Diaspora Jewry and Israel

The concurrent success of American Jews and Israeli Jews, even if they are developing with two different understandings of Jewish identity, should not lead to distancing or sibling rivalry. Rabbi Cosgrove relates to the emergence, in both the U.S. and Israel, of two Jewish communities no different than the Sephardic and Ashkenazic. In Israel, the Sephardi-Ashkenazi divide belongs to the past. The greatest success of the Jewish state is Kibbutz Galuiot, the creation of a unifying identity for Jews of every stripe.

Avi Gil’s paper addresses the reality that we are witnessing the end of a rules-based international order emphasizing freedom, open markets, and liberal values, and wisely points out that this will have implications for Israel and the Diaspora. He does a service by explaining what is producing the break down, noting in particular, American weariness with its global responsibilities and conflicts in the Middle East; loss of faith in elites and international institutions after the global economic crisis of 2008; and loss of identity and social status in the face of changing demographics and immigration. He goes on to suggest what is likely to replace the rules-based order: either a multi-power world based on great power competition or global disorder with vacuums being filled by the worst forces.

As Israel enters its eighth decade, the delicate balance between the state’s two dominant characteristics – Jewish and democratic – has arguably never been more contested. Recent steps perceived to have upset this balance have had implications not only inside Israel, but also vis-à-vis Israel’s relationship with Diaspora Jewry. The Israeli governments backtrack on the Western Wall/Kotel compromise has alienated many Reform and Conservative Jews the world over. The recently-passed Nation-State Basic Law raised concerns about a growing illiberal Israel putting particular Jewish values over more universal values like equality and democracy. The memory of 1967, to say nothing of 1948, increasingly becomes more abstract. Both Israeli society and Diaspora Jewry have undergone significant changes in the intervening decades.

The Jewish People celebrates, in 2018, 70 years of sovereignty. There are still many challenges confronting the Jewish state today. But at the same time, Israel can note that 70 years of independence had brought her to unfathomable heights of success beyond any dreams held at its founding.

For Malcolm Hoenlein, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of American Jewish Organizations context matters. In his lengthy interview he suggests that Jewish students’ illiteracy is present before they hit American campuses.