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Two years have passed since that horrific attack of 7 October 2023, which profoundly impacted global Jewish populations like no other occurrence since the founding of the state of Israel.

For Jews it was profoundly disturbing. For the Israeli government, the situation represented deeply humiliating. The entire Zionist endeavor rested on the assumption which held that Israel would prevent similar tragedies repeating.

Some form of retaliation appeared unavoidable. However, the particular response undertaken by Israel – the comprehensive devastation of Gaza, the killing and maiming of numerous ordinary people – represented a decision. This particular approach complicated the perspective of many US Jewish community members processed the October 7th events that precipitated the response, and it now complicates the community's commemoration of the anniversary. How can someone mourn and commemorate a tragedy targeting their community in the midst of a catastrophe done to another people attributed to their identity?

The Challenge of Mourning

The complexity in grieving lies in the circumstance where there is no consensus as to the significance of these events. In fact, for the American Jewish community, this two-year period have experienced the collapse of a fifty-year agreement about the Zionist movement.

The beginnings of pro-Israel unity within US Jewish communities dates back to an early twentieth-century publication by the lawyer who would later become Supreme Court judge Louis Brandeis titled “Jewish Issues; Addressing the Challenge”. But the consensus really takes hold following the 1967 conflict during 1967. Earlier, American Jewry housed a fragile but stable cohabitation among different factions that had different opinions concerning the requirement for a Jewish nation – Zionists, non-Zionists and opponents.

Previous Developments

This parallel existence endured during the mid-twentieth century, through surviving aspects of Jewish socialism, in the non-Zionist US Jewish group, within the critical religious group and other organizations. Regarding Chancellor Finkelstein, the head of the theological institution, Zionism was more spiritual rather than political, and he did not permit the singing of Israel's anthem, Hatikvah, during seminary ceremonies in those years. Additionally, Zionism and pro-Israelism the main element within modern Orthodox Judaism prior to the 1967 conflict. Jewish identitarian alternatives existed alongside.

But after Israel overcame neighboring countries in the six-day war during that period, seizing land comprising Palestinian territories, Gaza Strip, the Golan and East Jerusalem, US Jewish perspective on the nation changed dramatically. The military success, along with persistent concerns about another genocide, led to an increasing conviction in the country’s essential significance within Jewish identity, and generated admiration for its strength. Rhetoric regarding the remarkable nature of the success and the freeing of areas assigned the movement a theological, potentially salvific, meaning. During that enthusiastic period, a significant portion of the remaining ambivalence about Zionism dissipated. In that decade, Writer the commentator stated: “Zionism unites us all.”

The Unity and Restrictions

The pro-Israel agreement left out strictly Orthodox communities – who largely believed Israel should only be established through traditional interpretation of redemption – yet included Reform, Conservative, contemporary Orthodox and the majority of non-affiliated Jews. The predominant version of the unified position, identified as liberal Zionism, was based on the idea in Israel as a democratic and democratic – while majority-Jewish – nation. Many American Jews saw the control of local, Syria's and Egyptian lands post-1967 as provisional, believing that an agreement was forthcoming that would guarantee Jewish demographic dominance in pre-1967 Israel and Middle Eastern approval of the state.

Two generations of US Jews were raised with Zionism a fundamental aspect of their religious identity. The nation became an important element within religious instruction. Israel’s Independence Day became a Jewish holiday. Israeli flags decorated many temples. Summer camps were permeated with Israeli songs and education of modern Hebrew, with Israelis visiting and teaching American teenagers national traditions. Visits to Israel grew and reached new heights through Birthright programs in 1999, offering complimentary travel to the country was offered to young American Jews. Israel permeated nearly every aspect of US Jewish life.

Shifting Landscape

Ironically, throughout these years after 1967, Jewish Americans grew skilled at religious pluralism. Acceptance and discussion across various Jewish groups increased.

Yet concerning support for Israel – that’s where pluralism reached its limit. You could be a right-leaning advocate or a progressive supporter, but support for Israel as a Jewish homeland was a given, and questioning that perspective placed you outside mainstream views – an “Un-Jew”, as a Jewish periodical described it in writing in 2021.

However currently, under the weight of the ruin of Gaza, famine, young victims and anger over the denial by numerous Jewish individuals who decline to acknowledge their responsibility, that unity has collapsed. The moderate Zionist position {has lost|no longer