Revisiting Un-Jews Who Undo the Deepest Jewish Bonds

In June, 2021, shortly after so many o-so-self-righteous Jewish Studies and Israel Studies professors bashed Israel during Hamas’ bombardment, the former prisoner-of-Zion and human rights activist Natan Sharansky and I called them “un-Jews” in Tablet Magazine. Neither of us have ever written anything that has been so mischaracterized, although many tell us now we were ahead of the curve.

As we made clear in our piece, the ”un” referred to an act– un-doing the core consensus uniting Israel, Zionism and the Jewish people.

We did not go after mainstream critics of Israeli policy or young, confused Jews, desperately trying to fit in with social-justice-obsessed peers (That’s where we were most misquoted.) We targeted the big fish, the hipster rabbis, professors, and community leaders “trying to disentangle Judaism from Jewish nationalism, the sense of Jewish people, while undoing decades of identity-building.”

We were particularly appalled by the sloppiness of a petition dozens of Jewish Studies and Israel Studies scholars signed during the May, 2021 war. Echoing social justice talk, these super-credentialed polemicists defined Zionism as “a diverse set of linked ethnonationalist ideologies… shaped by settler colonial paradigms… that assumed a hierarchy of civilizations” and “contributed to unjust, enduring, and unsustainable systems of Jewish supremacy.”

We didn’t call them ex-Jews or non-Jews, “because many of them are and remain deeply involved Jewishly, despite their harsh dissent.”  Then, as now, “un-Jews” run Jewish Studies departments, serve as rabbis, host Shabbat dinners. And they flaunt their anti-Zionism as “a superior form of Judaism, stripped of its unsavory and unethical ‘ethnocentric’ and ‘colonialist’ baggage.”

Today — 1200 October 7 deaths, 251 kidnappings, another 600 Israeli soldier deaths, and one massive, pride-inducing, world-changing, peace-making Israeli victory-in-process later — the “un-Jews” continue to undo timeless Jewish connections. They claim to have convinced the younger generation. Some Jewish professors rejoice that “the Zionist Consensus Among US Jews Has Collapsed.” They delight that one of three New York Jews voted for Zohran Mamdani, whose anti-Zionism is “central” to his identity, and who echoes centuries of Jew-haters by blaming “the Jews” for the thing he most detests, such as police brutality.

And “un-Jews” come to speak at Israeli universities — which I am proud to say are open to hearing their anti-Zionist, genocide-charging, settler-colonialism-alleging, oppressed-oppressor rubbish – then grovel to Palestinians, apologizing for breaking their BDS boycott. 

Undoubtedly, anti-Semitism on the “Woke Right” is also detestable. But every prominent right-wing Jew I know of, and many non-Jewish Republicans, have denounced this hatred from within their ranks. What’s disturbing is how little of that self-policing is happening on the left, where antisemites and anti-Zionists roam freely.   

In such an environment, many worried when the JPPI, the Jewish People Policy Institute, the Global Thinktank of the Jewish People, asked its “Voice of the Jewish People” Index what these representative 745 American Jews think about Mamdani, and Zionism, and Israel. 

Well, buckle your seatbelts and prepare to unfurl your blue-and-white flags – we’re delivering some good news today, or at least not-so-bad news.

The JPPI survey finds that 67% of Jews believe Mamdani’s election will lead to a decline in the security of New York’s Jewish community. And 99% of Jews fear anti-Semitism surging. Sixty-two% recognize it both from right and left, 17% see it from the right, and 20% see it from the left. Most important, 70% call themselves “Zionist” while another 12% say they support Israel – including 52% of strong liberals and 71% of liberal-leaners identifying as “Zionist.”

With 82% thus Zionist and pro-Israel, and a quarter of American Jews under 34, that doesn’t leave as many young anti-Zionist Jews as we’re supposed to fear.

In short, the “un-Jews” don’t just undo Jewish connections, they punch way above their weight — and remember, as one pro-Israel Democratic member of Congress told me recently, “Manhattan is an island.” These Jewish Israel-bashers benefit from the fact that the media, social media and academic echo chambers overly-broadcast their views. And “un-Jews’” primacy in the institutions American Jews most worship, from the media to academia, and including some pulpits, makes it worse – as does the fact that, as the LA Jewish Journal’s own David Suissa wisely notes: “American Jews are afraid of their young.” 

Finally, anti-Zionist Jews stand out. That their betrayal is particularly painful especially after October 7, amplifies their voice and leads most to exaggerate their popularity – and momentum. 

By contrast, most American Jews, young and old alike, felt a surge in identification after October 7. Most American Jews can recognize a sexist, homophobic, rape-friendly, Jew-hating, anti-Western terrorist enemy. And most American Jews are proud to have a strong, thriving, democratic Jewish state, that, for all its flaws, defended itself when attacked so unconscionably, then made itself, America, and the West stronger and safer by crushing Hamas and Hezbollah, defeating Iran, and triggering the collapse of Syria’s Assad dictatorship.

True, there are warning signs – and much confusion – amid a massive media bombardment. Two of three Jews rate Benjamin Netanyahu as only a “fair” or “poor” leader. Nearly 40% of American Jews find Israel guilty of genocide – a stunning number amid the overall support and the legal need for a genocide to be intentional and systematic. But 44%, including 31% of Reform Jews, want their Jewish community to reject anti-Zionist Jews.

The answer to all this confusion is clear. First, stop playing defense, stop apologizing, stop letting fear of “losing our youth” set the agenda. Instead, play to our strengths, sing a new loud, proud song of Zion, helping our young people understand what it means to be part of alt-neu, old-new, nation restoring alt-neuland. Every Jew should understand that, no matter when they were born, they are also an additional 77-years-old as part of the Israeli adventure, and an additional 3,500-years-old as part of the Jewish adventure.

Second, we need Zionist education initiatives transcending anti-anti-Semitism, emphasizing Identity Zionism, reinforcing our common peoplehood platform, shared fate, and common values, no matter what our partisan political differences. We need to recognize this young generation as Generation Birthright – open to experiencing Israel and Israelis as awe-some – not a generation defined by Bibi or any politicians or partisan stances. 

Finally, we need to tell it like it is. Call out the “un-Jews” who are undoing Jewish identity by hijacking Jewish community resources to demonize Israel and repudiate Zionism. Salute the Zionists, who are not only on the right side of history but are the ones truly demonstrating courage, to be counter-cultural, to defy the mob and the trends. And let’s build a proud Jewish Zionist tent, rooted in our homeland, our story, our ideals; a tent open on all sides, welcoming left and right, looking forward while also looking backward to learn who we were and who, together, we want to become. 

Gil Troy is an American presidential historian and a Senior Fellow at the JPPI, the Global Thinktank of the Jewish People. Last year he published, “To Resist the Academic Intifada: Letters to My Students on Defending the Zionist Dream” and “The Essential Guide to October 7th and its Aftermath.” His latest E-book, “The Essential Guide to Zionism, Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism and Jew-hatred” was just published and can be downloaded on the JPPI  – Jewish People Policy Institute – Website.