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Two years have passed since the horrific attack of October 7, 2023, an event that deeply affected Jewish communities worldwide more than any event following the establishment of the Jewish state.

Within Jewish communities the event proved profoundly disturbing. For Israel as a nation, it was deeply humiliating. The entire Zionist movement rested on the belief that the Jewish state could stop things like this from ever happening again.

Military action was inevitable. But the response that Israel implemented – the widespread destruction of the Gaza Strip, the casualties of numerous ordinary people – constituted a specific policy. This selected path complicated the perspective of many American Jews grappled with the October 7th events that set it in motion, and presently makes difficult the community's observance of the anniversary. How does one honor and reflect on a tragedy targeting their community while simultaneously an atrocity experienced by other individuals attributed to their identity?

The Complexity of Mourning

The challenge surrounding remembrance exists because of the fact that little unity prevails about what any of this means. Indeed, within US Jewish circles, the last two years have seen the disintegration of a decades-long consensus on Zionism itself.

The beginnings of a Zionist consensus across American Jewish populations extends as far back as a 1915 essay by the lawyer and then future high court jurist Justice Brandeis titled “Jewish Issues; Finding Solutions”. Yet the unity became firmly established after the 1967 conflict that year. Previously, US Jewish communities contained a fragile but stable coexistence among different factions that had diverse perspectives regarding the requirement for a Jewish nation – pro-Israel advocates, neutral parties and anti-Zionists.

Historical Context

This parallel existence persisted during the mid-twentieth century, within remaining elements of socialist Jewish movements, through the non-aligned Jewish communal organization, within the critical religious group and similar institutions. Regarding Chancellor Finkelstein, the chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, pro-Israel ideology had greater religious significance rather than political, and he did not permit singing Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem, at JTS ordinations in the early 1960s. Nor were Zionist ideology the centerpiece within modern Orthodox Judaism before the six-day war. Alternative Jewish perspectives remained present.

However following Israel overcame adjacent nations in that war that year, seizing land comprising Palestinian territories, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and Jerusalem's eastern sector, US Jewish relationship to the country underwent significant transformation. The military success, along with persistent concerns of a “second Holocaust”, produced an increasing conviction in the country’s vital role within Jewish identity, and generated admiration in its resilience. Discourse concerning the remarkable aspect of the outcome and the freeing of territory provided the Zionist project a spiritual, even messianic, meaning. During that enthusiastic period, a significant portion of previous uncertainty regarding Zionism vanished. In that decade, Publication editor Norman Podhoretz famously proclaimed: “Everyone supports Zionism today.”

The Unity and Its Boundaries

The unified position did not include the ultra-Orthodox – who largely believed Israel should only be established by a traditional rendering of the Messiah – however joined Reform, Conservative Judaism, Modern Orthodox and most unaffiliated individuals. The predominant version of the consensus, identified as left-leaning Zionism, was established on the conviction regarding Israel as a democratic and democratic – though Jewish-centered – country. Many American Jews saw the control of local, Syrian and Egypt's territories following the war as temporary, assuming that a resolution was imminent that would maintain a Jewish majority in Israel proper and regional acceptance of the nation.

Multiple generations of Jewish Americans were raised with pro-Israel ideology an essential component of their religious identity. The nation became an important element of Jewish education. Israel’s Independence Day turned into a celebration. National symbols decorated religious institutions. Summer camps were permeated with national melodies and the study of the language, with Israelis visiting educating American teenagers Israeli customs. Trips to the nation increased and reached new heights through Birthright programs during that year, providing no-cost visits to the country was provided to Jewish young adults. Israel permeated almost the entirety of Jewish American identity.

Shifting Landscape

Paradoxically, throughout these years after 1967, American Jewry grew skilled at religious pluralism. Tolerance and discussion across various Jewish groups increased.

However regarding the Israeli situation – that represented pluralism reached its limit. You could be a right-leaning advocate or a leftwing Zionist, but support for Israel as a majority-Jewish country was a given, and questioning that perspective placed you outside mainstream views – a non-conformist, as a Jewish periodical labeled it in writing recently.

But now, amid of the ruin of Gaza, famine, dead and orphaned children and outrage over the denial of many fellow Jews who avoid admitting their complicity, that unity has broken down. The centrist pro-Israel view {has lost|no longer