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It has been that mass murder of October 7, 2023, which deeply affected world Jewry like no other occurrence since the creation of the state of Israel.

Within Jewish communities the event proved shocking. For the state of Israel, it was deeply humiliating. The whole Zionist endeavor had been established on the assumption which held that the nation would ensure against similar tragedies occurring in the future.

Military action seemed necessary. However, the particular response undertaken by Israel – the obliteration of Gaza, the casualties of many thousands ordinary people – represented a decision. This selected path made more difficult the way numerous Jewish Americans processed the initial assault that triggered it, and currently challenges their commemoration of the day. How can someone mourn and commemorate a tragedy against your people during a catastrophe done to other individuals connected to their community?

The Complexity of Remembrance

The challenge of mourning stems from the fact that no agreement exists regarding the significance of these events. Actually, among Jewish Americans, the last two years have witnessed the breakdown of a fifty-year consensus regarding Zionism.

The origins of Zionist agreement within US Jewish communities can be traced to writings from 1915 by the lawyer who would later become Supreme Court judge Louis D. Brandeis titled “The Jewish Question; Addressing the Challenge”. But the consensus truly solidified after the 1967 conflict in 1967. Previously, US Jewish communities housed a fragile but stable coexistence among different factions holding different opinions regarding the requirement for Israel – pro-Israel advocates, non-Zionists and opponents.

Historical Context

This parallel existence continued during the post-war decades, within remaining elements of Jewish socialism, within the neutral Jewish communal organization, within the critical Jewish organization and comparable entities. In the view of Louis Finkelstein, the leader at JTS, pro-Israel ideology was more spiritual instead of governmental, and he did not permit performance of the Israeli national anthem, the national song, at JTS ordinations in those years. Furthermore, Zionism and pro-Israelism the central focus for contemporary Orthodox communities until after the 1967 conflict. Jewish identitarian alternatives coexisted.

Yet after Israel overcame neighboring countries during the 1967 conflict in 1967, seizing land comprising the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan and East Jerusalem, the American Jewish perspective on the nation changed dramatically. Israel’s victory, combined with persistent concerns about another genocide, led to a growing belief regarding Israel's essential significance to the Jewish people, and a source of pride regarding its endurance. Language concerning the remarkable aspect of the victory and the “liberation” of land assigned the Zionist project a spiritual, potentially salvific, significance. In those heady years, much of existing hesitation regarding Zionism disappeared. During the seventies, Writer Podhoretz famously proclaimed: “We are all Zionists now.”

The Unity and Restrictions

The pro-Israel agreement left out Haredi Jews – who generally maintained Israel should only emerge through traditional interpretation of redemption – yet included Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, contemporary Orthodox and nearly all unaffiliated individuals. The most popular form of the unified position, later termed left-leaning Zionism, was established on the conviction regarding Israel as a democratic and liberal – while majority-Jewish – nation. Numerous US Jews viewed the control of Arab, Syria's and Egyptian lands post-1967 as not permanent, believing that a resolution would soon emerge that would ensure Jewish demographic dominance in pre-1967 Israel and regional acceptance of the nation.

Multiple generations of US Jews were thus brought up with Zionism a core part of their religious identity. Israel became an important element within religious instruction. Israel’s Independence Day became a Jewish holiday. Blue and white banners were displayed in religious institutions. Youth programs became infused with Hebrew music and learning of modern Hebrew, with visitors from Israel and teaching US young people Israeli culture. Visits to Israel expanded and achieved record numbers via educational trips during that year, offering complimentary travel to the nation was offered to young American Jews. The state affected almost the entirety of the American Jewish experience.

Evolving Situation

Paradoxically, during this period after 1967, US Jewish communities grew skilled regarding denominational coexistence. Open-mindedness and communication between Jewish denominations grew.

Except when it came to Zionism and Israel – there existed pluralism ended. One could identify as a right-leaning advocate or a leftwing Zionist, yet backing Israel as a Jewish homeland was a given, and criticizing that position categorized you outside the consensus – a non-conformist, as a Jewish periodical described it in a piece that year.

But now, amid of the destruction in Gaza, starvation, young victims and outrage regarding the refusal within Jewish communities who decline to acknowledge their involvement, that agreement has collapsed. The centrist pro-Israel view {has lost|no longer