A few weeks ago, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati hosted a breakfast meeting featuring Rabbi Shira Stutman as a guest speaker. Some of us may question her belief that it is a ‘great time to be Jewish’ given the rampant antisemitic attacks across the country over the last few years. Today, American Jews are the most targeted hate crime victim, on a per capita basis, more than African Americans! And, the most recent American Jewish Committee survey points to a stark finding that 15+% of American Jews are toying with the idea of leaving the US. Despite this background of sobering statistics, Rabbi Stutman highlighted how the Jewish community has displayed extraordinary resilience and pride over the last 2 years. There is ‘joy’ in the Jewish community. There are so many media vehicles for increasing one’s knowledge of Judaism and our history from live in-person learning groups to a plethora of podcasts and other electronic communications. One has no excuse not to ‘know one’s story.’ There were 2 parts of her talk that were very bothersome, however. One, was something not mentioned — Israel and the extraordinary support of most of our community. Was this absence of mentioning Israel purposeful? If an American Jew displays not only no association but possible abhorrence with Israel or Zionism, what kind of Jew is that person? After all, for 2000 years Jews have prayed daily (indeed some more than once a day) for the restoration of Zion, or Israel, our synagogues face Jerusalem and with the restoration of the nation state of Israel, I dare say that Jews are safer. Had Israel existed prior to the 1930s, it is safe to say that the holocaust disaster that befell our people would have been considerably muted. And with the creation of the most successful refugee project in the history of the world, called Israel, Jews from throughout the world know they have a home. That is not to say that all Israeli governments behave well and we can create a list of grievances-like any government in the world. Nonetheless, given the hostile forces surrounding Israel, I’d say Israel has done a pretty good job maintaining a democracy and a thriving intellectual and religious environment (or non-religious one if you choose).
So why leave Israel out of the conversation? If you truly ‘know your story’ of what it is and means to be a Jew or how you came to the present, how can you leave Israel out of the conversation? Can American Jews be joyful without Israel? Taking Israel out of the conversation as a place marker for resilience and dare I say pride, brings us back to an earlier period of American history, when expressing a pro-Zionist viewpoint was frowned upon and viewed as a threat to the stability of our community. It wasn’t until Louis Brandeis proudly expressed his affinity for Zionism that these doubts started to fade. Indeed, it wasn’t until the Israeli 6-Day War, that our entire community comfortably wrapped itself in the flag of Zionism. This also harks back to an earlier time. As the Israelites were ready to enter the land of Israel, some tribes decided to back out and stay on the east side of the Jordan. After being rebuked for abandoning their brothers and sisters, these tribal leaders recognized their wrongs and led the fight to secure the land and only when the land was secured, did they return to the east. So, now when American Jews are being challenged for the first time in decades in the public square of our love of Zionism, some are seen scurrying away with their tail between their legs, some challenging even the right of Israel to exist. You only have to ‘know your story’ that a threat to Jews anywhere is a threat to you. You can’t hide. While we may be living in challenging times, knowing your story is the best antidote and these are also the best of times for that.
Raphael Warren
Cincinnati, OH
