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Two years have passed since that horrific attack of 7 October 2023, an event that profoundly impacted Jewish communities worldwide like no other occurrence following the founding of the Jewish state.

Within Jewish communities the event proved profoundly disturbing. For the Israeli government, it was deeply humiliating. The entire Zionist project rested on the belief that the nation could stop similar tragedies repeating.

Military action seemed necessary. However, the particular response undertaken by Israel – the obliteration of the Gaza Strip, the deaths and injuries of tens of thousands ordinary people – was a choice. And this choice made more difficult how many American Jews grappled with the October 7th events that triggered it, and currently challenges the community's commemoration of the anniversary. In what way can people honor and reflect on a horrific event affecting their nation while simultaneously an atrocity experienced by a different population in your name?

The Challenge of Remembrance

The challenge surrounding remembrance exists because of the circumstance where little unity prevails regarding the significance of these events. Actually, for the American Jewish community, the last two years have witnessed the disintegration of a fifty-year agreement on Zionism itself.

The origins of Zionist agreement within US Jewish communities extends as far back as a 1915 essay authored by an attorney who would later become supreme court justice Justice Brandeis titled “The Jewish Question; How to Solve it”. Yet the unity really takes hold after the six-day war in 1967. Previously, US Jewish communities maintained a delicate yet functioning coexistence across various segments that had diverse perspectives regarding the requirement of a Jewish state – pro-Israel advocates, non-Zionists and opponents.

Historical Context

That coexistence continued throughout the mid-twentieth century, through surviving aspects of leftist Jewish organizations, in the non-Zionist US Jewish group, among the opposing religious group and other organizations. For Louis Finkelstein, the head of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Zionism had greater religious significance instead of governmental, and he did not permit performance of Israel's anthem, the Israeli national anthem, during seminary ceremonies during that period. Additionally, Zionism and pro-Israelism the central focus of Modern Orthodoxy until after the six-day war. Alternative Jewish perspectives coexisted.

However following Israel overcame adjacent nations in that war in 1967, taking control of areas such as Palestinian territories, Gaza, Golan Heights and Jerusalem's eastern sector, the American Jewish connection with Israel underwent significant transformation. Israel’s victory, coupled with longstanding fears about another genocide, resulted in a developing perspective regarding Israel's critical importance to the Jewish people, and a source of pride in its resilience. Discourse about the “miraculous” aspect of the victory and the freeing of territory assigned Zionism a religious, almost redemptive, meaning. During that enthusiastic period, much of the remaining ambivalence toward Israel vanished. In that decade, Publication editor Podhoretz famously proclaimed: “Zionism unites us all.”

The Agreement and Its Limits

The Zionist consensus left out the ultra-Orthodox – who largely believed a nation should only be ushered in through traditional interpretation of the messiah – yet included Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, contemporary Orthodox and nearly all non-affiliated Jews. The common interpretation of the consensus, later termed liberal Zionism, was based on the idea in Israel as a progressive and liberal – though Jewish-centered – state. Numerous US Jews saw the administration of local, Syria's and Egyptian lands following the war as provisional, assuming that an agreement was forthcoming that would maintain Jewish demographic dominance within Israel's original borders and neighbor recognition of the state.

Multiple generations of American Jews were raised with Zionism a core part of their Jewish identity. The nation became a key component in Jewish learning. Israeli national day became a Jewish holiday. Israeli flags adorned most synagogues. Youth programs became infused with Israeli songs and learning of modern Hebrew, with Israelis visiting and teaching American youth Israeli culture. Travel to Israel grew and reached new heights through Birthright programs by 1999, offering complimentary travel to the nation was offered to US Jewish youth. Israel permeated virtually all areas of US Jewish life.

Shifting Landscape

Interestingly, during this period after 1967, American Jewry became adept regarding denominational coexistence. Open-mindedness and communication across various Jewish groups increased.

Except when it came to the Israeli situation – there existed diversity ended. One could identify as a conservative supporter or a leftwing Zionist, yet backing Israel as a Jewish homeland remained unquestioned, and questioning that perspective positioned you outside mainstream views – an “Un-Jew”, as Tablet magazine termed it in a piece recently.

Yet presently, during of the destruction in Gaza, famine, child casualties and anger regarding the refusal of many fellow Jews who refuse to recognize their responsibility, that consensus has disintegrated. The centrist pro-Israel view {has lost|no longer