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Jewish Americans Torn Over Israel's Elections
Confirmed
In Short: Jewish Americans are deeply divided over Israel's upcoming elections, with many fearing the impact on their community's safety and identity.
Jewish Americans are bracing for Israel's upcoming elections, feeling a significant stake in the outcome due to three years of Middle East conflicts.
Many liberal and younger Jewish Americans believe that Israel's policies under Benjamin Netanyahu have harmed its global standing, leading to widespread anger that threatens their safety and identity in the United States.
According to a recent AP-NORC poll, only about 40% of religious Jewish adults under 45 in the United States prioritize supporting Israel as 'extremely' or 'very' important for their Jewish identity, instead focusing on other forms of connection like celebrating holidays.
Rabbi Josh Weinberg of the Union for Reform Judaism noted, 'When someone says that in Ramallah, that’s one thing. When someone says that in Minneapolis, what exactly are they calling for. That seems pretty clearly to us antisemitic.' He added, '“There is only one solution, intifada revolution” — we hear that as a call to rise up and use violence against Jews.'
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization, emphasized, 'Somebody who decides that they’re going to drive a car into a synagogue or attack Jews on the street, that is their responsibility. You can’t blame that on Israel’s actions.'
Jonathan Sarna, professor emeritus of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, observed, 'Some American Jews believe a different style of prime minister, one more similar to earlier ones who constantly talked about the desire for peace, will change the way American Jews themselves are viewed.'
The poll also found that a majority of Jewish adults view prejudice against Jewish people as an 'extremely' or 'very' serious problem in the United States today.
Many Jewish Americans have Israeli friends and family, adding a personal dimension to the political tensions.
As the Israeli elections approach, Jewish Americans are grappling with the complex emotions and potential consequences of the outcome.
What's confirmed
- Many liberal and younger Jewish Americans believe his policies have harmed Israel’s global standing, engendering widespread anger that threatens them in the US, too.
- Jewish Americans feel they have a lot at stake in the upcoming elections in Israel as three years of Mideast conflicts rile up emotions across the United States, from street protests to the midterm races.
- “A lot of American Jews are really torn. They want to shout from the rooftops, ‘Stop the pogroms in the West Bank,’ but also yell at everybody, ‘Stop with allegations of genocide and double standards against Israel,’” said Rabbi Dan Levin of Temple Beth El in Boca Raton, Florida.
- Many Reform Jews see no contradiction between their liberalism and their Zionism — understood as the Jewish people’s aspiration “to live as a free people in our land,” said Rabbi Josh Weinberg of the Union for Reform Judaism, an umbrella group for more than 800 Reform synagogues in North America.
- Only about 4 in 10 religious Jewish adults under 45 in the United States say that supporting Israel is “extremely” or “very” important for their Jewish identity, prioritizing instead other forms of connection, like celebrating Jewish holidays, according to the AP-NORC poll.
- “‘There is only one solution, intifada revolution’ — we hear that as a call to rise up and use violence against Jews,” Weinberg said of a popular protest chant referring to the violent Palestinian uprising.
- “Somebody who decides that they’re going to drive a car into a synagogue or attack Jews on the street, that is their responsibility. You can’t blame that on Israel’s actions,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization.
- “If Netanyahu wins, I worry very much about the young generation of American Jews who may continue to be, I’ll put it nicely, disenchanted, and who might just say ‘OK, that’s it. I’m giving up on Israel,’” he said.
- As the Israeli elections approach, many communities are worrying about their effects on antisemitism.
- More broadly, support for Israel is a key component of the religious identity of many U.S. Jewish adults ages 45 and older, particularly those who identify as religiously Jewish, according to a recent AP-NORC poll.
- “Some American Jews believe a different style of prime minister, one more similar to earlier ones who constantly talked about the desire for peace, will change the way American Jews themselves are viewed,” said Jonathan Sarna, professor emeritus of American Jewish History at Brandeis University.
- In the same poll, a majority of Jewish adults said prejudice against Jewish people is an “extremely” or “very” serious problem in the United States today.
What's still developing
- Nothing material beyond the confirmed record.