FEATURED JOBS
Comments (0)For all of the accomplishments that American Jewry and the State of Israel have jointly worked on since 1948, figuring out the essence of their relationship is not one of them.
Indeed, the purposely amorphous term “Jewish state” remains even more problematic than in the state’s halcyon beginning, an era in which the Jewish people were so physically and emotionally wounded that no divide could stop the common purpose of creating a land of both refuge
and rebirth.
Of course, the tensions are not new. They were so bad in the 1950s that Baltimore’s Jacob Blaustein — leader of the American Jewish Committee — and Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion exchanged a series of “cease and desist” notes describing what their communities’ relationship should be (which Ben-Gurion’s periodically violated).
But ever since, Israel’s crisis du jure has made ties with diaspora Jewry a third-tier issue. Understandably, war and peace, religious vs. secular kulturekampf, immigration and more were legitimate big issues that needed immediate attention.
Now, with Israel amid its seventh decade and with American Jewry the most viable international Jewish community, Israeli-American Jewish ties are front burner — at least for American Jews. Bringing hope that Israeli Jews increasingly see it that way, too, are events of the last week:
• The Knesset (Parliament) just launched the Israeli-American Jewish Knesset Caucus. The goal: To raise awareness with Israeli lawmakers about the agendas and priorities of the American Jewish community vis-a-vis Israel.
• The first Conservative Jewish minyan — meaning men and women dovened together as equals — was held in the Knesset synagogue. It came immediately after a meeting between leaders of the North American-based Conservative movement and Israeli lawmakers.
• Finally, a new poll shows that a whopping 77 percent of Israelis want their country’s lawmakers to consider Diaspora Jewry when devising new legislation on Jewish identity issues. Just one of these items would be of interest; all three coming in the same week is worthy of consideration.
This all reveals both official and grassroots widespread support throughout the State of Israel as to the concept of a viable Jewish world outside of the boundaries of the Jewish state. And that is a final repudiation of the once sacred Zionist ethos of “negation of the Diaspora.”
It is in large part a result of hard work by a number of Jewish groups in this country as well. In fact, not long ago yet another delegation of Knesset members and staffers came to this country (and Baltimore) via the Jewish Federations of North America. Last year when I had a chance to meet with them, we were able to explore both their surprise at the diversity of American Jewish life and my American inability to understand their political inability to, well, get anything done on social/religious issues that matter to large swathes of American Jews.
Then there’s Birthright Israel, bringing hundreds of thousands of Diaspora youth to Israel, educator exchanges, business deals and so much more.
It’s too late for many American Jews who have walked away from (or never considered) their bond to the Jewish state, but for some there is positive movement. Perhaps the ties that unbind can be mended after all.