Israel is not a cause. It’s a country. It exists so that Jews — real, breathing, imperfect, wonderful Jews — have unapologetic control of our own destiny.
AS AN American Jew who lived in Israel in the '80s and '90s, this piece is so spot-on and verbalizes some of my discomfort with my fellow American Jews who, perhaps visited Israel 20 years ago or never but want to but it's dangerous, always seem to know what Israel should do to, but about what? Perhaps that's the problem. What problem are they solving? It seems American Jews are still solving the problems that brought their family to America. Their Zionism is still rooted in that escape, not the lived reality of the 21st century Middle East.
Unfortunately, October 7th may still become one step in changing their perspective and understanding of Israel and Zionism.
The American Jews you describe, the ones who claim to love Israel but only on their own terms, are not really Zionists. Their support for Israel is conditional. They want Israel to be a kind of Disney World for American Jews. Thomas Friedman is the poster child for this. It's embarrassing. I am an American Jew who is a real Zionist. I love Israel. I consider it my second home. I know its not perfect just as the U.S. is far from perfect but that's ok because nothing is perfect. As a Zionist Jew who lives in the United States I have the humility to naturally defer to Israelis when it comes to how to best serve their own nation and their own security. I have opinions but Israelis are the ones whose opinions matter.
When I think of the great American betrayer of Israel, Charles Schumer, standing on the floor of the senate in November 2023 demanding that Israel replace its government I want to scream. God bless Israel.
That was point to him. He’s not describing Zionist Jews and in my humble opinion an aberration of what if means to be Jewish. My issue is that he lumped us all into this deformed version. I’m a conservative Mexican Jew and I didn’t find his piece helpful, we don’t need more rants from either side, we need concerted efforts. The Palestinian movement has done a much better job at their PR campaign. Israelis have a history of alienating themselves. These divisions must stop. We must press on to the task at hand with urgency.
Chutzpah on steroids! And I absolutely embrace Mr. Hoffman's poignant essay. American Jews invented schmoozing while Israeli Jews actually re-created our ancient homeland and turned it into the most neoteric nation on the planet. If you disagree, complain about it to your Democratic Party lunatics!
Love this article! Absolutely! Perspective is right on the money! That’s why the “as a Jew crowd” or even the apologetic American (incredibly entitled and arrogant) Jew crowd is so annoying… and now actively dangerous to the survival of the Jewish people… but more relevantly, to the survival of actual people who live in Israel. And I say all this as an American Jew… albeit one with Israeli parents and who lived in Israel for a time.
What is painfully obvious is that American Jews overwhelmingly vote for the Democrat Party. And, the last I looked, Israel does not have a friend in the Democrat Party. Sure, there are some pro-Israel Democrat politicians, but overall, starting with Barack Obama, the Democrat party has not had Israel's best interests in mind. All you need to look at is the luke-warm, "dollar short and a day late" late support from idiots Biden and Blinken, and you see the entire picture. So the best thing that Israel should do is to tell the United States "Thanks for your support, now fuck off" and do what's best for Israel, which is to obliterate Hamas, remove Arabs from Gaza and the West Bank, declare both territories part of greater Israel, and challenge anyone to change that new status quo.
This is not the way bring American Jews and Israelis closer. I haven't been able to make aliyah and I don't want to dictate what Israel does in terms of security, but I do want to be of assistance in other ways such as advocating for a strong, independent Israel, for more religious pluralism. Don't alienate the American Jews who love Israel, aren't trying to dictate security policy, but cannot just pick up and move. We can send money, supplies, advocacy, a lot! Zionism was started as a cause. Thanks to Israelis it is now a country.
Give suggestions how American Jews can help, in addition to giving money.
With all due respect. I read your article and was shocked this was even approved in this publication. Here’s the nuance of it all. You are bulking ALL American Jews and by the sound of your angry, misinformed generalizations, all Diaspora Jews in one swipe. I’m a conservative and lived in Israel for a year and have visited. While you rightly highlight a petulant version of an American Jews I could not find what you saw in that stage what made you so upset. That’ would have been helpful for us to understand. Instead, you ranted endlessly with disdain at the entire Tribe who has fought for you with teeth and nail FOR DECADES, beaten and lynched, raped and some killed, risking our lives in protests, being spit on at school. The majority of us don’t define and redefine Zionism. All we have done is rooting for you and your existence. We have been fighting for decades (w/o your apparent knowledge and plain ignorance) yelling at the world that though we don’t live in Israel our very existence and identity is towards Israel and without Israel there is no Jewry. PERIOD. @thefutureofjewish should consider giving voice to the fact that Israeli Jews have for so long thought you were it. The only fully all encompassing Jew! Your arrogance is so blinding that it fails you to see our history. Moses, Yosef and his sons, Esther, Daniel, Jeremiah, and many of the prophets of all were diaspora Jews. Since when is an Israeli get to decide Zionism alone?! SINCE WHEN?! Thousands of years? Nope. Hashem designed it for this Tribe to work as one. Had your effort as Israelis been sufficient as you so claim of avoiding another mini Holocaust to happen, October 7th would have never happen. You guys are fighting on so many levels and fronts. But you could have worked together with Diaspora better instead of thinking you were it to counteract the tsunami of hate that has promoted and strengthened Hamas’s stronghold from American college campuses and protests around the world!! You must realize, even if it’s blasphemy in your mind that we are ONE. Am Yisrael is not only you but has been historically all of us! None of us get to define it but thousands of years of history and we have the entire Tanach to lead us there to start. We, Diaspora Jews see what you guys don’t. This crisis should scare the socks off ALL of us to humble ourselves and push us to embrace each other and encourage each other IN the most desperate expression of love and seek to work with each other. To have long conversations and shed tears together, to have meals to exchange experiences and FINALLY see each other. The Palestinian movement has won this battle!! They have done a better job at unity and story telling, conserted efforts and $$$$ to run a smooth (hell-conceived) PR campaign. Fortunately, you are not the right voice to lead the way. There are MANY strong collabs growing online and in-person! Many Israelis truly making bridges, many Diaspora Jews making connections, going back, saving money to go to Israel-because hate to break it to you-we all are not rich. As low as you Mr. Hoffman sees us, we stand with you being fearlessly vocal about defending you, getting beaten, barred from school and spit in high school and middle school, standing with you as little as primary school Jews who might not have the funds to satisfy your demand they visit Israel but are risking it all to stand with you. You have a lot of homework to do about how to foster unity. It looks like you know very little about Diaspora and our history even back to ancient times the vital role that a Jew has abroad. We depend on each other. And Zionism is not yours to define either, look at our history, modern Israelis aren’t it. There’s a billion testimonies before us. You live the luxury of living it and the unfortunate role of defending it with your life. Perhaps it’s your national PTSD talking, I have PTSD. It sometimes causes us to have tunnel vision. I get it but calm that anger down and spend more time with Diaspora Jews, travel some yourself, you will find not an arrogant tribe but one focused on how to embrace you and how to help ensure you live on! We love you even with you poopy diaper on. 🫶🏼 Let’s work together, be a better writer! And to this publication, ya’ll better pick better writers who represent hope. We could use some reality checks, nothing wrong with that. These are good and necessary but not rants of division.
After reading many, if not all, of Joshua's essays, I don't believe he was speaking about ALL American Jews. I think he was defining the characteristics that make up many of them, and there are many of them. If you remember, there were Jews in the tribe who did not abide by Hashem's laws and perished. So not all Jews were unified or believed during those times. During the Holocaust, there were the Jews who did the dirty work of the Nazis thinking they would save their own lives. You know the saying, "Two Jews, three opinions," which is what we are all entitled to on any subject. I live in the US and as a proud, Jewish woman, I know exactly what Joshua was saying. I used to be a member of a Reform synagogue for many years, now a member of a Conservative synagogue for many years, and also attend many Chabad events. i can tell you they are Jews with very different opinions about Israel, and you will find the most assimilated in the Reform synagogues who exhibit much of what Joshua described. Did I say all about any of it, no.
Dear, Diane. I hear you and I see what you are referring to. That kind of Jew you are talking about. You know the kind of Jew, if you can call him one-like Chuck Schumer and those too woke to wake up from their slumber are part of the problem but I will tell you, after teaching at the most liberal high school in the country, many in the reformed world do not deserve his ignorant spite. Because those liberal reformed kiddos wore their Jewishness and their Zionist to school and were beaten and spat in the halls and after school. One almost to death, in Texas! But I digress, that was not Joshua's premise. The title of his post was "Israelis don't care what you think about Zionism". That was his entire premise. That is stinking rotten-in all it's gory. Why is he speaking and writing in English then if he could care less to speak to this less than him crowd? His entire premise is historically flawed, anthropologically absurd, spiritually bankrupt and narrow minded possessed by a spirit of stupid. It is THE reason why we are here, pondering and breaking our heads and hearts as we mourn the Bibas boys and Shiri. We, in the Diaspora can't continue (and I have been yelling it with every cell of my being for over a decade and a half!) seeing Israel as an option. And Israelis like him can't continue thinking they are the exalted, divine version of a what a Jew is. I have heard the arguments out loud from their very mouths, "Diaspora Jews are not real Jews, they don't speak the language, they don't breath the Land, they don't know what it is to fight for it and thus, they can't speak into anything that Zionism means". Some these truths are painful to hear for us but I did not chose to be born in Mexico as a Jew. Nor did the! We are the result of our history of dispersion and come back! And this crisis is too big for Joshua's mindset to continue live! We cannot afford to continue in this way. I am done listening to status quo. I am done. The "Future of Jewish" is NOT on this kind of thinking. Wrong title for a blog with this kind of speech. Wrong title!
I do agree with some of what you've said, but Joshua was not speaking about all Diaspora Jews. I do agree wth him that unless you've walked in someone's shoes, even with the best imagination and knowledge, an actual experience can't be duplicated. I compare it in a small way with grief. When a parent loses a child, no matter how many socially acceptable utterances of condolences that person hears, the person who says it can never, ever experience what that parent is going through. I certainly don't think Joshua looks upon himself or Israelis as the "exalted, divine version of what a Jew is." But realistically the continued struggle of surviving on a daily basis, surrounded by enemies, is something we can't even imagine. The kind of Jews he was speaking of I had grown up around, and they did speak with such authority about what Zionism was and wasn't. Of course, they're free to speak about it, but sometimes it's that pompous authority that they projected which could turn people away. They are there and we are here, and we are living our lives very differently in feeling secure about our surroundings. I appreciate your ideas about a very difficult subject, and thank you for taking the time to respond. The bottom line is, and I believe taking a bit of liberty, that Joshua feels the same in that as a people, whether in the US, Israel, anywhere Jews live, we must stand united. Strength is in numbers, and if we fall apart, the enemy has won.
I dont think he's doing that. He's criticizing the pretend Zionists like Thomas Friedman, the poster child for the petulant left wing American Jew he is describing. Those who believe they have some right to tell Israelis how wrong they are all the time.
I am sorry Marina, but I don't understand what about this piece is alienating. In many ways, I think it is liberating. It IS extremely snarky, which makes it entertaining to read, but it's not nasty, à la JD Vance. I am a Jew in Quebec, Canada. I have opinions about politics the world over, which I would never share publicly, even in the US (except for the obvious existential points, Trump, capital punishment, slavery, arms proliferation, abortion rights, in part because they have an impact on my own country). But I don't pontificate to Americans. I express surprise and even bewilderment over aspects of Israeli politics, just as I would over events anywhere . But I absolutely hate reading ignorant or half-baked commentary about Quebec or Canadian politics. I don't tell people in Saskatchewan about their reality, and so I ask you not to pretend to understand my backyard, either. I think that's the essence of what he's trying to say.
And yet you made an ignorant comment about JD Vance. Don't pretend to know my politics or backyard either, just leave it out and address Joshua's essay.
My comment about JD Vance was hardly ignorant. Anyone with eyes and ears can hear that he’s a nasty, smug and self-satisfied piece of work. If you like him, that’s your business. And yes, I do know American politics extremely well - have been a junky since a child. I was trying to explain via analogy why Joshua’s essay made sense and was logically cohesive. No one is obligated to appreciate my analogy.
Then don't tell anyone to "stay out of your backyard" and assume they don't know anything about Canada. No, I don't think his response was smug or snarky, direct and to the point, something we never heard in the "smart as a tack" WH for four years.
Hey, if you understand Canada, and Quebec in particular very well, all the power to you! I welcome your observations. As for JD, you'll soon enough have an opportunity to campaign for him in the upcoming presidential primaries.
Quite frankly, I was sticking to the essay, not a political diatribe, but you couldn't help yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back for thinking you are a political superior.
"don't want to dictate what Israel does in terms of security, but I do want to be of assistance in other ways such as advocating for a strong, independent Israel, for more religious pluralism."
You don't want to change Israel...
Except to make it more religiously pluralistic.
A perfect example of what the author is talking about.
I’m not here to be patronizing or condescending toward Israel or Israelis. It doesn’t work anyway. The Israelis I know are not shy about putting you in your place, including my Israeli relatives. I have opinions on areas where right and wrong are clear, such as the barbarity of slaughtering civilians deliberately and the taking of hostages. That’s universally unacceptable.
I don’t pretend to know the intricacies of Israeli domestic politics. I do see some similarities with the United States and the shared insanity and tactics of the Left. Maybe that’s partly because Americans on the Left think it’s their right to meddle in the domestic politics of other countries. (That activity is going to be attenuated under Trump.) I just want to be supportive and demonstrate solidarity against terror and anti- Semitism. And I want to learn. Substack and the Israelis and other subject matter experts have been a helpful resource in that regard to provide context and fill in the blanks.
As a small people we need to rise above our petty squabbles and stand together, particularly when we are under siege, but it’s normal in the Jewish community to have the kind of vigorous dialogue we see in this post and the comments section. American Jews who don’t have skin in the game have to understand that they can’t make the rules. Judging by their politics and opinions, a lot of liberal American Jews are frankly detached from reality. I have tremendous respect and admiration for Israel and Israelis. They accomplish so much under such difficult conditions. Israel is a heroic nation and a light for the world. And Israel is the home of the Jews forever.
Thank you - this is a great piece! I am often embarrassed, horrified or deeply disappointed by my fellow American Jews' attitude towards Israel. I think the vast majority of American Jews are so entrenched in the establishment - not just politically but socially and culturally - that they are too afraid of risking their status to be Zionists anymore. Remember, they almost all read the NYT as if it is the gospel truth (and not the pro-Hamas propaganda machine it has become). It's no longer "popular" to be pro-Israel (as if Israel needs to justify its existence to anyone) and many American Jews act like they are in middle school desperate to be accepted by the popular crowd. Truly shameful.
AS AN American Jew who lived in Israel in the '80s and '90s, this piece is so spot-on and verbalizes some of my discomfort with my fellow American Jews who, perhaps visited Israel 20 years ago or never but want to but it's dangerous, always seem to know what Israel should do to, but about what? Perhaps that's the problem. What problem are they solving? It seems American Jews are still solving the problems that brought their family to America. Their Zionism is still rooted in that escape, not the lived reality of the 21st century Middle East.
Unfortunately, October 7th may still become one step in changing their perspective and understanding of Israel and Zionism.
The American Jews you describe, the ones who claim to love Israel but only on their own terms, are not really Zionists. Their support for Israel is conditional. They want Israel to be a kind of Disney World for American Jews. Thomas Friedman is the poster child for this. It's embarrassing. I am an American Jew who is a real Zionist. I love Israel. I consider it my second home. I know its not perfect just as the U.S. is far from perfect but that's ok because nothing is perfect. As a Zionist Jew who lives in the United States I have the humility to naturally defer to Israelis when it comes to how to best serve their own nation and their own security. I have opinions but Israelis are the ones whose opinions matter.
When I think of the great American betrayer of Israel, Charles Schumer, standing on the floor of the senate in November 2023 demanding that Israel replace its government I want to scream. God bless Israel.
That was point to him. He’s not describing Zionist Jews and in my humble opinion an aberration of what if means to be Jewish. My issue is that he lumped us all into this deformed version. I’m a conservative Mexican Jew and I didn’t find his piece helpful, we don’t need more rants from either side, we need concerted efforts. The Palestinian movement has done a much better job at their PR campaign. Israelis have a history of alienating themselves. These divisions must stop. We must press on to the task at hand with urgency.
Blame the Friedmans and the Schumers. Don't blame the messenger for delivering an unhappy message.
Chutzpah on steroids! And I absolutely embrace Mr. Hoffman's poignant essay. American Jews invented schmoozing while Israeli Jews actually re-created our ancient homeland and turned it into the most neoteric nation on the planet. If you disagree, complain about it to your Democratic Party lunatics!
Love this article! Absolutely! Perspective is right on the money! That’s why the “as a Jew crowd” or even the apologetic American (incredibly entitled and arrogant) Jew crowd is so annoying… and now actively dangerous to the survival of the Jewish people… but more relevantly, to the survival of actual people who live in Israel. And I say all this as an American Jew… albeit one with Israeli parents and who lived in Israel for a time.
What is painfully obvious is that American Jews overwhelmingly vote for the Democrat Party. And, the last I looked, Israel does not have a friend in the Democrat Party. Sure, there are some pro-Israel Democrat politicians, but overall, starting with Barack Obama, the Democrat party has not had Israel's best interests in mind. All you need to look at is the luke-warm, "dollar short and a day late" late support from idiots Biden and Blinken, and you see the entire picture. So the best thing that Israel should do is to tell the United States "Thanks for your support, now fuck off" and do what's best for Israel, which is to obliterate Hamas, remove Arabs from Gaza and the West Bank, declare both territories part of greater Israel, and challenge anyone to change that new status quo.
Yup, yup and yup.
So after reading this essay, politely telling you to "fuck off," not in so many words, you proceed to tell Israelis what they should do...
This is not the way bring American Jews and Israelis closer. I haven't been able to make aliyah and I don't want to dictate what Israel does in terms of security, but I do want to be of assistance in other ways such as advocating for a strong, independent Israel, for more religious pluralism. Don't alienate the American Jews who love Israel, aren't trying to dictate security policy, but cannot just pick up and move. We can send money, supplies, advocacy, a lot! Zionism was started as a cause. Thanks to Israelis it is now a country.
Give suggestions how American Jews can help, in addition to giving money.
I would start with visiting Israel more and dialoguing with Israelis from all over the country.
With all due respect. I read your article and was shocked this was even approved in this publication. Here’s the nuance of it all. You are bulking ALL American Jews and by the sound of your angry, misinformed generalizations, all Diaspora Jews in one swipe. I’m a conservative and lived in Israel for a year and have visited. While you rightly highlight a petulant version of an American Jews I could not find what you saw in that stage what made you so upset. That’ would have been helpful for us to understand. Instead, you ranted endlessly with disdain at the entire Tribe who has fought for you with teeth and nail FOR DECADES, beaten and lynched, raped and some killed, risking our lives in protests, being spit on at school. The majority of us don’t define and redefine Zionism. All we have done is rooting for you and your existence. We have been fighting for decades (w/o your apparent knowledge and plain ignorance) yelling at the world that though we don’t live in Israel our very existence and identity is towards Israel and without Israel there is no Jewry. PERIOD. @thefutureofjewish should consider giving voice to the fact that Israeli Jews have for so long thought you were it. The only fully all encompassing Jew! Your arrogance is so blinding that it fails you to see our history. Moses, Yosef and his sons, Esther, Daniel, Jeremiah, and many of the prophets of all were diaspora Jews. Since when is an Israeli get to decide Zionism alone?! SINCE WHEN?! Thousands of years? Nope. Hashem designed it for this Tribe to work as one. Had your effort as Israelis been sufficient as you so claim of avoiding another mini Holocaust to happen, October 7th would have never happen. You guys are fighting on so many levels and fronts. But you could have worked together with Diaspora better instead of thinking you were it to counteract the tsunami of hate that has promoted and strengthened Hamas’s stronghold from American college campuses and protests around the world!! You must realize, even if it’s blasphemy in your mind that we are ONE. Am Yisrael is not only you but has been historically all of us! None of us get to define it but thousands of years of history and we have the entire Tanach to lead us there to start. We, Diaspora Jews see what you guys don’t. This crisis should scare the socks off ALL of us to humble ourselves and push us to embrace each other and encourage each other IN the most desperate expression of love and seek to work with each other. To have long conversations and shed tears together, to have meals to exchange experiences and FINALLY see each other. The Palestinian movement has won this battle!! They have done a better job at unity and story telling, conserted efforts and $$$$ to run a smooth (hell-conceived) PR campaign. Fortunately, you are not the right voice to lead the way. There are MANY strong collabs growing online and in-person! Many Israelis truly making bridges, many Diaspora Jews making connections, going back, saving money to go to Israel-because hate to break it to you-we all are not rich. As low as you Mr. Hoffman sees us, we stand with you being fearlessly vocal about defending you, getting beaten, barred from school and spit in high school and middle school, standing with you as little as primary school Jews who might not have the funds to satisfy your demand they visit Israel but are risking it all to stand with you. You have a lot of homework to do about how to foster unity. It looks like you know very little about Diaspora and our history even back to ancient times the vital role that a Jew has abroad. We depend on each other. And Zionism is not yours to define either, look at our history, modern Israelis aren’t it. There’s a billion testimonies before us. You live the luxury of living it and the unfortunate role of defending it with your life. Perhaps it’s your national PTSD talking, I have PTSD. It sometimes causes us to have tunnel vision. I get it but calm that anger down and spend more time with Diaspora Jews, travel some yourself, you will find not an arrogant tribe but one focused on how to embrace you and how to help ensure you live on! We love you even with you poopy diaper on. 🫶🏼 Let’s work together, be a better writer! And to this publication, ya’ll better pick better writers who represent hope. We could use some reality checks, nothing wrong with that. These are good and necessary but not rants of division.
After reading many, if not all, of Joshua's essays, I don't believe he was speaking about ALL American Jews. I think he was defining the characteristics that make up many of them, and there are many of them. If you remember, there were Jews in the tribe who did not abide by Hashem's laws and perished. So not all Jews were unified or believed during those times. During the Holocaust, there were the Jews who did the dirty work of the Nazis thinking they would save their own lives. You know the saying, "Two Jews, three opinions," which is what we are all entitled to on any subject. I live in the US and as a proud, Jewish woman, I know exactly what Joshua was saying. I used to be a member of a Reform synagogue for many years, now a member of a Conservative synagogue for many years, and also attend many Chabad events. i can tell you they are Jews with very different opinions about Israel, and you will find the most assimilated in the Reform synagogues who exhibit much of what Joshua described. Did I say all about any of it, no.
Dear, Diane. I hear you and I see what you are referring to. That kind of Jew you are talking about. You know the kind of Jew, if you can call him one-like Chuck Schumer and those too woke to wake up from their slumber are part of the problem but I will tell you, after teaching at the most liberal high school in the country, many in the reformed world do not deserve his ignorant spite. Because those liberal reformed kiddos wore their Jewishness and their Zionist to school and were beaten and spat in the halls and after school. One almost to death, in Texas! But I digress, that was not Joshua's premise. The title of his post was "Israelis don't care what you think about Zionism". That was his entire premise. That is stinking rotten-in all it's gory. Why is he speaking and writing in English then if he could care less to speak to this less than him crowd? His entire premise is historically flawed, anthropologically absurd, spiritually bankrupt and narrow minded possessed by a spirit of stupid. It is THE reason why we are here, pondering and breaking our heads and hearts as we mourn the Bibas boys and Shiri. We, in the Diaspora can't continue (and I have been yelling it with every cell of my being for over a decade and a half!) seeing Israel as an option. And Israelis like him can't continue thinking they are the exalted, divine version of a what a Jew is. I have heard the arguments out loud from their very mouths, "Diaspora Jews are not real Jews, they don't speak the language, they don't breath the Land, they don't know what it is to fight for it and thus, they can't speak into anything that Zionism means". Some these truths are painful to hear for us but I did not chose to be born in Mexico as a Jew. Nor did the! We are the result of our history of dispersion and come back! And this crisis is too big for Joshua's mindset to continue live! We cannot afford to continue in this way. I am done listening to status quo. I am done. The "Future of Jewish" is NOT on this kind of thinking. Wrong title for a blog with this kind of speech. Wrong title!
I do agree with some of what you've said, but Joshua was not speaking about all Diaspora Jews. I do agree wth him that unless you've walked in someone's shoes, even with the best imagination and knowledge, an actual experience can't be duplicated. I compare it in a small way with grief. When a parent loses a child, no matter how many socially acceptable utterances of condolences that person hears, the person who says it can never, ever experience what that parent is going through. I certainly don't think Joshua looks upon himself or Israelis as the "exalted, divine version of what a Jew is." But realistically the continued struggle of surviving on a daily basis, surrounded by enemies, is something we can't even imagine. The kind of Jews he was speaking of I had grown up around, and they did speak with such authority about what Zionism was and wasn't. Of course, they're free to speak about it, but sometimes it's that pompous authority that they projected which could turn people away. They are there and we are here, and we are living our lives very differently in feeling secure about our surroundings. I appreciate your ideas about a very difficult subject, and thank you for taking the time to respond. The bottom line is, and I believe taking a bit of liberty, that Joshua feels the same in that as a people, whether in the US, Israel, anywhere Jews live, we must stand united. Strength is in numbers, and if we fall apart, the enemy has won.
I dont think he's doing that. He's criticizing the pretend Zionists like Thomas Friedman, the poster child for the petulant left wing American Jew he is describing. Those who believe they have some right to tell Israelis how wrong they are all the time.
And (BARF) Peter Beinert.
I am sorry Marina, but I don't understand what about this piece is alienating. In many ways, I think it is liberating. It IS extremely snarky, which makes it entertaining to read, but it's not nasty, à la JD Vance. I am a Jew in Quebec, Canada. I have opinions about politics the world over, which I would never share publicly, even in the US (except for the obvious existential points, Trump, capital punishment, slavery, arms proliferation, abortion rights, in part because they have an impact on my own country). But I don't pontificate to Americans. I express surprise and even bewilderment over aspects of Israeli politics, just as I would over events anywhere . But I absolutely hate reading ignorant or half-baked commentary about Quebec or Canadian politics. I don't tell people in Saskatchewan about their reality, and so I ask you not to pretend to understand my backyard, either. I think that's the essence of what he's trying to say.
And yet you made an ignorant comment about JD Vance. Don't pretend to know my politics or backyard either, just leave it out and address Joshua's essay.
My comment about JD Vance was hardly ignorant. Anyone with eyes and ears can hear that he’s a nasty, smug and self-satisfied piece of work. If you like him, that’s your business. And yes, I do know American politics extremely well - have been a junky since a child. I was trying to explain via analogy why Joshua’s essay made sense and was logically cohesive. No one is obligated to appreciate my analogy.
Then don't tell anyone to "stay out of your backyard" and assume they don't know anything about Canada. No, I don't think his response was smug or snarky, direct and to the point, something we never heard in the "smart as a tack" WH for four years.
Hey, if you understand Canada, and Quebec in particular very well, all the power to you! I welcome your observations. As for JD, you'll soon enough have an opportunity to campaign for him in the upcoming presidential primaries.
Quite frankly, I was sticking to the essay, not a political diatribe, but you couldn't help yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back for thinking you are a political superior.
"don't want to dictate what Israel does in terms of security, but I do want to be of assistance in other ways such as advocating for a strong, independent Israel, for more religious pluralism."
You don't want to change Israel...
Except to make it more religiously pluralistic.
A perfect example of what the author is talking about.
Amen, bro!! Great piece. I'm ashamed of those Jewish Americans you mention here. I hope this essay will be distributed to the panel you had to endure.
"...Israel is now the disappointed adult, and American Jews are the petulant children." Spot on.
I don’t care if Israelis don’t care about Zionism! I’ve lived in Israel, I love Israel and I will always support the Jewish people.
I’m not here to be patronizing or condescending toward Israel or Israelis. It doesn’t work anyway. The Israelis I know are not shy about putting you in your place, including my Israeli relatives. I have opinions on areas where right and wrong are clear, such as the barbarity of slaughtering civilians deliberately and the taking of hostages. That’s universally unacceptable.
I don’t pretend to know the intricacies of Israeli domestic politics. I do see some similarities with the United States and the shared insanity and tactics of the Left. Maybe that’s partly because Americans on the Left think it’s their right to meddle in the domestic politics of other countries. (That activity is going to be attenuated under Trump.) I just want to be supportive and demonstrate solidarity against terror and anti- Semitism. And I want to learn. Substack and the Israelis and other subject matter experts have been a helpful resource in that regard to provide context and fill in the blanks.
As a small people we need to rise above our petty squabbles and stand together, particularly when we are under siege, but it’s normal in the Jewish community to have the kind of vigorous dialogue we see in this post and the comments section. American Jews who don’t have skin in the game have to understand that they can’t make the rules. Judging by their politics and opinions, a lot of liberal American Jews are frankly detached from reality. I have tremendous respect and admiration for Israel and Israelis. They accomplish so much under such difficult conditions. Israel is a heroic nation and a light for the world. And Israel is the home of the Jews forever.
This was awesome! So different, and truly needs to be said (I'm an American Jew).
"The future of Zionism will be written in Hebrew, not English": brilliant (also loved the explanation about the whole military thing).
Keep it up!
Wouldn't want it any other way! Israel should NOT depend on anyone, other than themselves!
Thank you - this is a great piece! I am often embarrassed, horrified or deeply disappointed by my fellow American Jews' attitude towards Israel. I think the vast majority of American Jews are so entrenched in the establishment - not just politically but socially and culturally - that they are too afraid of risking their status to be Zionists anymore. Remember, they almost all read the NYT as if it is the gospel truth (and not the pro-Hamas propaganda machine it has become). It's no longer "popular" to be pro-Israel (as if Israel needs to justify its existence to anyone) and many American Jews act like they are in middle school desperate to be accepted by the popular crowd. Truly shameful.
This is a brilliant article.
I only wish the Israeli government didn’t care what the rest of the world thought as well, the war would have been over 500 days ago
Absolutely perfect piece!
Mitzuyan!
Excellent essay.