Losing Political Clout, Jewish Community In A Bind

Abandoned by the left, uncomfortable with the right, activist groups face ‘key moment’ of decision.

Amplified bigotry: Many pro-Palestinian protesters portray Israel as genocidal when it is Hamas that is committed to eradicating the Jewish State.

At a recent Jewish leadership conference held by a prominent foundation, David Bernstein, author of the book, “Woke Anti-Semitism,” was surprised at the lack of pushback he received for asserting that progressive ideology has become increasingly harmful to Jews and Israel. 

Bernstein, a self-described liberal, is founder and CEO of the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values (whose board includes journalist Bret Stephens and Rabbi David Wolpe). He has been a kind of lightning rod in Jewish communal circles in recent years since breaking with elements of the left that promote DEI, the diversity, equity and inclusion discipline. He believes it shuts down discourse, violates Jewish values and, in excluding Jews among the minority groups it promotes, fosters anti-Semitism.

I wrote here in the fall of 2021 about Bernstein and his then-new group’s effort to convince mainstream Jewish groups not to sacrifice communal interests to placate progressive activists. (“A Wake-Up Call To Counter Woke Excesses”) He noted at the time that “the ideological environment has become toxic and fundamentally illiberal.” But he acknowledged that one risks being called a racist for criticizing or even questioning the prevailing trend.

Bernstein’s book, “Woke Anti-Semitism,” published in 2022, was prescient in tracing the growth and influence of the ideology that began on campus, became popular in the corporate world and major institutions, and came to include a number of Jewish advocacy organizations that embrace – or tolerate – the principles of “privilege” and “oppressor/oppressed,” at least partly as a means of maintaining ties with progressive groups that value social justice and other shared ideals.

But the wheels of change grind slowly in Jewish communal organizations that reflect the liberalism of the majority of American Jews. It took the tragedy of October 7, and its outcome, to shift the status quo. Shaken by global condemnation of Israel’s war on Hamas, the deafening silence of former ethnic and religious allies, and the depth and breadth of viral anti-Semitism displayed on college campuses, mainstream Jewish organizations appear to be rethinking their positions. 

At the recent conference, Bernstein participated on a panel re-evaluating changes in the Jewish world since October 7. He called for the community to seek new strategic alliances and spoke of the dangers of DEI. After the session, Bernstein told me, a leader of a left-leaning foundation “came over, quietly, to say she agreed with me.” He said he had the feeling other participants felt the same way, but noted there was a sense of caution in the room, “a wariness of alienation” from the social justice and other liberal groups with which the organized Jewish community has long been aligned. 

“We are at a key moment,” Bernstein told me. Last month he wrote an essay in eJewishPhilanthropy that said mainstream Jewish organizations “seem stuck in their own histories and political compacts,” unwilling to abandon their ties with progressives. But he says he now sees signs of a pivot toward the center and a willingness to venture out and find new partners, including independent groups not driven by ideological imperatives.

“Some Jewish groups have embraced a more assertive form of advocacy,” he said, citing a recent decision by Chicago Jewish leaders to turn down an invitation to meet with Mayor Brandon Johnson after he helped pass a pro-ceasefire resolution in the city council and did not condemn anti-Semitic chants and signs at a student rally.

Stuck In The Present

The political clout of the Jewish community has been weakened in recent months. (Asked to cite fervent supporters of Israel in Congress, an AIPAC leader in a private meeting last month came up with only two names, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York.) Mainstream Democrats in Washington are split between their loyalty to Israel and to their party, which is bearing the brunt of criticism for support of a war that is dragging on and increasingly unpopular in the U.S. as the November election looms closer. The small but growing progressive wing is gaining momentum, especially among younger people, in its vocal criticism of Israel as a genocidal state. 

This situation is beyond upsetting. Republican leaders have spoken out forcefully for Israel, but relatively few Jews outside of the Orthodox community are expected to vote for Donald Trump, widely viewed as a very real threat to American democracy. 

Those of us who have always believed that the breadth and depth of anti-Semitism we are witnessing in the United States today could never happen on these shores are still in shock. The fear and frustration we are facing speaks to a betrayal of American values of freedom, justice and equality. 

It should be clear by now that Jews can’t “solve” the problem of anti-Semitism, ever-present since the Biblical Pharaoh sought to eradicate a people he believed to be outsiders, “the other,” dangerous, not to be trusted. 

We can, and should monitor Jew-hatred, call it out and fight it – along with others. But there is no one solution to the world’s oldest form of collective hatred, and well-meaning educational curricula and distinguished task forces to address the problem rarely produce practical results. The ADL, after more than a century of combating anti-Semitism, and with a budget in the tens of millions of dollars, cites the problem increasing to new highs year after year of late.

Malicious bias reflects on the societies that harbor it and allow it to fester and grow. What can be done to reverse the trend? 

Those of us who not only appreciate the miracle of Israel but recognize the danger to America and the world if Islamic radicals gain support, are charged with making our voices heard and educating those open to learning more about the facts.

On the grand scale, David Bernstein speaks, somewhat wistfully, of the need to return to a societal commitment to American exceptionalism – a noble ideology that transcends political differences, reclaims patriotism on the left and humility on the right, and where people are valued for their qualities rather than their degree of victimhood.

On the more personal level, Sarah Hurwitz, who visited two dozen college campuses earlier this year on behalf of Hillel, says she advised Jewish students to strengthen their own Jewish identity by learning more about their heritage, faith and history. The former White House speechwriter for the Obamas is the author of a wonderful book on how she found meaning in Judaism in her 30s, titled “Here All Along – Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life – in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There”).

She realized that this is a pivotal time for young Jews, some of whom will lean in to their Jewish identity in the face of anti-Israel bigotry and others who may step away.

“These students are facing a tsunami” of pro-Palestinian activism and, at times, harassment, Hurwitz told me, “and I tell them to build their own arks to stay afloat.” Indeed, buoyed by Judaism’s life-affirming beliefs and the fact that our people have suffered, survived and prevailed for thousands of years, we are all reminded to look to the future with hope as well as resolve.