A Reset For Jews

For John, BLUF:  Something that is often missed in both the media and during coffee table discussions is that American Jews are being pushed into a corner, where their support of Israel is seen as just more inherent Caucasian Supremacy.  Not by everyone, but certaining by their former progressive allies.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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A strategic reset for Jewish community relations and advocacy

Here is the sub-headline:

Do we dig in our heels with progressives because it used to make sense, or do we pivot and develop new partnerships and strategies that reflect our community’s interests today?

From Americans for Peace and Tolerance, by Mr David Bernstein, 18 October 2021.

Here is the lede plus six:

For more than a decade, the primary strategy of the Jewish community relations field has been to build ties to key non-Jewish segments on the political left deemed “fence-sitters”on Israel.  An influential report issued by the REUT Group, an Israeli think tank, in 2010 stated that “Israel and its allies should maintain thousands of personal relationships with political, financial, cultural, media and security-related elites.”  The report went on to say that “Israel should engage its critics, while isolating the delegitimizers.”

Fence sitters include, among others, segments of the African American community, mainline Protestants, Latinos and LGBTQ activists.  The strategy had been to engage these groups on social justice issues that they — and many Jews — care about, and in the process influence their thinking on Jews and Israel.

With the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2015, many in the Jewish community, myself included, were especially concerned about the prospect of growing hostility toward Jews and Israel.  We worried that a total breakdown would mean many mainstream Jews would become politically disenfranchised.  In 2016, as the president and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Jewish community relations umbrella, I wrote:

“If the (Jewish) community wants to have any influence on how today’s civil rights activists view Jews and Jewish issues, it must show up to the planning meetings, press conferences and protests.”

But, I cautioned:

“We must find our own voice on civil rights.  It will not be easy integrating the Jewish community into civil rights coalitions, some of which hold very different political sensibilities. Young activists routinely invoke phrases like -‘white supremacy’ – to describe America’s prevailing power structure…Rather than feeling obliged to use these terms, however, the Jewish community can…come to the table in its own voice.”

This strategy of engaging progressive activists, I am sorry to say, has largely failed.  The attitudes toward Israel among progressives have markedly worsened in the past five years.  And the prevailing ideological environment has become toxic and fundamentally illiberal.  Aligning ourselves too closely with the progressive movement, especially insofar as such alignment requires conformity to its pieties and credos, gives succor to an ideology that will ultimately harm us.  It’s time for the mainstream Jewish community to do a strategic reset.

It was just over a year ago that the Labour Party in the United Kingdom forced out its leader, Mr Jeremy Corbyn.  Part of Mr Corbyn's problem was his antisemitic presentation.

We are seeing the same sort of anti-Israeli attitude on the part of some Progressive Democrats, including members of The Squad.

Many GOP voters are clearly supportive of an independent home for Jews in the Holy Land.  Based on that, the Republican party should be making room for those Jews who can accommodate a more conservative philosophy, one oriented on freedom, including freedom of thought, speech and religion.

Regards  —  Cliff