A00085 - Trouble in the Tribe: American Jewish Relationship With Israel

 

On pages 50-51 of Trouble in the Tribe, Dov Waxman writes:

"In this chapter, I challenged a popular myth that all American Jews are diehard supporters of Israel by arguing that American Jewish support for Israel is neither universal nor automatic.  American Jewish attitudes toward Israel are not monolithic -- while some American Jews are indeed passionate supporters, others are ambivalent, some quite apathetic about Israel, and some quite critical of the state.  Not only are these significant differences among American Jews in their attitudes toward Israel, but also these attitudes have changed considerably over time.  Israel has not always been as important to the American Jewish community as it is today.  In its first two decades, Israel was actually of marginal interest to American Jewry, and it was only after the 1967 war that it became central to American Jewish life and politics.  Since then, although Israel has dominated American Jewish politics, its image in the eyes of American Jews has gradually changed.  It has slowly lost its aura of innocence and heroism, and steadily come to be seen as a more normal and more flawed country.  From the beginning of the 1980s onward, a sometimes-painful process of disillusionment with Israel has occurred within the American Jewish community, and with it has come growing criticism of the state's actions and policies.  While it is common to place most, if not all, of the blame for this on Israeli governments, especially Likud-led governments, American Jewish disillusionment with Israel was not just a consequence of changes to Israel, but also of changes in the Arab-Israeli conflict and changes among American Jews themselves.  Ultimately, some degree of disillusionment was probably inevitable because Israel could never remain the idealized place that American Jews had imagined it to be."

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I suspect that Dov Waxman is correct in his assessment given the New York Times op ed piece from last week

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/opinion/israel-netanyahu.html

and the Los Angeles Times op ed piece referenced in my November 4, 2022 email below.

Until Chapter 2,

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

Fairfield, California

November 9, 2022

-----Original Message-----
From: skipjen2865@aol.com
To: 
Sent: Fri, Nov 4, 2022 3:34 am
Subject: Trouble in the Tribe: Israel's Embrace of Illiberalism

On page 4 of Trouble in the Tribe, Dov Waxman writes:

"..., the era of uncritical American Jewish support for Israel -- of "Israel, right or wrong" -- is now long past.  For the past two decades, a fundamental shift has occurred in the American Jewish relationship with Israel, as growing numbers of American Jews have become less willing to unquestioningly support Israel and more willing to publicly criticize its governments.  Today, amid a widespread sense of disillusionment with Israel, many American Jews have a more critical and contentious relationship with the country.  Although the vast majority of them still care about Israel, there is now much more ambivalence toward it and much less agreement about its policies.  Many American Jews, especially younger ones, are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Israel's policies in its conflict with the Palestinians and skeptical of its governments' proclaimed desire for peace." 

Trouble in the Tribe was published in 2016.  However, in today's Los Angeles Times, an op-ed piece appears which echoes Mr. Waxman's words.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?token=42e23962a5d74614be16bae3d62d13e7&utm_id=74099&sfmc_id=4858730&edid=8b9e9881-7e23-42ba-92ec-4a25fe43032b

Both the book and the op-ed piece should be read carefully and pondered fully.  The arc of history that presides over Israel today does not appear to be bending towards justice. However, perhaps there are those who have a different perspective.  Perhaps.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

-----Original Message-----
From: skipjen2865@aol.com
To: 
Sent: Wed, Nov 2, 2022 12:18 am
Subject: Book of the Month for November 2022: Trouble in the Tribe

News reports are indicating that Benjamin Netanyahu will soon return to power in Israel

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/02/benjamin-netanyahu-thanks-voters-as-exit-poll-puts-him-ahead-in-israel-election

and that the government that will be formed by Netanyahu will perhaps be the most right wing Israeli government ever. 

Given these developments it is probably more timely than ever that we become more informed about what is occurring in Israel and, perhaps, that we begin to better understand why Netanyahu's return to power is likely to exacerbate the Trouble in the Tribe.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

 

-----Original Message-----
From: skipjen2865@aol.com
To: 
Sent: Wed, Oct 19, 2022 
Subject: Book of the Month for November 2022: Trouble in the Tribe

On the Tuesday, October 18, 2022, PBS Newshour, Dov Waxman was interviewed concerning the perceived rise in anti-semitism in American discourse.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dov_Waxman

I found Mr. Waxman to be a rather articulate source on the subject matter and, after reading his Wikipedia profile, I became intrigued by a couple of the titles of his books.  

Accordingly, based on previous posts, I find myself drawn to reading  Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict over Israel

https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691168999/trouble-in-the-tribe

It will be my November 2022 Book of the Month. You are welcome to read the book along with me.  I think it will be enlightening for us all.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins