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Marking two years after the deadly assault of October 7, 2023, an event that deeply affected world Jewry like no other occurrence following the founding of the state of Israel.

For Jews the event proved deeply traumatic. For the state of Israel, the situation represented deeply humiliating. The whole Zionist endeavor rested on the belief which held that the nation would prevent similar tragedies occurring in the future.

A response seemed necessary. Yet the chosen course undertaken by Israel – the widespread destruction of the Gaza Strip, the killing and maiming of many thousands non-combatants – constituted a specific policy. And this choice made more difficult the perspective of many American Jews understood the initial assault that set it in motion, and currently challenges the community's observance of the anniversary. How can someone honor and reflect on a horrific event against your people during an atrocity experienced by other individuals in your name?

The Complexity of Grieving

The challenge of mourning lies in the circumstance where little unity prevails as to the implications of these developments. Actually, for the American Jewish community, the last two years have witnessed the breakdown of a decades-long unity regarding Zionism.

The beginnings of pro-Israel unity among American Jewry dates back to writings from 1915 by the lawyer subsequently appointed supreme court justice Louis D. Brandeis titled “The Jewish Problem; How to Solve it”. Yet the unity truly solidified following the 1967 conflict in 1967. Before then, US Jewish communities maintained a delicate yet functioning parallel existence among different factions that had a range of views regarding the necessity for a Jewish nation – pro-Israel advocates, neutral parties and opponents.

Previous Developments

This parallel existence persisted throughout the mid-twentieth century, within remaining elements of leftist Jewish organizations, within the neutral Jewish communal organization, in the anti-Zionist Jewish organization and similar institutions. In the view of Louis Finkelstein, the head of the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Zionist movement had greater religious significance than political, and he forbade performance of the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah, at religious school events during that period. Furthermore, Zionist ideology the main element of Modern Orthodoxy before the six-day war. Alternative Jewish perspectives remained present.

But after Israel overcame neighboring countries in that war in 1967, seizing land comprising the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan and Jerusalem's eastern sector, the American Jewish perspective on the nation evolved considerably. The military success, combined with persistent concerns about another genocide, produced a developing perspective about the nation's essential significance to the Jewish people, and a source of pride in its resilience. Discourse concerning the extraordinary aspect of the victory and the freeing of land provided Zionism a religious, potentially salvific, importance. During that enthusiastic period, a significant portion of existing hesitation about Zionism dissipated. In the early 1970s, Writer Norman Podhoretz famously proclaimed: “We are all Zionists now.”

The Unity and Its Limits

The Zionist consensus excluded strictly Orthodox communities – who generally maintained Israel should only emerge through traditional interpretation of redemption – however joined Reform Judaism, Conservative, contemporary Orthodox and the majority of non-affiliated Jews. The most popular form of the unified position, what became known as liberal Zionism, was established on the idea about the nation as a liberal and free – while majority-Jewish – state. Many American Jews saw the occupation of Palestinian, Syrian and Egypt's territories after 1967 as not permanent, assuming that a resolution was imminent that would ensure Jewish population majority within Israel's original borders and neighbor recognition of the state.

Two generations of Jewish Americans were thus brought up with Zionism a fundamental aspect of their identity as Jews. The state transformed into a key component of Jewish education. Yom Ha'atzmaut turned into a celebration. National symbols were displayed in religious institutions. Youth programs became infused with national melodies and the study of the language, with visitors from Israel and teaching American teenagers Israeli customs. Travel to Israel expanded and peaked through Birthright programs during that year, offering complimentary travel to Israel was provided to young American Jews. The nation influenced nearly every aspect of the American Jewish experience.

Evolving Situation

Ironically, during this period post-1967, US Jewish communities grew skilled regarding denominational coexistence. Tolerance and discussion across various Jewish groups increased.

However regarding the Israeli situation – that represented pluralism reached its limit. You could be a right-leaning advocate or a progressive supporter, but support for Israel as a majority-Jewish country was assumed, and criticizing that perspective placed you outside the consensus – a non-conformist, as one publication termed it in an essay recently.

Yet presently, amid of the destruction in Gaza, food shortages, young victims and anger over the denial of many fellow Jews who decline to acknowledge their involvement, that agreement has disintegrated. The centrist pro-Israel view {has lost|no longer