Jew-haters have forced the Jews into a defensive crouch that is redefining American Jewry and separating us from the country we helped found.
It’s the nature of the fight. By focusing so many of our efforts on defending ourselves, we’re changing the image of Jews in America. Jews are now the people who are asking for protection.
In that sense, the Jew-haters are gaining a double victory. Not only are they instilling fear among Jews, they’re diminishing who we are. We’ve become a people under siege, worthy of hate, turning our identity into fighting those who hate us.
It’s the law of unintended consequences: Our fight against haters is separating us from America, making it look as if America is turning against us and we’re turning against America.
That is a far cry from the truth, from the real Jewish American story where Jews have been a beacon of light and at the forefront of American progress from its very birth.
Jew-haters win when that extraordinary story is suppressed.
The way to fight back is to reclaim our story and our deep bond with America. It’s not enough to build Jewish pride—we must build Jewish American pride. “I’m a proud Jewish American” should be our most popular t-shirt.
In short, if we want to reclaim our mojo as the ultimate contributors to this great country, the words Jewish and America must be welded to one another.
We should never stop fighting the haters, but we should fight them as Jewish Americans, not just as Jews who worry only about Jews. We have engaged with the welfare of this country since we landed on these shores. That has never stopped. It is part of our identity.
Our love for this country should be interwoven in our communal efforts. This is especially important at a time when love of country has been politicized and debased. With America’s 250th birthday coming next July, Jews must lead the way in reclaiming not just the Jewish story but the American story. As I wrote in a recent piece, these two stories are inseparable, just as Jews and America are inseparable.
We can’t control the news from Israel; we can’t stop Jew-haters from hating. But we can control how we express our Jewish American identity.
When we make demands that our rights be protected, we should frame these demands as honoring a great American ideal. When we distinguish between free speech and harassment, we should honor the American tradition of freedom of expression.
Above all, we need to teach the great Jewish American story. It’s not enough to arm Jewish students today with talking points on how to fight back against anti-Israel protesters. We need to arm them with inspiring stories of Jewish contributions to America that will boost their self-esteem as Jewish Americans and encourage them to make their own contributions.
Based on the positive reactions from our many pieces on this subject, the Journal is planning to launch a series on the Jewish American story, with a website that will gather the great content already available, especially from the indispensable “Restoring the American Story” initiative at Yeshiva University. We hope it will encourage the community to join in.
American Jews are at a crossroads. It’s not just our safety that is at stake; it’s our identity as Jewish Americans. We must protect that identity as vigorously as we protect the entrances to our synagogues.
