In Two Worlds at One Time: Dealing with Dueling Jewish Realities

This past weekend I experienced the dual impact of the Trump Presidency.

On the one hand, I addressed a crowded synagogue sanctuary, filled with concerned Jews, uncertain and alarmed by a Second Trump Presidency, upset over the sharp rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric and action, and confused and some cases disconnected from Israel in the aftermath of October 7^th.

Not twenty-four hours later I was in the midst of a pro-Trump Jewish community gathering. It is as if I am living in two separate worlds. Here, I encountered an audience fully embracing this President’s policies, as they applauded his pro-Israel agenda, embraced his war against illegal aliens, and supported his plans to oppose campus anti-Semitism.

I was directly experiencing the two Americas that journalists frequently write about.  For those that resonate with this President and by contrast, with those who struggle with 47, each community came to their moment from such different places and alternative perceptions.

In connection with this first event, I was particularly struck by the range of difficult, pain-filled questions. In their desire to both understand this moment, my audience craved finding “safe spaces” to deal with their anger, fears, and concerns.  Amidst their discomfort, there was a desire to better understand “the other” and how “they” think and feel in this moment as well. This first iteration was filled with questions, as they were seeking someone to help interpret the many “whys” in connection with the President’s actions.

It is difficult but essential to remind my first audience that Donald Trump is doing what he had promised us. The “shock and awe” approach with which he has introduced his second term appears to have caught many off-guard, leaving some fearful and angry, with others simply confused.

No doubt, for the approximate one-third of American Jewry who supported Donald Trump in November and today embrace his Israel support and his “fight against anti-Semitism,” there is a type of resilency and optimism. The audience comprising the second half of my weekend accept this President, often looking the other way in connection with some of his less well received pronouncements and actions. In unpacking this group’s own anxieties and concerns, Israel and anti-Semitism emerge as their primary focus.

For both groups, there also appears to be a shared concern, as they collectively critique the far left and its efforts to organize. For most Jews of all political stripes, the post-modernist world will not offer a friendly space for them, as the left sharpens its critique of Israel and directs its anger at America’s “Zionists” (code word today for Jews).

We only touched the surface during my first session of all the anxieties and concerns that filtered through the audience. There appears to be a pressing desire for community, whatever that may now mean. What we do understand is that security and support come when folks are afforded opportunities to be together.  I believe our community members want information but also insights into how best to respond and organize. They certainly require some sense of assuredness, even when we know that may not be completely possible. This powerful sense of being together places an additional expectation on our institutions to embrace their members and supporters, by providing as many opportunities as possible for collective expression.

We need to remind ourselves that the roadmap of Jewish history offers us some extraordinary insights and examples of how our tradition and our people have managed in earlier times to be responsive to crisis and to divisions, as we observe how as a civilization we were able to reimagine our responses, our practices, and our beliefs.