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It has been the mass murder of October 7, 2023, which shook world Jewry more than any event following the establishment of the state of Israel.

For Jews the event proved shocking. For the state of Israel, it was a profound disgrace. The entire Zionist endeavor had been established on the belief that Israel would ensure against such atrocities from ever happening again.

Some form of retaliation was inevitable. But the response that Israel implemented – the comprehensive devastation of Gaza, the deaths and injuries of tens of thousands of civilians – represented a decision. And this choice made more difficult the perspective of many American Jews processed the October 7th events that precipitated the response, and presently makes difficult the community's commemoration of the day. How can someone grieve and remember a horrific event affecting their nation while simultaneously devastation experienced by a different population connected to their community?

The Challenge of Grieving

The difficulty in grieving lies in the circumstance where no agreement exists as to what any of this means. Indeed, among Jewish Americans, the last two years have seen the disintegration of a decades-long agreement about the Zionist movement.

The early development of Zionist agreement among American Jewry can be traced to an early twentieth-century publication authored by an attorney and then future supreme court justice Justice Brandeis called “The Jewish Question; Finding Solutions”. But the consensus really takes hold after the Six-Day War in 1967. Previously, American Jewry contained a vulnerable but enduring coexistence among different factions that had different opinions about the necessity for a Jewish nation – Zionists, non-Zionists and opponents.

Historical Context

This parallel existence continued through the 1950s and 60s, within remaining elements of leftist Jewish organizations, within the neutral Jewish communal organization, within the critical American Council for Judaism and other organizations. For Louis Finkelstein, the chancellor at JTS, pro-Israel ideology had greater religious significance than political, and he did not permit the singing of Israel's anthem, Hatikvah, at religious school events in the early 1960s. Additionally, support for Israel the central focus of Modern Orthodoxy until after that war. Jewish identitarian alternatives existed alongside.

Yet after Israel defeated its neighbors in the six-day war in 1967, taking control of areas such as Palestinian territories, Gaza Strip, the Golan and Jerusalem's eastern sector, the American Jewish perspective on the nation evolved considerably. The triumphant outcome, coupled with longstanding fears regarding repeated persecution, led to an increasing conviction about the nation's essential significance within Jewish identity, and a source of pride for its strength. Rhetoric regarding the remarkable nature of the victory and the freeing of territory assigned Zionism a theological, almost redemptive, importance. During that enthusiastic period, much of the remaining ambivalence about Zionism disappeared. In that decade, Publication editor Norman Podhoretz famously proclaimed: “Everyone supports Zionism today.”

The Consensus and Its Boundaries

The Zionist consensus left out Haredi Jews – who largely believed Israel should only be ushered in via conventional understanding of the Messiah – however joined Reform, Conservative, Modern Orthodox and nearly all secular Jews. The most popular form of this agreement, later termed liberal Zionism, was established on the conviction about the nation as a democratic and democratic – while majority-Jewish – country. Numerous US Jews considered the occupation of Palestinian, Syria's and Egyptian lands following the war as temporary, assuming that a resolution would soon emerge that would guarantee Jewish demographic dominance in Israel proper and Middle Eastern approval of the nation.

Multiple generations of Jewish Americans were thus brought up with pro-Israel ideology an essential component of their Jewish identity. The state transformed into an important element within religious instruction. Yom Ha'atzmaut became a Jewish holiday. National symbols were displayed in religious institutions. Youth programs integrated with Israeli songs and learning of contemporary Hebrew, with Israelis visiting and teaching American youth national traditions. Trips to the nation expanded and reached new heights through Birthright programs during that year, providing no-cost visits to the nation was provided to Jewish young adults. The nation influenced virtually all areas of US Jewish life.

Changing Dynamics

Interestingly, during this period post-1967, US Jewish communities became adept regarding denominational coexistence. Tolerance and dialogue among different Jewish movements grew.

Yet concerning the Israeli situation – there existed tolerance reached its limit. You could be a right-leaning advocate or a leftwing Zionist, however endorsement of the nation as a Jewish state remained unquestioned, and questioning that narrative categorized you beyond accepted boundaries – outside the community, as a Jewish periodical labeled it in an essay in 2021.

But now, under the weight of the devastation of Gaza, famine, young victims and outrage regarding the refusal within Jewish communities who avoid admitting their involvement, that consensus has collapsed. The centrist pro-Israel view {has lost|no longer