How Much Should Israel Define Us?
Unresolved Israeli election leaves American Jews in limbo
It should come as no surprise that Israelis are more worried about their survival and security than their pariah image around the world, which includes endangering their longstanding relationship with the US. That’s one of the major takeaways from Tuesday’s national election, which drew a huge turnout but resulted in neither a clear winner or path to a governing majority.
“In Israel,” the saying goes, “everyone votes but no one wins.”
The news from Jerusalem for the next several weeks will be filled with reports and leaks about the intense, closed-door horse trading going on among the parties in search of a majority. A key factor is whether the opposition leaders will renege on their promises not to take an Arab party into a coalition. But it seems increasingly likely that Prime Minister Netanyahu will remain at the helm of the government for the short term, and perhaps longer if he is successful in a likely election next spring.
This outcome is a deep disappointment for many American Jews who faithfully support Israel but have come to believe that Netanyahu and his extremist coalition partners, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, have darkened Israel’s image in a way that will continue as long as they hold office. (Ironically, it seems that Ben-Gvir, who calls for expelling Israeli Arabs “not loyal” to the state, may be the prime motivator for the surprisingly large turnout at the polls by Israeli Arabs. It led to the historic success of the Arab parties, expected to hold 19 seats – up from the current 10 seats – in the next Knesset.)
American Jews have drawn closer to Israel since October 7, identifying with the nation’s plight even as the resulting war of the last three years has led to a sharp spike in antisemitism here and around the world. A new study by the Jewish Federations of North America found a deepening bond of shared identity between American and Israeli Jews. This is truly heartening news, but the prospect of the Netanyahu coalition going forward without an independent reckoning over October 7, and with other sharply divisive plans, jeopardizes that precious bond of diaspora support. Those plans include renewing the effort to weaken the judicial system, refusal to crackdown on the West Bank settler violence that gives Israel a black eye, and maintaining political and financial support of a charedi community unwilling to allow their young men to serve in the IDF at a time when the military is seriously understaffed.
The question for the moment is how far will American Jews go in defending an Israel that appears either oblivious to international isolation or defiant in concluding, in effect, the attitude that “the world hates us whatever we do so we might as well do what’s best for us”?
Tal Becker, a renowned Israeli legal expert, diplomat and educator, told a large crowd at Central Synagogue in Manhattan on Tuesday evening that he is observing American Jews who support Israel try to make the Jewish state’s case to an America not listening on behalf of an Israel that doesn’t care. He described the Jewish people today as “between stories: the young people are not interested in our old story and we don’t have a new one.”
What is clear is that we in the diaspora are enduring the kind of antisemitism that none of us have seen in our lifetime. Many of us are scared and confused as to how to respond to an Israel whose military actions, deserving or not, are the primary cause of this outpouring of hatred. While the debate, even in segments of our Jewish community, is about whether anti-Israel sentiment qualifies as antisemitism, and whether or not the IDF committed genocide, we are seeing a dramatic distancing from Israel play out within significant elements of the Democratic and Republican party as we go to election in a few days. And we are particularly alarmed to find that many of our children and grandchildren are more empathetic to the Palestinian cause than to their brothers and sisters in Israel. How could this have happened?
The Wounds Are Still Raw
The last three years of war, trauma, deep internal division and international isolation has moved Israeli society further to the right. This election was about October 7 and its powerful, ongoing aftermath. Israelis are not in the mood to talk about a path to peace with the Palestinians anytime soon, though many American Jews would like them to at least reintroduce the issue as an aspiration.
Becker, in his conversation with moderator Abigail Pogrebin at Central Synagogue, asserted that “most Israelis feel that the only thing standing between them and the murder of their children is the IDF.” They have virtually no interest in pursuing peace talks now, and perhaps for quite a long time. The wounds are still too raw. The gap is too wide.
With the election’s stalemate, logic might call for establishing a unity government led by Netanyahu and his chief opponent, Gadi Eisenkot, but politics is not just about logic. It’s also about human emotions, and the two men don’t trust each other. Similarly, while there are those who would like to see Rahm, the Arab party led by Mansour Abbas, join an opposition coalition led by Eisenkot – as a positive sign that 20 percent of Israel’s population is represented – it’s not likely to happen. Abbas’s party was a faithful member of the Naftali Bennett ruling coalition during its brief tenure (2021-2022), but it would be very difficult for Eisenkot, who lost a son and two nephews in the Gaza war, to reverse his promise not to include an Arab party in his government.
Most American Jews understand and empathize with Israel’s ongoing trauma and the feeling of not being understood by the rest of the world. We are not trying to dictate Israeli policy, to soften Jerusalem’s stance as a means of relieving the level of antisemitism we endure. But when Netanyahu characterizes Israel as “Sparta,” a society of warriors, and when his hard-right coalition partners push for annexing the West Bank and taking Gaza back, it’s our duty to warn our Israeli brothers and sisters of the dire consequences. We fear that Americans in and out of government could conclude that it’s time to end our longstanding diplomatic, military, financial, social and political forms of support. And Israel would truly be alone.
Tal Becker’s reference to the Jewish people, especially our youth, being “between stories” – less interested in past ones but lacking a new one – rings true. He and others have called for working toward a Jewish future that focuses on recognizing what connects us rather than what divides us, appreciating that we are one people with a common history, and that our secret power is our heritage and faith. Our sages offer us a powerful message of unity: that we were all together at Sinai – Jews of the past, present and future – and we have a responsibility to know our foundational narrative, learn from it and pass it on to the next generation. In the words of the “Sh’ma Yisrael” prayer: teach your children “these words which I command you today” that “shall be on your heart.”
In that way, our “new story” will echo the oldest one in our history.
