Israelis worry about weakening connection with younger Jewish Americans
JERUSALEM: Israelis across political and religious lines are worried about the weakening connection with younger Jewish Americans — who, according to a recent AP-NORC poll, tend to consider support for Israel less crucial to their Jewish identity than older adults.
“It’s extremely important to us,” said Itai Nixon, who leads the diaspora department for Lesley Sachs, who has protested the current Israeli government and chairs the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, also considers a close relationship with diaspora Jews a “strategic asset” for both Israel and Jews worldwide.
So she’s greatly concerned about diaspora Jews losing the sense that Israel can be a homeland for them, especially as rising antisemitism targets them regardless of political and religious affiliations.Since 2000, Taglit-Birthright Israel has brought a million Jewish young adults from the United States and elsewhere for a free 10-day “discovery” tour of Israel. The organization’s CEO says it’s more necessary than ever to show what their connection to Israel could be like beyond controversial politics.
“That really increases the importance of my job to expose people to what they give up on,” said Gidi Mark. “What we give them is a Israel and the United States have long been staunch allies. U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Washington earlier this week to discuss the war against Iran they launched together five months ago.
“The United States is perceived as the best friend of Israel in the entire world, and that’s still the case,” said Tamar Hermann, who directs the Israel Democracy Institute’s Viterbi Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research in Jerusalem.Divisions over the ceasefire in the Iran war, however, have weakened Jewish Israelis’ belief that Trump prioritizes Israel’s security — from 64% in March to 26% in June — according to the center.
Amid diplomatic tensions, the role of Jewish Americans who historically lobbied for political, military and financial support for Israel gains new prominence, Israelis said. And that deepens the concern that many young progressive Americans, including Jews, now see supporting Israel in any way as irreconcilable with their worldview.The decline in support for Israel has become particularly stark since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians in southern Israel, and abducted 251 others. Israel’s ensuing war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, which was part of the recently dissolved Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.That in turn ignited protests across the United States, especially on college campuses.
“Holocaust, refugees, the importance of Israel in times of need abroad, and the fact that Israel is a small country fighting for its existence … that’s history they read in a book,” Sachs said of younger Jewish Americans. “They weren’t emotionally part of it in any way or any form. And so they look at their values and the things that they believe in. And they don’t see it in Israel.”