Jews’ Internal Debate

Jews have not always been united in support of Israel. Most Jews, and most non-Jewish Americans, have forgotten. Many American Jews, indeed, have come to take the existence of Israel for granted, and even feel disassociated from its survival in its deadly neighborhood. This has taken a more dangerous turn with the emergence of a relatively few anti-Israel Jews.

The “secret”, seldom spoken aloud, is that most American Jews are both relatively untutored in their own religion or history, are more imbued with Liberal and Leftist politics, and prioritize their politics above Israel or the survival of Jews. American Jewish Committee and National Jewish Democrats’ polls during the 2004 election campaigns found Israel well down the list of most American Jews’ priorities, below support for various domestic Democrat liberal programs.

Before Israel’s founding, some Orthodox felt Israel could only come into being with the coming of the Messiah, some others thought the leadership of the Zionist movement too secular or Leftist, and some others sought defense from then common-charges of dual-loyalty as they established their American identity as part of its mainstream rather than a grouping of immigrants and refugees.

But, none were anti-Jewish by any means, or anti-Israel per se, just ordinary intramural arguers within a family. With the shocks of post-WWII revelations of the extent of Nazi and other European anti-Semitic slaughters and pillaging upon Jews, and the lack of refuge for Jews even by the Allies, the necessity for Israel became paramount and dissolved such petty disagreements among Jews.

Current arguments by a few (but given MSM and academic prominence) Jews against Israel, or American support of Israel, differ in a significant degree from the prior: They are not essentially Jewish, or quibbles, but are secular Leftist and lend support to Israel and Jews’ enemies. Although very rarely religious observers, they trade on their inherited designation. They profess love and friendship to Jews, and carefully obscure their calumnies in circumlocutions and sophistry, and many listeners are thus deluded. However, all their source and emphasis is part of their generalized distaste for American foreign policy, for defense of Western civilization, instead favoring the causes of its extremist opponents within the West and in the Middle East and other despot- and terrorist-ridden parts of the world. That may not always be the explicit consciousness or intent, or the couched verbiage, but it is the functional reality. Anyone who believes or professes that alliance with George Soros or his well-funded front groups is acceptable, or that Soros has the interests of Israel or the U.S. at heart and purpose, is dangerously foolish.

Most non-Jews think Jews are a united people, of immense power. Both suppositions are wrong, extremely wrong in the case of those extremists who see conspiracies everywhere, usually linked to invented and evil Jewish machinations. That some Jews even, themselves, believe in such inflated self-importance feeds into such conspiratorial fantasy charges.

In fact, although many of Jewish background disproportionately excel in many realms of endeavor, so do Asian-Americans. The primary cause is rooted in above-average cultural emphasis on education and the importance of living a better material life. This is self-perpetuating across generations, as educated parents instill and earn the means to offer this advantage to their children. Aside from the normal occurrence of wayward offspring, the cycle is disrupted as families fall away from this culture.

Some, also, point to Jews’ ethical heritage and to the respect it generates among non-Jews, or to Christians’ respect for their common religious fount, and this is an advantage to Jews, but an offsetting disadvantage is the traditional discriminations and the petty resentments by many. The balance varies across time, issues, and particular groups.

Most Jews remember the transitory nature of their position, as Jews, in the world. Other Jews come to believe that assimilation or living in an enlightened country, like in Germany before WWII, is protection or the dawn of a new age for Jews. They have throughout history been disabused by horrors visited upon themselves and others.

Unfortunately, it usually takes horrors to wake up many Jews, but then it’s too late.

If all Jews do not unite to both better educate themselves in something other than partisan Liberal or narrow Leftist politics, and uniformly denounce extremists among us, Israel will fall, bloodily, to its enemies, and American Jews will have to share the blame, and eternal shame.