Israel/Palestine thread

So what was Judaism, then? Easy, a religion. Practiced in different ways by different people across many places. There were a set of rites, practices, and beliefs that made one a Jew, same as in any other religion. Today, that’s no longer the case. Religiosity is completely untethered from Jewish identity. There are many Jewish atheists, and even Jews of other faiths. What makes one a Christian is a belief in Trinitarianism. What makes one a Muslim is summed up pretty handily in the shahada. No central tenet unites Jews. Save for one.

One reason that many, in the post-2023 moment, still brandish the myth of the silent plurality of anti-Zionist Jews is because of the public changes that the Jewish community has undergone. Plenty of media has been devoted to the many polls that have come out regarding shifts in non-Israeli Jewish sentiments. The most recent high-profile survey (that’s been covered ad nauseam) comes from early this year, conducted by the Jewish Federations of North America. In the Time of Israel, it’s findings are touted as, “Even most Israel-supporting US Jews don’t identify as ‘Zionists,’ JFNA survey finds.” Immediately, there’s a contradiction. How can someone not be a Zionist, but still support Israel? A read through the actual study will tell you that, in fact, the only noticeable change in the Jewish community has been an increased understanding that the label of “Zionist” is bad for online dating and making new friends. Despite only a third of American Jews calling themselves Zionists, 88% still “support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and Democratic state.” That overlaps almost entirely with the 87% who believe that “Israel has valid reasons for fighting Hamas.”

Only 7% of respondents in the survey oppose Israel existing as a Jewish state. This lines up almost exactly with the statistic stating that “94% of Jews agree [that] the way Hamas carried out its 10/7 attack was unacceptable,” meaning 6% believe Hamas was justified. These numbers further correlate with the statistic showing that only 7% actually identify themselves as explicitly “Anti-Zionist,” and also with the statistic that gives us 6% “[indicating] that following October 7th they avoided Jewish institutions more.” We can pretty easily surmise that these are the same people.

6 to 7 percent. Out of all American Jews. I’ll inform those who are unaware that American Jews account for at least 40% of the world’s Jewish population, and 75% of the non-Israeli Jewish population (these numbers come from before Oct. 7, and are likely to be higher now). When one adds France, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Argentina (all countries with strikingly similar polling) to the US’s numbers, this accounts for just shy of 90% of the total non-Israeli Jewish population.

Now, if you don’t at least see a problem with that, I don’t know what to tell you. What I see, though, are further questions. How many among those 6 to 7 percent are “Holy Land” types themselves? How many do not believe in unilateral Palestinian land-back, but instead some tepid, “power-sharing” arrangement that pretends at democracy? How many, in their heart of hearts, believe truly in the total dismantling of the Israel state and the full sovereignty of Palestinians over the land of Palestine? For that, I’ll admit I don’t have the polling data. However, my gut and my anecdotal experience tell me that it’s at least not most of them.

Yet, whether it is every single one of that meager percentage, or next to none, it would not matter. This is because Judaism is not merely a group of people. The collective body of Jews are, of course, but the religion itself is by definition institutional. That “ancient, sacred religion” you’re defending is pretty much a collection of nonprofits. You might think I’m being glib, but I’m really not. The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the Union for Reform Judaism, and the Orthodox Union are all literally 501(c)(3)s. Ditto every Jewish organization within the United States, save for those that are actually for-profit, of which there are many.

Don’t get me wrong here, this is typical of American religious institutions. However, what makes Judaism unique is that each of those large, interconnected umbrella organizations has an affiliated equivalent within all other countries with major Jewish populations. Put together, these groups operate as complex machines that funnel money and support to Israel. Synagogues within the Conservative movement, for example, are explicitly Zionist. As someone who grew up in a half-dozen Conservative Jewish communities, I can tell you that my Jewish communal experience was incredibly Israel focused. Conservative synagogues not only have prayers for the State of Israel and the IDF, they have special services, memorials, and even three holidays dedicated to Israel. Holidays that are older are retroactively inflected with a shiny new Zionist lens. At the end of almost every Shabbat service, the president of the synagogue will typically take the stage to try and raise money for Israeli groups, if not the IDF itself. Any Conservative synagogue you walk into is going to be full of Israeli flags, posters advertising Israel programming or Israeli charities, and so much more. To add to it all, most Conservative communities organize annual (if not more frequent) trips to occupied Palestine. All of this is also true of Modern Orthodox and Reform congregations.

It isn’t just the synagogues, either. Jewish summer camps, day schools, men’s clubs, women’s associations, and youth groups are all the same. In most egalitarian, non-denominational Jewish day schools, K-12 students will take “Judaic Studies” courses that center Israel, and high school students take “Israel Advocacy” classes in order to indoctrinate them further. These schools will almost always additionally take their students on trips to Palestine, usually when they are in high school (this separate from the many ‘Israeli trip’ programs). That is what it means to be a Jewish institution.

I know, you’ve heard online about anti-Zionist rabbis and institutions. Allow me to correct the record; the anti-Zionist rabbis you’ve heard of are an infinitesimal group. “Rabbi” is not a mystical title, it requires a degree from an accredited institution, all of which fall under the umbrella of the aforementioned Zionist organizations. As part of their training, rabbinical students typically have to go and spend at least one year in occupied Palestine. For the most part, those people you follow on Twitter are ordained rabbis who have broken with the Jewish community, often having undergone cherem (Jewish excommunication) for being vocally pro-Palestine, and now no longer serve in a clerical capacity. Most are also two-staters. Those “anti-Zionist” synagogues? Well, to officially be a synagogue, you — again — must be part of one of the broader organizations. To call yourself a “community” or a “congregation” though, you can be a handful of people who meet up to pray. That’s precisely what the ones you’ve heard of are.

Am I in any way saying that there is no world in which someone could come along, call themselves a Jew, and be truly anti-Zionist? No, I am not. However, in order to actually be anti-Zionist, that person would in fact need to either create a wholly new religion, or revive a previous incarnation of Judaism. That would require totally detaching from all institutions and individuals who now identify as Jewish. This has not happened to any meaningful degree. As it stands, Judaism is Zionism.

The vast majority of the (self-identifying) Catholic population in the Netherlands is now largely irreligious in practice. Research among Catholics in the Netherlands in 2007 shows that even among religious Dutch Catholics only 27% can be regarded as theist, 55% as ietsist, 17% as agnostic and 1% as atheist.[34]

It’s actually a very anthropologically/study of religion illiterate and a pretty colonial viewpoint if anything, ironically. But it does fit nicely into an Islamic/Christian fundamentalist and Orthodox Judaism view of religion so that’s nice if you’re that type of religious zealot

What makes one a Christian is a belief in Trinitarianism. What makes one a Muslim is summed up pretty handily in the shahada. No central tenet unites Jews. Save for one.