Should Israel Apologize for Its “Place of Power”?

Here we go again. Israel is at war, and young American Jews are having an “identity crisis,” if one is to believe a recent report by the New York Times. Ten years ago, such stories seemed fresh. The old Israel-Diaspora relations is making room for new Israel-Diaspora relations. Today, it is an old story. Old and tired. A few prospective rabbis can no longer tolerate Israel’s actions. They wrote a letter. It convicts Israel, among other things, because “Israel’s choices come from a place of power.”

Maybe they aren’t quite familiar with the Zionist idea or with Israeli spirit. Yes — this country’s choices come from a place of power. That’s the whole idea. When Israel is attacked, it doesn’t write letters. It has means of defense. Means of power. If this makes the rabbis uncomfortable, I have no remedy for them. None other than writing letters.

The rabbis are an outlier for now. The Pew Center study from last week proved, and not for the first time, that the more observant Jews are, the more connected to Israel they are. Thus, I found the following paragraph in the NYT story amusing:

Alyssa Rubin, 26, who volunteers in Boston with IfNotNow, a network of Jewish activists who want to end Jewish American support for Israeli occupation, has found protesting for the Palestinian cause to be its own form of religious observance.

Religious observance. What is religious observance? Here is another opportunity for Jews to debate: For some, it is the synagogue, for others, lighting candles, for yet others, trying to convince the American government to reduce its support for Israel. Maybe that’s the source of the growing demand for young rabbis who can write letters.

To be somewhat more serious, the support of American Jews is important for Israel. It is important as long as it is support for policies that Israelis see as necessary. This doesn’t mean that all Israeli policies should be supported by every American Jew. It does mean that at some point the price of support could become too high for Israelis to still want it.

If gaining the support of some rabbis and activists means that Israel must disarm, or become weaker, or take risks with the Palestinians that they deem unworthy, then Israel will not do it. Neither religious observances, nor provocative letters, not even articles written by important figures, such as Senator Bernie Sanders, are going to change that.

If gaining the support of some rabbis and activists means that Israel must disarm, or become weaker, or take risks with the Palestinians that they deem unworthy, then Israel will not do it.

You may ask, but what if the articles, the letter, the observances, lead to a weakened American support for Israel? That’s a good question to which I have four answers:

1. Israel did not always have the support of the United States, and cannot presume to always have it in the future. That’s one reason why it has to be powerful, and not weak.
2. I am old enough to know that political trends come and go, that social trends go in one direction and then reverse. If America is to remain a superpower, the nonsensical trends that sometimes make life difficult for those wanting to support Israel aren’t going to be the dominant culture of the land. And if American does not remain a superpower, then Israel can no longer rely on it anyways.
3. I have faith in the American people. Most Americans still support Israel. Most of them still understand that surviving in the Middle East is slightly different than surviving in New Jersey.
4. I have faith in the core of the American Jewish community. Those who have it in their guts. Those who care in easier and more difficult times.

Shmuel Rosner is an Israeli columnist, editor, and researcher. He is the editor of the research and data-journalism website themadad.com and is the political editor of the Jewish Journal.