The double anxiety of liberal Jews in the US

Last week, I returned from a journey among Jewish communities across the United States. I met communities in crisis, men and women who felt the ground was slipping beneath their feet. In their words: a sense of anxiety, loss of control, distrust in the motives of the Trump administration, and growing concern about the direction the Israeli government is taking.

Throughout the visit, I recognized that American Jews are experiencing trends in parallel with Israelis. The liberal Jewish communities in both countries are in deep fear about where their country is headed and the other country too. The assault on democratic institutions, the rise of extreme discourse, and the feeling that the foundational values of freedom, equality, justice, and the rule of law are under attack.

In the U.S., unlike in the aftermath of Trump’s election in 2017, a protest movement has not yet taken to the streets. They look with envy at the demonstrations for democracy in the streets of Israel, while we in Israel look with envy at the intense protests in the streets of Turkey, Serbia, and Georgia—countries where the public has recently stood powerfully against governments that are working to dismantle democracy.

In light of the shock from the government’s measures, a lack of pro-democracy leaders, and a sense of hopelessness, American democracy supporters are struggling to find the strength to rally mass protests. The only factor that still manages to impose some limits on the Trump administration is the judicial system, which is also under attack like never before.

As is happening here in Israel, there is also frustration among the liberal camp over the inability of its political leadership to unite. In the liberal Jewish community, there is deep frustration with the official opposition in the Democratic Party, which is seen as weak, ineffective, and out of touch. The Democratic Party is torn between progressives and moderates who oppose cooperation with the Trump administration and want to see the party fighting back – and the old establishment that still seeks cooperation and wants to avoid a crisis.  For example, the vote of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democratic senators in favor of the federal budget proposed by the Republicans aimed at preventing a shutdown of public services.

The concern amongst the Jewish communities is not limited to their own country. Many of them are increasingly watching with anxiety what is happening here in Israel. The hostages who have not yet been released, the devastation of the ongoing war that is shown on their screens more than ours, a government using humanitarian aid as a weapon of war, plans to occupy the Gaza Strip and remain there, the de facto annexation of the West Bank, and the government’s embrace of far-right parties in Europe with anti-Semitic roots—all of these heighten the anxiety that both their country and their nation-state are being taken away from them simultaneously.

There’s a deep and widening gap between most Jews who oppose this direction and old-guard Jewish establishment groups in the US who have voiced little opposition to either Trump or Netanyahu. Unlike the establishment, most American Jews do not think they need to give up their progressive values to be committed to Israel. They do not think that in order to love Israel, they need to ignore the terrible suffering in Gaza. They do not think that supporting the State of Israel means supporting a government of Jewish supremacy and a war against democracy.

When Israeli representatives vote at the UN against Ukraine’s right to territorial integrity – alongside the Trump administration, Russia, and Iran – and when the Israeli government embraces far-right parties in Europe, the American Jewish public is asking itself: Does Israel still operate in the spirit of the Jewish and democratic values upon which it was founded? Does it remain part of the democratic world? Is there a red line that will test the limits of my support?

They are simultaneously concerned about the rising antisemitism in the US and the Trump administration’s attack on higher education institutions and general freedom of expression, using manipulative claims of antisemitism as a pretext, undermining the broader fight against antisemitism.

I believe that at this moment, the connection between the communities is more important than ever. If Israel ceases to be a democracy, the Jews of the diaspora will also lose their anchor in the nation-state of the Jewish people. If America loses the values on which it was founded, we here will also feel it strongly –in the economy, in security, and of course, in democracy. Netanyahu and his allies are already emboldened by Trump’s unconditional support, and they will only push further still.

While in the United States, I told folks that despair is not a helpful strategy. At times, I also had to tell that to myself.

We must not give in to the enemies of democracy and peace from within our countries and from outside – that’s how they truly win. That we have the power to lead change, but it requires mobilization and patience and a broad coalition of resistance – even with those we don’t consider our natural allies.

They must fight for American democracy and simultaneously raise their voices so that the American political system and the Jewish establishment understand what all the polls indicate—the majority of American Jews are connected to Israel but strongly oppose the direction the Israeli government is leading. That they must strengthen the liberals on both sides of the ocean and not abandon us, the Israeli liberals. We must stand and fight together.