Israel - a Unifying or a Divisive Issue among American Jews? by Alon Pinkas

Transcription

1 in patneship with Isael - a Unifying o a Divisive Issue among Ameican Jews? by Alon Pinkas Editing: IBRT, Isael Business, Reseach, and Technical Tanslation and Documentation, Ltd.

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3 The Rudeman Pogam fo Ameican Jewish Studies is a unique and goundbeaking academic pogam established in 2013 at the Univesity of Haifa. The Rudeman Pogam coves a wide ange of issues petaining to Jewish life in the United States, Ameican society and the long-lasting and impotant bond between the Ameican Jewish community, the State of Isael and Isaeli society. The main goal of the pogam is to stengthen the elationship between Isaeli society and Ameican Jewy, by expanding cuent knowledge, distibuting it, and ceating a well-founded educated community to act in academia and Isaeli pofessional fields. The Rudeman Pogam has two banches: one is a multidisciplinay and compehensive MA studies pogam; and the second is pomoting eseach on Ameican Jewy, past and pesent, and ceating a knowledge base fo decision makes, opinion leades, policy makes, pofessionals and fo all those who take pat in public discouse in Isael. The second eseach pape published by the Rudeman Pogam was witten by Alon Pinkas, fome Consul Geneal of Isael in New Yok City. His aticle, Isael - a Unifying o a Divisive Issue among Ameican Jews?, examines the status of Isael among Ameican Jewy since the establishment of the State of Isael until today. Pinkas attempts to answe a seies of questions concening the complex and ambivalent elationship between the two lagest Jewish communities in the wold What place does Isael hold in Ameican Jewy's consciousness? Has the elationship with the State of Isael stengthened o weakened ove the yeas? What is Ameican Jewy's attitude towads Zionism and what have been the tuning points in thei attitude towads Isael? If we look at the ambivalent elationship between Ameican Jewy and Isael fom a histoical pespective, thee ae two notable insights: the fist is that Diaspoa Jews' assistance to Isael and to Isaeli society is the lagest and most impessive philanthopic entepise in the histoy of nations. It is doubtful whethe the Zionist movement would have accomplished its impessive achievements and succeeded in establishing a State fo the Jewish people in Isael, without the help of Diaspoa Jews and Ameican Jews in paticula. The second insight is that each time the State of Isael coopeated with wold Jewy (athe than disegading it) both sides benefited consideably fom thei elationship. The danges inheent in Ameican Jewy's distancing fom Isaeli society ae cucially impotant fo Isael's futue. The State of Isael makes decisions elating to Diaspoa Jews and Ameican Jewy in paticula without taking into account thei position on the matte. Decisions like these ceate tensions and divisions within the Jewish community, and may alienate Ameican Jews fom Isael and Isaeli society. This situation hams both Ameican Jewy and Isael. Hopefully, the pesent eseach pape will deepen awaeness as to the impotance of the elationship between Ameican Jewy, Isael and Isaeli society. Pof. Gu Aloey Head of the Rudeman Pogam fo Ameican Jewish Studies The Univesity of Haifa 3

4 Alon Pinkas Biogaphy Fome Consul Geneal of Isael in New Yok, and foeign policy advise and Chief of Staff to fou Foeign Ministes (including Shimon Pees, Ehud Baak and Pofesso Shlomo Ben Ami), Ambassado Alon Pinkas cuently advises and is a consultant to seveal global companies. Duing a diplomatic and political caee fom , he was a membe of the U.S. -Isael Stategic Policy Planning Goup, headed by Pesident Bill Clinton and Pime Ministe Ehud Baak. A membe of the Isael- Syia peace negotiating pocess , the Isael-UN negotiating team on withdawal fom Lebanon and bode demacation in 2000 and the Isaeli-Palestinian peace pocess negotiations Since then, a consultant and advise to Tigis Financial Goup, BSGR and Cycuity specializing in stategic planning, cisis management and business diplomacy. Paticulaly in Isael and the United States. Since leaving govenment sevice, he was also on the Boads of Diectos of Omat Industies, Bainstom Bio- Med Stem Cell eseach and solutions, BMW Isael and IEI: Isael Enegy Initiative. A gaduate of the Hebew Univesity of Jeusalem and Geogetown Univesity, Washington DC, he is also a fequent contibuto to vaious intenational TV outlets, newspapes and think tanks. 4

5 Summay Points Isael plays neithe a distinctively unifying o patently divisive ole in Ameican-Jewish life. It is both, and in equal measue, because diffeent issues affect diffeent sectos and individuals within the Ameican Jewish community. Isael s ole and place in the life and peceptions of Ameican Jews has moe to do with how they define themselves as a community and as Jews than with how they peceive Isael. A significant majoity (Appox. 70%) of Ameican Jews feel vey o somewhat attached to Isael. In this egad, Isael emains a cental issue sometime unifying, sometimes divisive fo them. So thee is no doubt that, since 1967, Isael has held a special and unique place in the collective Ameican-Jewish mind. The bond between Ameican Jews and Isael emains stong and thei commitment to the county is solid. On some levels and issues, howeve, the ties ae faying. The ecuent fiction and unesolved issues have stained and weakened the links ove the last 10 to 20 yeas and ceated widening cacks. Isael emains an omnipesent theme in Ameican Jewish life, but with the passage of the geneation that emembes 1967 and befoe, Isael is inceasingly losing its centality in the minds of Ameican Jews unde the age of fifty. Befoe 1948, Ameican Jews occupied a unique situation as the only ethnic and eligious goup in the United States that had no homeland no old county to idealize, wax omantic about, and yean fo, as othe immigant goups could. This fact, combined with the Holocaust, is of temendous impotance fo undestanding the evolution of Ameican Jewish peceptions of and elations with Isael. The State of Isael is not cental to Judaism (the opposite may be tue), which existed and flouished as a civilization and eligion in conditions of statelessness. That is valid and petinent to the Ameican Jewish expeience pio to 1948 and to some extent even afte that wateshed. The self-image of Ameican Jews, along with thei self-peceptions, cosmopolitan appoach, and value systems all developed befoe the bith of Isael. Thei cultual development, socialization, and assimilation into Ameican society and cultue wee thei own and had nothing to do with Isael, whethe as a place o an idea. Most Ameican Jews wee elative late-comes to Zionism and only eluctantly embaced and suppoted the idea and political movement. Well into the 1930s, most Ameican Jews wee outight hostile to the idea of Zionism, which they saw as a fom of socialism alien to thei attempt to assimilate in Ameica. They saw no compelling eason to suppot the ideology befoe Zionism places Isael at the cente of contempoay Jewish identity. This was aely the case with Ameican Jews. Natually, then, the elationship between Ameican Jews and Isael was somewhat ambivalent in its fist two decades, 1948 to Desciptions of the elationship as one of close affinity, o an ongoing and eve-evolving love affai and close affinity, ae a fom of convenient amnesia in the best case, o selective ewiting of histoy in the wost was a wateshed yea fo the elationship and Ameican Jews view of Isael. Haunted by guilt fo thei failue to influence U.S. policy duing the Second Wold Wa, Ameican Jews now expeienced anothe existential alam: the weeks befoe the Six Day Wa, when Isael s suvival was peceived as 5

6 hanging by a thead. The miacle of the esounding militay victoy, against the backgound of the Cold Wa and Soviet suppot fo Egypt and Syia, dew Ameican Jews much close to Isael. Concuently, Ameican Jews inceasingly deep involvement and integation into Ameican politics tuned Isael into a majo allying cy. The events of 1967 tansfomed Isael into what might be descibed as a "Secula eligion" encompassing the entie mainsteam Jewish establishment. It led to the emegence of a new slogan: We Ae One. Used as a call fo action and sales pitch to solicit contibutions and commitment to oganizations and pojects, it also had a majo substantive consequence tuning Isael into the unifying cause and almost the aison d ête of all the oganizations and thei activities. Today, howeve, as numeous suveys have shown, Isael is not among the top five issues that influence Ameican Jewish voting pattens in U.S. elections. Isael-elated and po-isael activities, oganizations, pojects, and allies polifeate, but Ameican Jews tend to cast thei ballots on the basis of othe consideations. Thei concens ae specifically Ameican; thei lively involvement and paticipation in Ameican politics is not usually motivated by Isael-diven causes. The emegence of the unique, special, unshakable elationship and stategic alliance between Isael and the United States, stating in the late-1960s, consolidated Isael s centality in oganizational and intellectual Ameican Jewish life, but also poduced fiction. The bilateal alliance plays a two-edged ole. On the one hand, as long as Isael and the United States maintain thei alliance and special elationship, Isael will ipso facto be cental to Jewish oganizations, goups, and individuals. In fact, the stength and political viability of the elationship tends to be taken fo ganted, even as the occasional divegence of inteests and contovesial Isaeli policies ae moe feely scutinized by segments in the Ameican Jewish community. Dual loyalty is an antisemitic canad huled at Ameican Jews fo thei supposed pefeence of Isaeli inteests ove Ameican, stemming fom a peculia elationship that othe ethnic goups do not have with thei othe homeland. The issue is geneally kept unde waps but somehow always luks, and cetainly since the Pollad Affai of It is elevant hee only insofa as it contibutes to an undestanding of how Ameican Jewish views of Isael ae in tun seen by some Ameicans (both tue antisemites and othes). Thee ae fou boad easons fo the gowing divide between Ameican Jews and Isael: histoical (post- 1967), cultual (diveging societal development), eligious (the teatment of Refom and Consevative Jews), and political ( libeal Ameican Jews vs. colonialist Isael.) But thee is also is a fifth and oveiding explanation fo the disconnect: nomalization. This means nomalization of the ecognition that Isael is stong and poweful and not facing an existential theat; nomalization of the elations between Isael and the United States; and the nomalization, in the social, cultual, and political domains, of Jewish life in Ameica. 6

7 Intoduction "We ae one!" - But ae we one? Late one Satuday moning, at the end of Shabbat sevices, Mavin Cohen goes ove to the abbi of his Consevative synagogue in sububan Miami Dade County. I need to talk to you on an ugent matte, says Cohen. With pleasue, eplies the abbi immediately. Let s go into my office. You look eally down and beat, comments the abbi. Yeah, well, hee s the thing, Cohen begins. You emembe my beloved wife, my soul mate, my pide and joy, my deaest Babaa who passed away last yea? Of couse. The abbi nods slowly. A teific lady. We all miss he teibly. People fom the community come up to me all the time and sing he paises. She is teibly missed my fiend, geat loss. Anyway, Cohen continues, shotly afte she passed away I got a goldfish, Feddie. Yes, the Rabbi mumbles, I emembe you telling me. So this goldfish, Feddie, became my best fiend. I d feed him, clean his bowl. He would be the last thing I saw befoe falling asleep and the fist thing geeting me as I opened my eyes in the moning. Neve complained, always seemed happy to see me. That is moving, M. Cohen, says the misty-eyed abbi. Anyway, Rabbi, the fish died last night, and I want you to say kaddish fo him. M. Cohen, the abbi feels his way slowly. With the utmost espect and fiendship, this cannot be done. Kaddish is an impotant thing, a vey meaningful paye. I take it vey seiously. Can you imagine the hell that would beak loose if I stat saying kaddish fo evey congegant s pet? I don t think you get it, Rabbi, Cohen etoted in iitation. When you needed $50,000 fo the new libay, you came to me. When you needed $20,000 to fix the leaking oof, I neve asked questions. I now undestand you need $100,000 fo a swimming pool at the JCC. Coect? Yes, M. Cohen, you wee always thee fo us. I ll tell you what, I ll do bette than a kaddish: Next Shabbos I ll say a few things about him in my weekly semon. People tune in to that. The next week the abbi delives his semon as pomised. Afte he finishes, he sees Cohen sobbing inconsolably in the font ow. He appoaches him. M. Cohen, what s wong? I did the best I could and said eveything I can about the fish, may he est in peace. I hope eveything is okay? Oh, Rabbi, a teaful Cohen eplies. I know. It was beautiful. Thank you fom the bottom of my heat. He was my closest fiend and I loved him dealy. So what s the poblem? asks the peplexed abbi. You see, you think you know someone well, Rabbi, but I was amazed. I had no idea Feddie did so much fo Isael. * * * 7

8 Until 1948, Ameican Jews wee unique among all the goups of immigants who aived in the United States in the late nineteenth and ealy-to-mid twentieth centuies and took thei place in the Ameican mosaic. To begin with, Judaism is a peculia combination of eligion, ethnicity, and nationality, a theesome that fo many centuies fomed a civilization with many subcultues, steams, and political, intellectual, and geogaphical centes. But what made Ameican Jews stand out was the fact that they wee the only ethnic and eligious goup that had no homeland, no old county they could eminisce about, omanticize, and shae collective memoies about. Iish-Ameicans, Italian-Ameicans, Polish-Ameicans, Cuban-Ameicans, o Geman-Ameicans all had thei old county. Thei emigation fom thei ancestal county to Ameica was motivated by thei hope of a bette life. But Jews did not emigate they fled. They left behind Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, o Gemany and neve looked back. Ionically, the one categoy of Ameicans who shaed this distinction was one of the oldest goups in Ameica: the Afican Ameicans who wee bought thei focibly and sold as slaves. Theefoe, any discussion of Ameican Jews feelings towads, elations with, and peceptions of Isael must begin with this citical histoical fact in mind: Ameican Jews wee in Ameica and began thei assimilation and accultuation into Ameican society (fa fom complete o equal at the time) many yeas befoe Isael was established in Zionism was thee, as an idea, an ideology, and political stategy, as objective and action plan, but Ameican Jews evinced little if any intellectual o political enthusiasm fo it. Thei state of mind was that of an immigant goup and individuals doing eveything in thei powe to Ameicanize themselves. They had no appetite fo the alien notion of cetain Russian and Polish socialists who, based on cental Euopean libeal and nationalist witings about the advantages of the nation state. Zionism poposed to nomalize Jewish life and edeem the downtodden Jews. Those who had aleady eached the New Wold thought that Ameica offeed the same thing, and with much bette pospects. Those who inquied leaned that Zionism was intent on etuning the Jews to an undeveloped deset, without natual esouces, no housing o tanspotation infastuctue and no jobs. To add to these attactions, the biblical and ancestal homeland was inhabited by Aabs and contolled by the Ottomans and then the Bitish. How could that be bette than New Yok, Philadelphia, o Chicago? Why would a Polish Jew living in the tenements of the Lowe East Side and focused on making a living be inteested in going back to edeem and eclaim owneship of a land which the Jews had lost contol of eighteen centuies befoe, in the fist and second centuies AD. Ameican Jews wanted to become Ameicans. They deamt of joining the geatest nation on eath, of being pat of the Ameican deam and living in the land of endless oppotunity, whee any native-bon citizen can become pesident. Zionism was an inheently alien and unattactive concept. Then a histoical hoo, the wost genocide in histoy, changed eveything and shook Jewish confidence to the coe. And along came Isael. 8

9 If Ameican Jewish elations with Isael wee plotted on a gaph (which would do thei complexity much injustice), the vaious phases along the timeline would look something like this: Disinteest and mild jubilation ( ) > Indiffeence ( ) > Tansfomative anxiety and adulation (1967) > A omantic cush ( ) > Identification to the point of institutionalization of Isael as a majo theme in oganized Jewish life in Ameica ( ) > The appeaance of eal but still suppessed cacks: the 1982 Lebanon Wa, the 1985 Pollad affai and its aftemath, the Who is a Jew imboglio in Isael (1982/3-1985) > Inetia: Routine suppot against the backgound of the consolidation of the US-Isael alliance ( ) > Citical silence and occasional public disageements ( ) > Visible signs of mutual disassociation on seveal issues and among seveal demogaphics (2009-pesent). This of couse is a vey boad-bush pictue, omitting numeous details, nuances, mini-cises, and ad-hoc issues. The time peiods ae event-diven athe than clea watesheds. But the sequence is clea: fom indiffeence to mild suppot, then love that tuned to tende but stong citicism, and now patial disassociation not a ift, not a conflict, fa fom a deep and damatic cisis, but an ominous detachment nonetheless. Moe impotantly, thee ae thee oveaching items that such a timeline cannot captue: Fist, who (and what) ae Ameican Jews? When we talk of suppot o disaffection, and when we analyze geneal tendencies, do we necessaily and conveniently mean only the establishment and oganizations? Ae pofessional Jews and active membes of oganizations epesentative of a community of some 5.3 million? Was the love affai with Isael a natual evolution that metamophosed into a (legitimate) agenda that is now in the state of inetia, aguably causing a disconnect with the majoity of uninvolved o less concened Ameican Jews? The establishment is concete: fedeations, JCCs, offices, CEOs, boads, addesses, confeences, missions to Isael, fundaising events. It is vocal, public, and politically active, and its activities ae amenable to quantification and eseach. The second point is the evolution of the elationship between the United States and Isael, which developed almost exponentially afte 1967 and became a cental theme of Ameican Jewish-Isaeli elations. The existential theat to Isael in May-June 1967 was esolved by an astonishing and game-changing militay victoy in the Six Day Wa. Against the backgound of the Cold Wa, containment of Soviet expansionism, egional alliances, and the Vietnam Wa, the United States and Isael foged an almost unnatual - in tems of coe US geopolitical inteests - but deep and duable militay elationship that quickly developed into a diplomatic alliance. The United States became Isael staunchest ally and a cental pilla of Isael s national secuity. Simultaneously, the moal foundations of the alliance wee being built, pimaily by Ameican Jews intent on stengthening, deepening, and futhe consolidating the elationship. Natually, this became a majo theme of Ameican Jewish commitment to and identification with Isael. Biblical values, Zionists in the Negev, Puitans in Massachusetts, two young democacies on a mission to set a lasting example fo humanity. Almost evey Ameican o Isaeli politician and diplomat fo the last foty yeas has poclaimed that the elations between the two counties ae unshakeable. Fo many Ameican Jews, We ae One applied not only to thei own elations with Isael but to US-Isaeli ties as well. 9

10 But when this elationship began to exhibit stains, and in the last seven to eight yeas moe fequently than befoe (fo a multitude of causes and easons to be elaboated below), so did the Ameican Jewish elationship with Isael. The thid point is that a much boade phenomenon is at play hee. Ameican Jewish suppot fo and peceptions of Isael ae histoically as much an intenal identity issue, elated to how Ameican Jews see themselves and how they developed as a community, as they ae about Isael and its elative impotance in thei lives, as individuals and as a community. Any seious discussion of Ameican Jews and Isael must take this into account. As Steven Rosenthal put it: Any attempt to undestand this tansfomation must also examine the lage stoy upon which it is based the evolution of Jewish identity in both Ameica and Isael (Rosenthal, 2001, p. XII). In this espect, the Ameican Jewish community and Isael have undegone significant societal changes that affect mutual peceptions and shape the elationship in fundamental ways. In shot, Ameican Jews and Isael ae moving in diffeent diections, and pehaps inceasingly so; but these ae diffeent paths, not a collision couse, as some citics and detactos would have it. Yes, we ae one but moe and moe not the same one. 10

11 Isael as Pat of the Ameican-Jewish Identity Ameican Jews wee neve Zionists. They wee Jews who came to Ameica to become Ameican. It was in 1584, when the fist Jew, a cetain Joachim Gans who came to the Roanoke Island colony set foot in Noth Ameica. The small community duing evolutionay Ameica was home to the 1700 Dutch-Sephadic Jews, and then the mid-nineteenth centuy when Chaleston, South Caolina, was the lagest Jewish community, to the big goups of 2 million Jews who aived in the immigation waves fom Euope between , passed though Ellis Island in pusuit of the Ameican deam in New Yok, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago. It was all about being Ameican, about defining what it means to be Jewish in Ameica. Jews had no inteest in Zionism. They wee an ethnic and eligious goup, mainly poo immigant-efugees, often pesecuted in Euope, who came to the shoes of the New Wold in seach of a bette life and a quest to become pat of the Ameican melting pot (a tem, ionically, invented by the Bitish Jewish Zionist autho, Isael Zangwill). By vitue of thei own histoy, thei collective and individual expeience, Jews ae by natue and almost by definition a tansnational o diaspoic people. Fom oughly 73 AD (CE) to 1948, that was the existential state of the Jewish people. The State of the Jewish people was, simply, statelessness. Fo them, Ameica was a safe haven, the last efuge fom the antisemitism, discimination, and pesecution in Euope. Jews wee a small minoity among the many goups that togethe fomed the Ameican mosaic. In 1900, thee yeas afte the fist Zionist Congess, which launched political Zionism, thee wee some 1.5 million Jews living in the United States, out of a total population of 76 million. By 1948, when Isael became an independent county, thee wee 4.4 million Jews among the 146 million Ameicans. Today thee ae 5.3 to 6 million Jews living in the United States, out of a total population of 325 million. 1 The pecentage of Jews emains theefoe between 2%-3% of the total US population in the last 100 yeas. So if Ameican Jews wee indiffeent o outight hostile to Zionism, what defined thei Jewishness in a vey Chistian yet ostensibly and constitutionally secula county? Michael Banett povides a unique pespective in The Sta and the Stipes: Foeign Policies of Ameican Jews. He taces pats of the Ameican Jewish identity to a deepe set of Judaism s qualities, chaacteistics, and theological attibutes. A pesistent theme in Jewish theology, wites Banett:...is the tension between paticulaism and univesalism, pesent thoughout the Toah, in sayings, and eligious debates. What kind of people ae they? Ae they a chosen people? Ae they Am Lavadad Yishkon, a people that dwells alone? O ae they O LaGoyim, a light unto nations? What is thei pupose in the wold to maintain thei covenant with God o to be a pophetic people and seve humanity? How does thei identity elate to thei duty to thei fellow Jews and othes? Should they follow the Talmudic expession Aniyei Icha Kodmim, you city s poo comes fist, which advises Jews to tend pimaily to thei own? Hillel s inspiing wods, though, uge 1 The ange is due to the fact that thee is no single definition of who is an Ameican Jew. How do you define childen of intemaiage? Do you count the 300,000 Isaelis living in the United States? Etc. 11

12 Jews to look beyond thei own needs: If I am not fo myself, who will be fo me? But if I am only fo myself, who am I? If not now, when? (Banett, 2016, pp. 5-18) This, contends Banett, shaped how Ameican Jews identify with the Jewish people and late with Isael. Thee is a tension between paticulaism and inwad-looking ethnocenticity, on the one hand, and the univesalism and the values undelying the idea of Ameica. Ameican Jews, accoding to Banett, ae living examples of F. Scott Fitzgeald s saying that the test of a fistate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still etain the ability to function (Banett, 2016, p.6). Fotunately, Fitzgeald was not familia with David Ben-Guion, who is supposed to have coined the phase, Two Jews, thee opinions. When Ameican Jews talk about Isael they ae talking, to a lage extent, about thei own Jewish identity. Convesations about Isael ae aely just about Isael. They ae about who we ae and what ou Jewishness is. At the same time, they ae poud Ameicans on both a communal and individual level. Even among second-, thid-, and fouth-geneation Ameicans, Jewish histoy, Jewish anxieties, and Jewish insecuities ae so deeply ingained that they emain thankful fo Ameica s geneosity, toleance, and oppotunities. The Ameican way is thei way. The Ameican Jewish establishment initially feaed that Jewish nationalism and Zionist activity and lobbying played into the hands of antisemites. Classical antisemitism singled out the Jews as a sepaate goup (eligiously and ethnically) who could neve live hamoniously with othes in thei host counties. Zionism supposedly supplied antisemites with an excuse to claim that even in hospitable Ameica Jews wee not eally blending in. Ente Isael, the ideological and political poduct of Zionism. Dov Waxman identifies five pillas of the Ameican Jewish elationship with Isael: Familism, Fea, Functionality, Faith, and Fantasy. Steven Cohen, the noted schola of Ameican Jewish histoy and sociology, wote that: Ameican Jewish feelings about Isael ae dominated by fea fa moe than hope, by nightmaes moe than deams. Haboing a deep sense of victimhood and an abiding fea of pesecution, anti-semitism, eal o imagined whethe in Euope, the Middle East, the United States, o elsewhee is a continual souce of anxiety fo Ameican Jews, and a constant motivation behind thei suppot fo Isael. Since the establishment of the State, Ameican Jews have egaded Isael as a safe haven fo pesecuted and endangeed Jews, especially following the Holocaust. (Quoted by: Waxman, P.28) Beyond the iconic So, is it good fo the Jews o bad fo the Jews? usually mumbled somewhat impatiently o indignantly afte evey news stoy, political event, o statement egading Isael, thee is a set of fundamental questions that Ameican Jews have been asking themselves, collectively and individually, fo many yeas. Yes, I/we cae about Isael, but is Isael cental to my/ou Jewish identity? What kind of elationship should we, as Ameican Jews, have with Isael? 12

13 Should Ameican Jews suppot Isael unconditionally? What happens when ou inheently Ameican libeal values collide with what we believe ae self-defeating o moally poblematic Isaeli policies? Ae thee, should thee be, and if so what exactly ae the limits of public discouse and debate on Isael? What kinds of opinions and aguments can we have publicly without displaying ou dity laundy fo eveyone to see? Is Isael, ight o wong a valid position o some achaic notion ielevant to the age of instant infomation eadily available fom evey smatphone eveywhee on the planet? In shot, as Waxman puts it, what loyalty, if any, do Jews owe the Jewish state? A complex set of beliefs, convictions, and emotions undelines Ameican Jewish suppot fo Isael. The consensus among most scholas highlights one element that is conspicuously missing fom this set: Zionist ideology. The Ameican Jewish connection with Isael is emotional, not ideological. Hence, Ameican Jewish suppot fo Isael is moe accuately descibed as po-isaelism athe than Zionism (ibid). Although many and pehaps most Ameican Jews today would descibe themselves as Zionists, thei Zionism is vey much supeficial, in that the idea of actually moving to Isael, which is a basic tenet of Zionism, is not something they have eve consideed seiously. Ben-Guion obseved that: Most of the people in the diaspoa who now call themselves Zionists do not mean in all espects exactly the same thing that was meant by those who coined the tem Zionism and by the majoity who used the wod duing the fist fifty yeas of the Zionist movement (Quoted by Waxman, 2016, p. 28). Classical Zionism, the idea of nomalizing Jewish diaspoic life though an independent Jewish state, has neve had much elevance fo Ameican Jews. As Jacob Blaustein, Pesident of the Ameican Jewish Committee, wote in his famous exchange of views with Ben-Guion in 1950: Ameican Jews vigoously epudiate any suggestion o implication that they ae in exile. Ameican Jews young and old alike, Zionists and non-zionists alike ae pofoundly attached to Ameica. To Ameican Jews, Ameica is home. (Fo the exchange and subsequent "Blaustein-Ben Guion Ageement" of 1951, See: Ameican Jews have evolved in thei elations with Isael, but insofa as Isael s being even emotely a fomative pat of thei identity ight befoe and afte independence in 1948 Blaustein s wods say it all. Many Isaelis diplomats, politicians, academics, jounalists can be fogiven fo thinking that Isael is the defining chaacteistic and numbe one issue on the mind of Ameican Jews. Fogiven, because if you entie exposue to Ameican Jewy comes fom establishment oganizations, AIPAC, local fedeations, and gala dinnes you do get the impession that it is all about Isael and always was. It was not, and it isn t. The Ameican Jewish elationship with Isael has always been in flux. Contay to the common belief that Ameican Jews have always been stong suppotes of Isael, in fact, the extent and intensity of Ameican Jewish suppot fo Isael has significantly fluctuated ove time. Not only has Ameican Jewish inteest in Isael waxed and waned, but also Ameican Jewish attitudes towads Isael have evolved, boadly speaking, fom disinteest, to devotion. (Waxman, 2016, p. 33) 13

14 Waxman povides suppoting data: Ameican Jewish disinteest in Isael in the 1950s and ealy 1960s was evident in many ways. Only about 10,000 Ameican Jews emigated to Isael between 1948 and 1967, the amount of money Ameican Jews gave to Isael though the Noth Ameican Fedeations United Jewish Appeal (UJA) steadily declined (fom $150 million in 1948 to $60 million in 1955), and membeship in Ameican Zionist oganizations shank. Sociological studies of local Jewish communities at the time also evealed how supisingly little Isael figued in Ameican Jewish life. Thus, in 1957 sociologist Nathan Glaze commented that Isael s founding has had emakably slight effects on the inne life of Ameican Jewy. No was suppoting Isael the most impotant item on the political agenda of the Ameican Jewish community duing this peiod. (ibid, pp ) Howeve, as knowledge and news about Isael became moe accessible, and Isael s secuity an inceasing concen, the idea of Isael not Isael pe se gadually began to figue moe pominently in Jewish identity, at fist in an almost philosophical way. The fundamental eason fo this lack of inteest in Isael, accoding to Chales Liebman, was that Isael was moe of an abstact symbol to Ameican Jews than an actual place. Isael is the peeminent Jewish symbol, he wote. Isael, theefoe, is ecognized as impotant less fo what it does than fo what it is (Liebman, 1977, p. 48). With espect to Isael s place in Ameican Jewish identity, it is impotant to note that since the 1970s Jews in the United States and Isael have developed a stong bond, which led to Isael s ceeping into Ameican Jewish minds and self-peceptions. By fa the best and most compehensive study of Ameican Jewish attitudes is the landmak 2013 Pew Reseach Cente suvey of Ameican Jews, A Potait of Ameican Jews. Hee ae some of its majo findings: U.S. Jews say they ae eithe vey o somewhat emotionally attached to Isael. Being Jewish, accoding to a majoity, is moe about cultue and ancesty than eligion a finding that should delight some Isaelis. Pew found that caing about Isael was an essential pat of being Jewish fo 53% of Jews 65 and olde. By compaison, only 32% of Jews 18 to 29 expessed that same sentiment. 14

15 Ameican Jews don t vote on Isael (See: Waxman, 2016; Toy, 2016). Isael was the most impotant voting issue fo a mee 4% of espondents in the Public Religion Reseach Institute s 2012 Jewish Values suvey. Isael was one of two top voting issue pioities fo just 10% in a J Steet poll conducted aound the same time. Moe ecently, U.S.-Isael elations was the most impotant issue fo only 7.2% in the Ameican Jewish Committee s 2015 study of Jewish Ameican opinion, anking fifth behind the economy (41.7%), national secuity (12.3%), healthcae (12%), and income inequality (11.6%). It was the second and the thid-most impotant issue fo only 7.6% and 11.1%, espectively. So while Isael became a pat of the Ameican Jewish identity, so did Ameican Jews disageements with Isael and thei effots to econcile Ameican libealism with Isaeli policies they oppose o ae uncomfotable with. As Jews got close to Isael, two diveging tends appeaed: the elationship and affiliation gew stonge, but so did the citicism and disillusionment. Conventional wisdom is that the dividing issue affecting Isael s place in Ameican Jewish identity is the intactable Isaeli-Palestinian conflict and Isael s continued patial occupation of Palestinian lands. Without dismissing the Palestinian issue, many Jewish intellectuals beg to diffe as to what has an enduing impact on Ameican Jewish identity when it comes to Isael. 15

16 In a Decembe 2016 inteview with Isaeli jounalist Nahum Banea, published in Yedioth Ahonoth, Leon Wieseltie, one of Ameica s leading intellectuals, said: The pimay eason fo the widening chasm between the two communities is the behavio of the [Othodox Chief] Rabbinate in Isael towads the Jews of Ameica. I am efeing to its elationship to Refom and Consevative Jews and to the Women of the Wall. The conduct of the Govenment of Isael on this subject is insulting and epellent. I can think of few subjects on which Isael has caused such disgust (Yediot Ahonot, Dec. 2, 2012). Rabbi Eic Yoffie agued along simila lines in an aticle published in Ha aetz on Decembe 7, If Isael is not the cental component of moden Ameican Jewish identity, what is? This bings us back to the stat of this chapte the basic question of what it means to be a Jew. In that boade context, Isael figues in, but not necessaily as a unifying facto. Pehaps the concept that applies most if all is the taditional Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam ( epaiing the wold ), which in contempoay political language tanslates feely into social justice. When Pew asked, What is essential to you Jewish identity?, caing about Isael (43%) was athe handily beat out by leading an ethical/moal life (69%) and woking fo justice/equality (56%). Mainsteam Ameican Jews ae less concened with the details of the latest U.S. militay aid package to Isael than, fo instance, candidates positions on abotion and gay maiage. If, as Ben-Guion asseted, Isael s only absolutely eliable ally is wold Jewy, then Ameican Jewy by fa, the lagest, ichest, and most poweful Diaspoa Jewish community in the wold, indeed in all histoy is suely Isael s most impotant ally. Afte 1967, Isael evolved into souce of secuity, pide, and faith fo Ameican Jews. Suppoting Isael undoubtedly seves a psychological, emotional, and spiitual need. As Chales Liebman obseved and eloquently wote: Ameican Jewish suppot fo Isael is pimaily diven by Ameican Jewish needs and desies. Since Isael was pimaily a symbol of Jewishness to Ameican Jews, thei suppot fo Isael was fundamentally an expession of suppot fo Jewishness and fo the Jewish people (Liebman, 1977, p. 200). The identity of Ameican Jews is moe about who and what they ae as Jews in Ameica than it is about Isael. What makes this possible, as stated in the intoduction, is the fact that Isael is an imaginay homeland fo Ameican Jews, but Ameica is thei home. 16

17 The Wateshed Yea 1967 and the Emegence of the Special Relationship 1967 was a wateshed yea in Ameican-Jewish elations with, affinity fo, and attitudes towads Isael. The evidence of just how citical and influential that yea and the Six Day Wa wee fo the evolution of Ameican Jewish elations with Isael is staggeing, both at the time and in etospect. Isael has become instumental to one s Ameican Jewish identity. Isael, and concen fo Isael, ae peeminently a symbol of Jewish Identity, wote Chales Liebman about the ole of 1967 (Liebman, 1977, p.25). Wheeas the ceation of Isael in 1948 was geeted by mild and eseved enthusiasm, 1967 was a tuning point. Thee events and tends conveged in 1967: Isael was unde a eal and widely peceived existential theat fom Egypt and Syia (and, to a lesse extent, the doomsday scenaio of an Iaqi and Jodanian invasion fom the east). Both counties wee clients of the Soviet Union; the United States was sinking deepe into Vietnam as pat of the Cold Wa and containment of Soviet Communism; and Ameican Jews wee in the thoes of an acceleated pocess of socialization and assimilation. As opposed to the Holocaust yeas, they now had both the political ability and (elative) poximity to powe to expess thei concens. Afte the theat of Isael s annihilation, the swift militay victoy was a quasi-eligious epiphany with edemptive qualities. Fo many goups, in both Isael and the United States, that quasi could be dopped. Afte 1967, Isael became pat of Ameican Jews civil eligion, the majo theme, focus of activity, and philanthopic allying cy of the Jewish establishment oganizations. Isael became a tem of endeament fo many ank-and-file Jews acoss Ameica, whose only fom of Jewish identity was membeship in a synagogue, whee they showed up only on the High Holidays, o a token paticipation in occasional events of the local Jewish fedeation. Now they had an Esatz Religion. Fo many yeas, Ameican Jews shaed a omantic consensus about Isael: A smiling but tough paatoope, a Yemenite female soldie picking oanges while holding an Uzi submachine gun both defending the Jewish homeland and while making the deset bloom. Leon Uis s novel, Exodus, and the Otto Peminge movie based on it, staing Paul Newman as Ai Ben Canaan, was a souce of pide and identification. This new eligion had its pophets, apostles, and piests. In the decades afte 1948, the pophet was the chaismatic and sensationally photogenic David Ben-Guion, and the ole of high piest was played by United Nations epesentative (and sometimes foeign ministe) Abba Eban, loved by Ameican Jews fo his ubane sophistication, fo his beautifully cafted speeches defending Isael, and fo his Bitish accent. The omantic waio figue of Geneal Moshe Dayan, who moe than any Isaeli captued the imagination of Ameican Jewy as the exempla of the new Jew, povided an avenging angel (Rosenthal, 2001, p. XVI). Moshe Dayan, with his eye patch, was the heo, the libeato of Jeusalem with Yitzhak Rabin. They saved Isael fom the abyss, they libeated Jeusalem, and indiectly vanquished the Soviet Union. They made Ameican Jews poud of Isael, pehaps fo the fist time since 1948 and to a degee, endeed the taditional Refom anti-zionism cental theme no longe espectable. The Life magazine cove that featued a young Isaeli soldie (Yossi Ben Hanan, late a majo geneal) holding a Soviet made AK-47 while standing in the Suez Canal, symbolized the new Isael fo Ameican Jews. 17

18 Concuently, Ameican Jews (and the ealy politically active Chistian Evangelicals) began dawing a moal and histoical analogy between the United States and Isael. The latte was not meely an Ameican ally helping to contain Soviet expansionism in the Middle East; it was a siste democacy, unlike any othe US ally. Both ae counties established in defiance of histoy, against pevailing cuents, eligious pesecution, discimination, and the old ode. Both ae immigant societies. Both shae biblical values about moality, the pupose of the good state, human being, and society. Most significantly, both have a vocation: to be a light unto the nations, the shining city upon a hill. 2 As they assimilated into Ameican society and politics, Ameican Jews felt inceasingly fee to expess thei attachment to Isael in ethnic as well as political tems. They finally had a homeland to be poud of and wee intent on moving it close to the United States, in a way that could mege thei two identities (Rosenthal, 2001, ch. 2). The aftemath of the Six Day Wa was citical in anothe significant dimension: the emegence of the alliance between the two counties and the gadual foging of a unique special elationship. What stated with the Kennedy administation s decision to sell Isael Hawk anti-aicaft missiles in 1963 developed into a cental pilla of Isael s national secuity and into a compehensive naative into which Ameican Jews funneled thei political, financial, and intellectual esouces fo seveal decades to come. Natually, the foundations, dynamics, chaacteistics, and expessions of this elationship waant intensive study (some have been witten; see fo example: Bass, 2003). But a bief oveview of the elations between the two counties is essential hee, because of its inexticable link with the elations between Ameican Jews and Isael. The bilateal elationship and eventual alliance is patently unnatual fom the pespective of Ameican inteests afte the Second Wold Wa. The way it evolved and matued into what it is today is equally unnatual, given its inheent asymmety. Nevetheless, it has poven to be stong and duable even when the two counties inteests divege. The beginning was inauspicious. Yes, Tuman ecognized Isael against the advice of his secetay of state, Geoge Mashall, and the vast majoity of the Washington foeign policy and defense establishment. But fom then on, though the 1950s, Cold Wa calculations and an attempt to lue the Aab states out of the Soviet obit took pecedence. Dwight Eisenhowe was not only a Republican, a paty which won less than 30% of the Jewish vote, but also a cautious militay man who had to manage the Cold Wa. The pimay and pehaps exclusive lens though which he saw the Middle East was the need to contain the Soviet Union and safeguad the fee flow of oil. As the Cold Wa escalated, Eisenhowe was Isael as a stategic nuisance. At times he seemed genuinely vexed by Isael s actions, especially what he peceived and intepeted to be the unholy alliance Isael foged with Bitain and Fance in 1956 befoe and duing the Suez Campaign, at the height of his eelection campaign (Allin and Simon, 2016, pp ). In 1953, Eisenhowe s secetay of state, John Foste Dulles, said the Tuman administation had gone oveboad in favo of Isael. Late, in 1957, still livid ove the 1956 Suez wa, which had complicated Ameica s position vis-à-vis the Aab wold, Dulles told Heny Luce of Time magazine that I am awae how almost impossible it is fo this county to cay out foeign policy not appoved by the Jews. [Geoge] Mashall and [Defense Secetay James] Foestal leaned that. I am going to ty and have one (ibid, p. 26). 2 It was Pesident Ronald Reagan who added shining to the oiginal passage fom Jesus Semon on the Mount (Matthew 5:14). 18

19 In etospect, this passage can be dismissed as fustation o even thinly veiled antisemitism, but it emains among the ealiest textual evidence that some Ameican Jews wee lobbying fo Isael, appaently with some success, a full decade befoe the elationship changed. Pesident Eisenhowe himself told a fiend: I gave stict odes to the State Depatment that they should infom Isael that we would handle ou affais exactly as though we didn t have a Jew in Ameica (Bass, 2003, p. 33). John F. Kennedy s decision to sell Hawk missiles to Isael in 1963 is widely egaded as a new depatue in bilateal elations. The batteies, the fist state-of-the-at system the United States sold to Isael, wee a defensive system and, but the impotance of the sale was political: it was povoked by Kennedy s unsuccessful attempt to get Nasse s Egypt to side with the United States. It was Nasse s insistence on emaining nonaligned and his gand deam of Egypt s as the leade of the Aab wold, Afica, and the non-aligned nations that essentially launched the US-Isaeli elationship. Duing that yea, Kennedy had met with the Isaeli deputy defense ministe, Shimon Pees in New Yok. The United States was woied about activities in the nuclea eacto nea the town of Dimona in the Negev. It was then, fo the fist time, that Isael developed what is called the policy of nuclea opaqueness. Isael, Pees told Kennedy, would not be the fist to intoduce nuclea weapons to the Middle East. Kennedy, while unenthusiastic, accepted that fomulation. Late in the decade, when Pesident Richad Nixon met with Isaeli Pemie Golda Mei in 1969, the policy was quasi-fomalized in tacit undestandings. It would not be an exaggeation o a wild stetch of the imagination to conclude that Nasse played a fomative ole in US-Isael elations and by extension in Ameican Jewish-Isael elations. It could all have been diffeent if Nasse had esponded to Kennedy s geopolitical coutship. Afte Kennedy s assassination, his successo, Lyndon Johnson took the elationship to an altogethe diffeent level, ageeing to sell to Isael foce-multiplying Skyhawk A-4s and late Phantom F-4 jets in 1966, sot of a quid po quo fo Isael s willingness to allow the Ameicans access to a Soviet-made MIG-21, flown to Isael in August 1966 by a defecting Iaqi pilot. The Skyhawks and Phantoms wee not deliveed until afte the 1967 Six Day Wa, but by then the United States had full militay justification and cause to supply Isael with advanced militay hadwae to counte the Soviet-made systems used by Egypt and Syia. The tide in bilateal elations had tuned at the same time that Ameican Jews wee falling madly in love with Isael. Johnson called himself a Jewish non-jew. Ameican Jews wee pat and pacel of his tansfomative domestic agenda: the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Geat Society. But the yeas befoe 1967 wee also a time of the vanishing Ameican Jew, with assimilation acceleating; Jews wee at the foefont of Johnson s legislative agenda but also of the anti-vietnam movement (Heilman, 1995, p. 58). To some degee 1967 was, as Dana Allin and Steve Simon put it, the apotheosis of libeal Zionism. Isael was deified in the Ameican Jewish libeal mind, and any esevations and disillusionment wee not evident in the immediate aftemath of the Six Day Wa. The West Bank and Gaza was not an issue and the tem occupation was aely used. The teitoies wee tempoaily held and administeed by Isael; thee wee no Jewish settlements thee until 1973, quasi-legalized only in 1974, seven yeas afte the wa. In Novembe 1967, the UN Secuity Council adopted esolution 242, eminding Isael of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of teitoy by wa and calling fo the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the... withdawal of Isaeli amed foces fom teitoies occupied in the ecent 19

20 conflict (UNSC Resolution 242, The United States suppoted the esolution, which passed 15:0, a stak eminde to the hysteia and eatic eaction in Isael in Decembe 2016, when the United States abstained and allowed the passage of Resolution 2334, which calls fo the cessation of all settlement activities. Fo Ameican Jews, post-1967 was an entiely diffeent ballgame in egads to Isael, even when Richad Nixon won the pesidency in 1968 (75% of Jews voted fo his opponent, Hubet Humphey). Politically, Ameican Jews disliked Nixon pofoundly. He was almost openly antisemitic (as they suspected at the time and wee vindicated late); he had seved on the eviled House Un-Ameican Activities Committee in 1947; and as pesident he was Vietnam, he was Laos and Cambodia, Kent State, the Pentagon Papes, Wategate. Howeve, if anyone is the founding fathe of the moden special elationship between Isael and the United States, it was, without doubt, Richad Milhous Nixon. The Nixon White House, including national secuity advise D. Heny Kissinge, began seeing Isael as a militay and diplomatic asset in the boade context of containing Soviet powe. This an against the conventional wisdom at the State Depatment, which was still skeptical of close ties with Isael, even as the Wa of Attition seved as a valuable poving gound fo Ameican weapons systems and Ameican diplomacy focused on extacting Egypt fom the Soviet gip. But the US peace initiatives, pimaily the Roges Plan advanced by Secetay of State William P. Roges, failed. The Egyptians, by 1972 aleady gadually exticating themselves fom the Soviet obit, began planning a new ound of hostilities to beak the stalemate, with Syia s coopeation. The 1973 Yom Kippu Wa stetched Isael almost to the beaking point, but ended in militay victoy, albeit a limited one. Duing the wa, the Nixon administation launched an ailift to eplenish Isael s depleted stocks of equipment and ammunition. Afte the wa, Nixon decided to give Isael a militay and civilian assistance package of $3 billion $1.8 fo militay needs (with 85% to be spent in the United States) and $1.2 in civilian aid. Nixon and the Congess tuned the gant into an integal pat of the Foeign Aid bill and institutionalized the aid package to Isael in a fomat that emains almost intact to this day. 3 The Ameican effots to mediate between Isael and Egypt afte the wa did esult in the famous eassessment of elations with Isael in 1975 by Pesident Geald Fod and Secetay of State Kissinge. But despite the dama and cisis, the couse and diection of the elationship had not changed. In 1979 Isael and Egypt signed a histoic peace deal, bokeed by Pesident Jimmy Cate. Despite the bitte fiction between Cate and Pime Ministe Menachem Begin, the bilateal alliance was stengthened by the teaty. Ameican Jews now viewed Isael as safe and inceasingly suppoted by the United States. By the late 1970s, but moe so afte the Reagan Administation s decision to sell AWACS suveillance planes to Saudi Aabia in 1981 and the po-isael lobby s inability to pevent the deal, the Ameican Jewish community devoted much of its effots to lobbying, paticulaly on Capitol Hill and on a gassoots level. One esult of the failue was a the emegence of AIPAC as we know it today. The basic idea was that in ode to advance po- Isael policy, thee needs to be a compehensive, long-tem, ongoing and eve-evolving gassoots lobby that would culminate in attaining eal powe and leveage on Capitol Hill, lobbying on behalf of Po-Isaeli issues, but ostensibly to pomote US inteests pedicated on the assumption that these inteests ae best seved by a stong and close alliance with Isael. 3 The new ten-yea aid package, signed into law by Pesident Obama in late 2016 and woth $38 billion, inceases the annual amount, patly to compensate fo the challenges posed by the 2015 nuclea deal with Ian, but does not allow Isael to convet dollas into shekels and spend some of the money in Isael fo local pocuement. 20