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It has been that horrific attack of October 7, 2023, which profoundly impacted Jewish communities worldwide unlike anything else following the founding of the Jewish state.

Within Jewish communities the event proved shocking. For Israel as a nation, it was a profound disgrace. The entire Zionist project had been established on the presumption that the nation could stop things like this repeating.

Military action seemed necessary. However, the particular response Israel pursued – the obliteration of the Gaza Strip, the killing and maiming of many thousands of civilians – was a choice. This selected path made more difficult the perspective of many US Jewish community members understood the initial assault that precipitated the response, and presently makes difficult their remembrance of that date. In what way can people grieve and remember a horrific event targeting their community while simultaneously devastation done to other individuals connected to their community?

The Challenge of Remembrance

The difficulty in grieving lies in the reality that no agreement exists as to the significance of these events. In fact, within US Jewish circles, this two-year period have seen the disintegration of a decades-long unity regarding Zionism.

The beginnings of Zionist agreement across American Jewish populations dates back to writings from 1915 authored by an attorney subsequently appointed high court jurist Louis D. Brandeis called “Jewish Issues; How to Solve it”. Yet the unity truly solidified after the Six-Day War in 1967. Before then, American Jewry housed a delicate yet functioning cohabitation among different factions holding diverse perspectives regarding the requirement of a Jewish state – pro-Israel advocates, neutral parties and anti-Zionists.

Background Information

Such cohabitation persisted through the mid-twentieth century, through surviving aspects of socialist Jewish movements, within the neutral American Jewish Committee, among the opposing American Council for Judaism and other organizations. Regarding Chancellor Finkelstein, the leader of the Jewish Theological Seminary, pro-Israel ideology was more spiritual than political, and he did not permit performance of Israel's anthem, Hatikvah, during seminary ceremonies during that period. Furthermore, Zionism and pro-Israelism the central focus within modern Orthodox Judaism prior to the 1967 conflict. Jewish identitarian alternatives coexisted.

But after Israel routed its neighbors in the six-day war in 1967, taking control of areas comprising Palestinian territories, Gaza, Golan Heights and Jerusalem's eastern sector, US Jewish relationship to Israel changed dramatically. Israel’s victory, coupled with enduring anxieties about another genocide, led to a developing perspective in the country’s vital role for Jewish communities, and created pride for its strength. Rhetoric concerning the “miraculous” quality of the victory and the freeing of land provided the movement a theological, even messianic, significance. In that triumphant era, a significant portion of previous uncertainty about Zionism disappeared. In that decade, Publication editor Norman Podhoretz stated: “Everyone supports Zionism today.”

The Consensus and Its Boundaries

The pro-Israel agreement excluded strictly Orthodox communities – who typically thought a Jewish state should only be established through traditional interpretation of the Messiah – but united Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Modern Orthodox and the majority of non-affiliated Jews. The predominant version of this agreement, what became known as liberal Zionism, was based on a belief about the nation as a democratic and free – though Jewish-centered – country. Numerous US Jews viewed the control of Palestinian, Syrian and Egyptian lands following the war as provisional, thinking that a resolution was imminent that would maintain Jewish demographic dominance within Israel's original borders and neighbor recognition of Israel.

Several cohorts of American Jews were raised with Zionism a fundamental aspect of their religious identity. The nation became an important element within religious instruction. Yom Ha'atzmaut evolved into a religious observance. National symbols decorated many temples. Seasonal activities integrated with national melodies and education of contemporary Hebrew, with Israeli guests instructing American teenagers Israeli culture. Travel to Israel increased and peaked through Birthright programs in 1999, offering complimentary travel to Israel was provided to Jewish young adults. The nation influenced virtually all areas of Jewish American identity.

Evolving Situation

Ironically, in these decades post-1967, US Jewish communities grew skilled in religious diversity. Open-mindedness and communication across various Jewish groups increased.

Except when it came to Zionism and Israel – that’s where tolerance reached its limit. You could be a conservative supporter or a liberal advocate, yet backing Israel as a Jewish state was assumed, and challenging that narrative positioned you beyond accepted boundaries – an “Un-Jew”, as a Jewish periodical labeled it in a piece in 2021.

But now, during of the devastation of Gaza, food shortages, child casualties and outrage regarding the refusal within Jewish communities who avoid admitting their involvement, that agreement has disintegrated. The centrist pro-Israel view {has lost|no longer