In my dreams I occasionally time travel to early 1900’s New York City. This has happened to me twice in the past six months. In this most recent dream, I am in a cold dank basement among a group of Jewish immigrants huddled on the floor as soldiers take us away one-by-one. Somehow, I escape and find myself walking on a cobblestoned street with a group of Jewish elders going to synagogue for Friday evening prayer services. There is a quiet dignity to the worshippers as they walk with their heads held high, not arrogant but with a quiet inner peace. This has left me to ponder the meaning of this dream and what mysteries of the human mind allow me to time travel to New York City to an era long before I was born.
Given what is going on in the world today, the answer may lie in the ying-and-yang of being an American Jew trying to make sense of today’s geopolitical climate, specifically the Israel/Palestinian issue.
Most Jews are raised to embrace the State of Israel. But I find myself conflicted with present day Israeli foreign policy. In the third decade of the new millennium, the actions of the Israeli government run antithetical to my idea of a just but benevolent Israel which is problematic because as an American Jew, we feel a certain degree of ownership for Israel and more specifically how Israel conducts itself.
Judaism is not a one-size-fits-all religion. I was educated in a Jewish ‘conservative’ synagogue and Hebrew school. Other Jews are ‘reformed’ Jews which is at the opposite end of the spectrum from ‘orthodox’ Jews. Well indoctrinated into the psyche of all Jews is the expectation to support Israel unconditionally.
I have always had a conflicted identity to being a Jew. To steal a line from a cousin, I am at best a ‘culinary Jew’ and beyond that not much else. As such I am less likely tethered to Israeli propaganda.
The majority of American Jews are with good reason democrats, so it should come as no surprise that most Jews do not support Donald Trump. Sadly, Israel has its own Donald Trump, albeit a far smarter and polished one in Benjamin Netanyahu. Maybe because I am skeptical of formal religion, I view any nation or political entity whose bedrock policies and values are based on religious doctrine with a skewed eye. This is reinforced by what orthodox Jews have done to Lakewood, New Jersey, and Kiryas Joel, New York.
In increasing numbers, American Jews myself included are having no problem criticizing Israeli policies and the Netanyahu government. This may seem obvious, but at the same time, a sizeable number of American Jews still support the Israeli government. I understand that it is difficult for American Jews to break free of the Israel can do no wrong narrative. For years, I have gotten into heated discussions with family and friends regarding Israeli governments treatment of Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank. Often, the discussion devolves to the point where I am accused of being a self-hating Jew or worse, antisemitic.
Since the reprehensible actions of Hamas in 2023, the policies of the Netanyahu government have hardened as the conservative and ultra-orthodox factions of the Israeli government gain support and influence. When a public figure like Jerry Seinfeld uses his platform to unapologetically support Israel, I cannot help but think that whether it is Donald Trump or Benjamin Netanyahu, both the left and right are trapped in their own paradigms.
There can be little doubt among people of reason and compassion that Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza. There can also be little room to defend the increasing incursion into the West Bank by orthodox Jews who subscribe to 2,000-year-old doctrine. Sadly, just as the evangelical Christian movement has hijacked the Trump administration, so too has the orthodox element of the Israeli government hijacked the Netanyahu administration. Which makes it so sad that Israel is slowly becoming the very thing against which it was founded
