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Marking two years after that deadly assault of October 7, 2023, an event that deeply affected Jewish communities worldwide like no other occurrence since the creation of the state of Israel.

Among Jewish people it was shocking. For the Israeli government, it was a profound disgrace. The whole Zionist movement had been established on the belief that the nation could stop such atrocities occurring in the future.

Military action was inevitable. Yet the chosen course undertaken by Israel – the comprehensive devastation of the Gaza Strip, the casualties of numerous non-combatants – was a choice. This particular approach created complexity in how many US Jewish community members understood the initial assault that precipitated the response, and it now complicates their commemoration of that date. How does one honor and reflect on a tragedy affecting their nation during devastation done to other individuals in your name?

The Challenge of Grieving

The complexity surrounding remembrance stems from the reality that there is no consensus about the implications of these developments. Actually, within US Jewish circles, the recent twenty-four months have seen the disintegration of a decades-long agreement regarding Zionism.

The beginnings of Zionist agreement within US Jewish communities dates back to writings from 1915 authored by an attorney subsequently appointed high court jurist Louis D. Brandeis titled “The Jewish Problem; Finding Solutions”. But the consensus really takes hold after the six-day war that year. Before then, American Jewry contained a fragile but stable parallel existence between groups that had different opinions about the need for Israel – Zionists, non-Zionists and anti-Zionists.

Historical Context

That coexistence persisted during the 1950s and 60s, in remnants of leftist Jewish organizations, within the neutral Jewish communal organization, in the anti-Zionist Jewish organization and comparable entities. Regarding Chancellor Finkelstein, the head at JTS, Zionism had greater religious significance rather than political, and he forbade performance of the Israeli national anthem, the Israeli national anthem, during seminary ceremonies in those years. Furthermore, Zionism and pro-Israelism the central focus for contemporary Orthodox communities prior to the six-day war. Alternative Jewish perspectives existed alongside.

But after Israel defeated its neighbors in the six-day war during that period, taking control of areas comprising the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, US Jewish connection with the country changed dramatically. The military success, coupled with persistent concerns about another genocide, produced a developing perspective about the nation's vital role within Jewish identity, and created pride regarding its endurance. Language regarding the extraordinary nature of the victory and the reclaiming of areas provided the Zionist project a theological, almost redemptive, significance. During that enthusiastic period, much of the remaining ambivalence regarding Zionism vanished. In the early 1970s, Publication editor Norman Podhoretz declared: “Everyone supports Zionism today.”

The Unity and Its Boundaries

The unified position did not include strictly Orthodox communities – who generally maintained a nation should only be ushered in through traditional interpretation of redemption – however joined Reform, Conservative Judaism, contemporary Orthodox and most unaffiliated individuals. The predominant version of the unified position, what became known as progressive Zionism, was based on the idea about the nation as a liberal and free – albeit ethnocentric – nation. Countless Jewish Americans considered the control of local, Syria's and Egyptian lands post-1967 as provisional, assuming that a solution was imminent that would ensure a Jewish majority within Israel's original borders and regional acceptance of Israel.

Multiple generations of US Jews grew up with Zionism an essential component of their religious identity. The nation became a key component in Jewish learning. Israeli national day evolved into a religious observance. National symbols adorned many temples. Seasonal activities were permeated with national melodies and education of modern Hebrew, with Israeli guests instructing US young people Israeli customs. Travel to Israel grew and achieved record numbers via educational trips in 1999, when a free trip to Israel was provided to Jewish young adults. The nation influenced almost the entirety of the American Jewish experience.

Shifting Landscape

Interestingly, throughout these years after 1967, Jewish Americans grew skilled at religious pluralism. Open-mindedness and communication between Jewish denominations grew.

Except when it came to support for Israel – that’s where pluralism ended. Individuals might align with a right-leaning advocate or a leftwing Zionist, but support for Israel as a Jewish homeland remained unquestioned, and questioning that perspective categorized you outside mainstream views – outside the community, as Tablet magazine termed it in writing recently.

However currently, under the weight of the destruction within Gaza, food shortages, young victims and anger about the rejection by numerous Jewish individuals who refuse to recognize their responsibility, that unity has disintegrated. The moderate Zionist position {has lost|no longer