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Marking two years after the horrific attack of 7 October 2023, an event that deeply affected global Jewish populations like no other occurrence following the creation of Israel as a nation.

Among Jewish people it was profoundly disturbing. For Israel as a nation, the situation represented a significant embarrassment. The entire Zionist endeavor was founded on the assumption that Israel would ensure against things like this repeating.

Some form of retaliation appeared unavoidable. However, the particular response that Israel implemented – the comprehensive devastation of Gaza, the killing and maiming of tens of thousands ordinary people – represented a decision. And this choice complicated how many US Jewish community members grappled with the initial assault that triggered it, and presently makes difficult the community's remembrance of that date. How can someone mourn and commemorate a horrific event targeting their community during devastation done to a different population connected to their community?

The Difficulty of Grieving

The challenge in grieving stems from the fact that no agreement exists regarding what any of this means. Indeed, within US Jewish circles, the last two years have seen the breakdown of a half-century-old unity about the Zionist movement.

The origins of Zionist agreement among American Jewry extends as far back as writings from 1915 by the lawyer subsequently appointed Supreme Court judge Louis Brandeis named “The Jewish Problem; How to Solve it”. Yet the unity really takes hold following the 1967 conflict in 1967. Before then, US Jewish communities contained a fragile but stable cohabitation between groups which maintained diverse perspectives about the need for Israel – Zionists, neutral parties and opponents.

Historical Context

This parallel existence persisted through the post-war decades, in remnants of leftist Jewish organizations, in the non-Zionist Jewish communal organization, among the opposing Jewish organization and comparable entities. Regarding Chancellor Finkelstein, the head of the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Zionist movement had greater religious significance instead of governmental, and he forbade performance of Israel's anthem, the Israeli national anthem, at JTS ordinations in the early 1960s. Additionally, support for Israel the main element for contemporary Orthodox communities prior to the six-day war. Different Jewish identity models remained present.

But after Israel defeated neighboring countries in that war during that period, seizing land comprising Palestinian territories, Gaza, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, US Jewish connection with the nation underwent significant transformation. The military success, along with longstanding fears about another genocide, resulted in a growing belief in the country’s vital role within Jewish identity, and generated admiration in its resilience. Discourse regarding the extraordinary quality of the outcome and the “liberation” of land gave the movement a religious, almost redemptive, meaning. In that triumphant era, much of previous uncertainty toward Israel vanished. In the early 1970s, Writer Norman Podhoretz stated: “Zionism unites us all.”

The Agreement and Its Boundaries

The unified position left out strictly Orthodox communities – who typically thought a Jewish state should only be ushered in through traditional interpretation of the Messiah – however joined Reform Judaism, Conservative, Modern Orthodox and most unaffiliated individuals. The common interpretation of the consensus, identified as progressive Zionism, was established on the conviction regarding Israel as a progressive and liberal – though Jewish-centered – state. Countless Jewish Americans viewed the administration of Arab, Syria's and Egypt's territories post-1967 as not permanent, assuming that a solution was imminent that would guarantee Jewish demographic dominance in pre-1967 Israel and regional acceptance of the nation.

Several cohorts of US Jews grew up with support for Israel a fundamental aspect of their identity as Jews. The nation became a key component within religious instruction. Israeli national day evolved into a religious observance. Israeli flags adorned religious institutions. Youth programs integrated with national melodies and learning of contemporary Hebrew, with Israeli guests and teaching American teenagers Israeli culture. Visits to Israel increased and peaked via educational trips during that year, providing no-cost visits to Israel was provided to Jewish young adults. The nation influenced nearly every aspect of US Jewish life.

Shifting Landscape

Ironically, during this period following the war, American Jewry became adept regarding denominational coexistence. Open-mindedness and discussion across various Jewish groups grew.

However regarding the Israeli situation – that represented diversity ended. Individuals might align with a rightwing Zionist or a progressive supporter, yet backing Israel as a majority-Jewish country was a given, and criticizing that perspective positioned you outside mainstream views – a non-conformist, as one publication termed it in an essay in 2021.

Yet presently, amid of the devastation in Gaza, food shortages, dead and orphaned children and anger regarding the refusal within Jewish communities who decline to acknowledge their involvement, that agreement has disintegrated. The centrist pro-Israel view {has lost|no longer