American Jews are winning – big time 

American Jews are winning big time, and it is high time to start talking about that. While we have faced unprecedented challenges in the past year, on almost every metric possible, American Jews are winning — big time. Not only are American Jews doing well on measurable metrics, but our ability to adapt and fight back against the wave of antisemitism that attempted to overrun us this past year makes a strong case for a bullish future. Let’s begin with the numbers. 

Ever since the 1960s, we have been warned about “the vanishing American Jew,” the assimilation that will destroy American Jewry, the Jews you should write off because they will “disappear within two generations.” Well, that didn’t happen. Not only did it not happen, but the number of Jews in America has dramatically increased. With the 2021 Pew Research Center approximating the number of Jews in America at between 7.3 and 7.7 million Jews, American Jewry is the largest it has ever been.

The growing number of nearly 1,000 (!) Jewish day schools in the United States unimaginably exceed the handful of day schools that existed when my grandfather in Pittsburgh needed to build a Jewish day school from scratch in the 1940s. The hundreds of thousands of proud young Jews that will go on to make up the American Jewish community, as well as countless other young Jews who will make up the future of American Jewry, spell a robust and proud future ahead of us. While we cannot ignore the sharply decreasing numbers of Hebrew school students in America, it is important to note the many new forms of engagement for Jewish youth Chabad and other movements have been implementing. 

For those who used sports as a measure of success, an unprecedented 14 American Jewish athletes brought America medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics, 13 American Jewish athletes in Major Leauge Baseball, and 11 Jews in the National Hockey League (which does include Canada…) continue to make American Jews proud. Sure, we can do better in the NBA, with Deni Avdija being the only one, but overall, proud American Jews are leaving their mark in sports and continue making us all proud. 

We have seen American Jewish life in academia and on college campuses face unprecedented challenges. Waves of hate, intimidation, and antisemitism threatened Jewish life on campuses, targeting Hillel houses, Chabad, and Jewish students on campuses across the United States. Yet, we have also seen a new generation of proud American Jews fight back. After enduring the initial shock, young Jews on campuses, on social media, and even in schools have begun fighting back, standing proudly for their Judaism. 

The symbolism of Ivy League president after president needing to resign for their weak responses to antisemitism sent an important signal to leaders of other academic institutions. The necessary lawsuits and legal complaints, with their consequences, are starting to come in. American Jews are making sure to hold antisemites accountable. It may not be as fast as the antisemites rioting on the streets, but that is how the law works. The long game will find perpetrators either behind bars, paying for the harm they caused, and registered as felons for the rest of their lives. Sure, Patrick Dai was able to sow fear among Jewish students in Cornell University with his anonymous online threats, but he is the one who will be spending the next 21 months in an Upstate New York prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Columbia University, which has become a symbol of hostility to Jewish students, has seen donors withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars in donations and a bruised public image. The reports that not a single Ramaz Upper School in Manhattan graduate will be attending Columbia next year, for the first time since 1937, shows what has always been true for Jews: we can take our talent and gifts elsewhere. American Jews are adjusting to a new reality, seeing who our true friends and allies are, fighting back, and rethinking the direction of our investments. We are here to stay and will not tolerate discrimination or bigotry.   

Legacy Jewish organizations, who have been often criticized, in many cases rightfully, for not taking on antisemitism forcefully enough, have begun taking off the gloves and dealing with the dangers of antisemitism in more direct ways. This process is beginning to show signs of success and must continue to grow.  

In the face of the great threats Israel has been facing, and sharing in the Jewish people’s profound concern for the fate of Israel and the hostages, an unprecedented 290,000 Jews stood in the National Mall in Washington, DC, seamlessly uniting above affiliation and denomination.

In the world of politics, too, American Jewry continues to show relevance and vitality. There are 33 Jewish members in the United States Congress, with a Jew serving for the first time as a Senate majority leader and a Jewish secretary of state. The ugly and antisemitic campaign against Pennsylvania’s Governor Josh Shapiro’s nomination as the democratic candidate for vice president reminds us of what we have work ahead of us, which is what we have shown we can and will do. The unseating of Congressman Jamaal Bowman and Congresswoman Cori Bush gave American Jews a fresh reminder of how much of a difference our vote can make and that if we do see politicians abusing their office to promote bigotry and hate, we must mobilize together and vote them out of office.  

Jewish infrastructure in life continues to grow. Unprecedented numbers of kosher eating options, kosher travel, and kosher restaurants continue to pop up from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New Hampshire, Florida, and, of course, in New York City. Cyberspace helps offer a touch of Jewish life to those living in more remote locations, with online education, music, shipping of Judaica, and remaining connected to loved ones, offering more Jewish life options we have not seen before. 

In September, Israeli singer Ishay Ribo will perform for the second time within one year in Madison Square Garden. The 19,500-seat arena in the heart of New York City will once again be filled to capacity with Jews of all denominations celebrating their Judaism together.

American Jewry faces many great challenges in the times ahead of us. Antisemitism, the accessibility of Jewish education, internal divisions, and navigating a rapidly changing world will not be simple tasks. Yet one thing has also become clear from the past year: we are up to the task. We are ready for every challenge, and we are successfully fighting for a future that looks bright, proud, inspired, and successful. American Jews are winning and must continue to do exactly that.