both major political party candidates for President, there is more generally a broad and deep disconnect among voters with what is more broadly unfolding in this nation.

Over the weeks following October 7th, I have lost a part of myself as well as my America! As if without warning, I along so many of my colleagues have experienced a series of losses. This past month, I have seen friends disappear; the failure of America’s elite universities to be responsive to the needs of their students and alumni; and sadly, my political party move further left, upending its long-held consensus on the American-Israel partnership.

This series of articles were prepared prior to the events of October 7th. The analysis of these ongoing political challenges sadly aligns with what we are currently experiencing.

This article follows two earlier commentaries, one on the current state of our society and its implications for Jews.[1] The other provides an internal Jewish response to these challenges.[2] In this column a set of proposals are introduced for reinvigorating the American experience, where the Jewish community can and must play an essential role.

Over these difficult weeks, I had occasion to address several audiences in connection with the events unfolding in Israel. Posted below are some of the reactions that I have received. They reflect both the diversity and complexity that one finds at this moment within our community.

The anti-Israel campaign is alive and well. Immediately following the Hamas attack on civilians in southern Israel, groups across the anti-Israel spectrum were defending these actions. In their minds this is a war of liberation. As a colonialist occupier, Israel has no standing, and its American (government) supporters are seen as enabling the Jewish State to unlawfully control peoples and lands.

It has only been two days since we learned of the terrorist assault on the State and people of Israel. Yet, for those of us who have lived a lifetime parallel to the story of the founding and evolution of the Jewish State, this marks another moment of reflection, of sadness, and of concern but always of hope.

The anti-Israel campaign is alive and well. Immediately following the Hamas’ attack on civilians in southern Israel, groups across the anti-Israel spectrum were defending these actions. In their minds this is a war of liberation. As a colonialist occupier, Israel has no standing, and its American (Government) supporters are seen as enabling the Jewish State to unlawfully control peoples and lands.

Unlike any moment since the 1972 Munich Olympics, the scope and depth of violence directed against the Jewish people last weekend has never been so dramatic.

Hamas’ pogrom against Israel represents another dimension of conflict and war. The actions of their foot soldiers were not merely the tactics of a military operation or even terrorism, but a concerted effort to annihilate Jews. Its boldness and ruthlessness served as an intentional statement that Jews are expendable.

It is exactly fifty years ago to the day that Israel experienced its worst surprise military attack. It was Yom Kippur 1973. Now, on Shabbat as we conclude Sukkot and observe Simchat Torah, Israel is once again under attack. A military assault this time from Gaza would upend a peaceful Israel morning.