Maybe it is Not “Woe Is Me” After All
It has been a rough couple of months since Oct 7. First came the processing of that day and facing the horrors and sheer evil of that attack. Who ever expected to see a pogrom in Israel that would be the largest killing of Jews since the holocaust?
Next came the anger and the desire for revenge, followed by the emotional conflict of wanting to see the annihilation of Hamas and the deep pain of seeing how many civilians were dying in Gaza. Speaking for me and me alone I also had to deal with one other crushing blow, the emergence of Jews especially young ones on college campuses marching with pro-Palestinian demonstrators against Israel.
I think the nadir came when Jewish Voice for Palestine blocked Grand Central Station in New York during rush hour demonstrating against Israel while wearing Taleisim (prayer shawls) and Yarmulkes (skull caps). Outside of the morning prayer service, Jews don’t usually wear a talis so this group wanted to demonstrate their “Jewish” support for the monsters who perpetrated this pogrom against their own people, while fetishizing a religious symbol for their vile political statement.
This idea of young Jews not identifying with Israel and Zionism ( i.e. the pursuit of a Jewish homeland and self determination of the Jewish people, not a specific party or government of Israel,) was too much to bear. It made me fear for the future of American Jewry. I ruminated on this for quite some time and then one moment of insight changed it all. The number of Jews involved in demonstrations that I was seeing was relatively small.
In a protest at Art Basel on Miami Beach by pro Palestinians the local tv news interviewed Jews who spoke up as Jews protesting Israel. Again I was bummed out until I realized in the whole group they only had 1 or 2 Jews and that was who they featured. I had seen more Jews counterprotesting or even gathering to share their fears on campus, than Jews demonstrating against Israel.
When we see a demonstration on campus of a few hundred people most are not Jewish so the few that are make a lot of noise. It is like a pebble in an empty can. Then I realized that over 800,000 Jews have been on Birthright and we know that the majority have a very positive experience and come back with a stronger Jewish identity and a connection to Israel. They are the silent majority or so I thought, but could not prove it until the other day.
A poll, conducted by Schoen Cooperman Research (SCR), found that 81% of American Jews support Israel continuing its military operation to “recover all Israeli hostages and remove Hamas from power.”
Only 12% of respondents said they preferred “an immediate ceasefire to save Palestinian lives, even if that means “Israeli hostages aren’t recovered, and Hamas remains in power.”
This does not square with what we see on the media that keeps telling us that many Jews are calling for a ceasefire often without any concessions or the release of the hostages.
NOT SURPRISINGLY, the poll showed that support for Israel’s military campaign was higher among older Jewish respondents, with 91% of Jews over the age of 50 in favor of the mission continuing, while only 7% opposed it.
Among Gen-Z and younger millennial Jews between the ages of 18–29, 60% of Jews supported Israel’s military operation against Hamas, while 26% opposed it.
THIS IS SURPRISING!
We are led to believe that amongst younger Jewish adults under 30 there is a much higher number, possibly a majority who are not standing with Israel. But as I suspected it can not be the majority of that cohort.
In related findings we have been led to believe that amongst Reform Jews and a little less amongst Conservative Jews there has been a drop in support for Israel’s operation. The survey revealed that among Reform Jews, 85% supported Israel’s military ground operation while 87% of Conservative Jews approved. (Orthodox Jews were not included in the results because the percentage represented in the survey was too small).
So maybe the collective “woe is me” is a bit premature and our people’s unity and solidarity is much larger than we think. We are only small in the noise department. Maybe it is time we correct that for all to hear.
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My book tour will continue over the next few months, mostly in South Florida and you are invited to attend.
Jan 21 I will be interviewed on Shalom Florida between 9.30am and 11 am ET on WWNN 1470AM and 95.3FM
March 5 book and bagel JCC Levis Boca
March 10 Beth Am Kendal
March 13 Shaarei Tikvah Congregation Scarsdale, NY
March 17 H breakfast and talk at Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Bronx NY
March 28 Michael Ann Russel JCC North Miami Beach
This is my current schedule with more events currently being arranged in Boynton, and Boca
