{"id":20056,"date":"2024-12-11T14:04:21","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T12:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/?p=20056"},"modified":"2024-12-14T20:30:16","modified_gmt":"2024-12-14T18:30:16","slug":"generational-divides-supporting-our-shared-zionist-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/generational-divides-supporting-our-shared-zionist-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Generational Divides: Supporting our Shared Zionist Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"A two-week mid-November US book tour, then two weeks home in Israel, has my head spinning.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our two sons and son-in-law finished their latest reserve-duty rounds, following the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire<\/a>. One son buried a beloved comrade, the heroic Yona Brief, 23, gravely wounded on October 7, who fought to live for 417 heart-wrenching days. We were invited to two weddings, one bat mitzvah, and that same son hosted a rollicking engagement party for friends.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Bashar Assad\u2019s Syria collapsed<\/a>, further enfeebling Iran \u2013 a humiliation Israel\u2019s unrelenting multi-front defense triggered. And Iranian mullahs, Qatari emirs, and Gazan terrorists dread Donald Trump\u2019s impending presidency \u2013 along with, lehavdil, distinguishing morally \u2013 most American Jews.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the flashpoint. Beware that clashing language, outlooks, and concerns separate many Israelis and American Jews \u2013 including the pro-Israel majority.<\/p>\n

When American friends say \u201cwe\u2019re losing our kids,\u201d they blame their kids\u2019 anti-Zionism<\/a> on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and this protracted war \u2013 which I still blame on the evil attackers and hostage-holders.<\/p>\n

Cultural divide<\/b><\/p>\n

Moreover, when I ask American Jews, empathetically, \u201cHave you lost any friends since October 7?\u201d I mean anti-Zionists who repudiated them for denouncing Palestinians\u2019 rampage and defending Israel. Clearly, to Israelis, \u201clost kids,\u201d and \u201clost friends\u201d mean something devastatingly different.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I won\u2019t be guilt-tripped about Israelis lacking \u201cempathy\u201d for Palestinians. That\u2019s a \u201cday after\u201d emotion. Israel has tried limiting innocents\u2019 suffering \u2013 quite impressively, compared to the armies of other democratic nations facing similar urban warfare conditions \u2013 including the United States.<\/p>\n

Still, you don\u2019t win wars by forgetting that the moral onus is on the enemy aggressors. You win conclusively, then empathize during reconstruction. Northerners didn\u2019t empathize with their Southern brothers during the Civil War. Americans lacked empathy for Nazis during World War II.<\/p>\n

Is there another American group, targeted so cruelly, that agonizes about its enemies\u2019 welfare? Do Blacks empathize with white supremacists, thinking, \u201cthey\u2019re not so bad?\u201d I can\u2019t even convince most Americans to empathize with fellow citizens who voted the wrong way.<\/p>\n

And with 65% of American Jews opposing Trump and 65% of Israelis preferring him, expect four touchy years. The more Trump embraces Israel, the more Democrats risk deciding: \u201cI hate Trump. He loves Israel. Ergo, I hate Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

In acknowledging divergences, I hope to sensitize not demonize. Jews today must emphasize what unites us while addressing what divides us.<\/p>\n

In many ways, solidarity comes easily because Israelis keep absorbing so much love from Diaspora Jews amid so much hate from others.<\/p>\n

Within six months of October 7, Jews donated $1.4 billion to Israel, reflecting iron-clad commitment. Polls show that most US Jews, including young Jews, remain pro-Israel, like most Americans. They distinguish liberal-democrats from terrorists, noting that our side waves American flags while their side burns them.<\/p>\n

When traveling, I also frequently heard Jews say, after mourning the surging Jew-hatred, \u201cbut our problems don\u2019t compare to you and your kids\u2019 challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

On, one level, true. We face life-and-death struggles. Still, I responded, \u201cI appreciate your empathy, but don\u2019t fully accept it. October 7 shattered few illusions of mine. I took Hamas\u2019s genocidal aims seriously by reading their charter and kept warning that Israel\u2019s internal divisions would embolden our enemies. You, however, are reeling from illusions shattered: about Jew-hatred fading; the government and other institutions having your back; and non-Jews\u2019 willingness to defend you. As ER nurses know: There are no minor injuries\u2026 when it happens to you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, in addressing students, I honor their heroic generation, worldwide.<\/p>\n

True, my kids and their fellow soldiers need grit to fight daily, entering rooms without knowing where the gunman or hidden bomb might be. But Zionist students today demonstrate a courage my kids never need. Whenever students wear yellow hostage pins, or dog tags, or simply wear T-shirts saying \u201cDina\u2019s bat mitzvah was awesome,\u201d they risk harassment.<\/p>\n

My kids get cheered when they come home in uniform. They\u2019ve never confronted a hostile home environment that betrayed them.<\/p>\n

Support our children<\/b><\/p>\n

I SUGGEST that this is the way forward. By listening to our young people, thinking through the challenges they face worldwide, noting convergences and divergences, we\u2019ll all understand each other better.<\/p>\n

Listen to most Israeli kids \u2013 and maybe you\u2019ll hesitate before condemning the Israeli army they must trust with their lives right now. You\u2019ll certainly remember to be angrier at Hamas, their Gazans cheerleaders, Hezbollah, and Iran, than many are at Israel\u2019s government, or the US\u2019s president-elect and his voters.<\/p>\n

And listen to young pro-Israel Diaspora Jews. Hear their defiance, pride, and resistance to all bigotry, including Jew-hatred.<\/p>\n

Moreover, let\u2019s join together in articulating a positive, substantive, Zionist vision that defends Jewish dignity \u2013 by fighting bigotry broadly; takes responsibility for rebuilding and perfecting Israel, the Jewish people and the world; and enriches our identity, finding inspiration in the sense of history, the feeling of community, and our common mission.<\/p>\n

We adults spend too much time talking to one another about the young. To advance the inter-generational dialogue we need, on Monday, December 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the Menachem Begin Center in Jerusalem, my book launch will feature a youth panel.<\/p>\n

After describing key ideas shaping To Resist the Academic Intifada: Letters to My Students on Defending the Zionist Dream, I will test them out with a returning Jewish Agency envoy, an American student, and an Israeli who has finished reserve service and joined a group of friends to pick fruit on Kibbutz Be\u2019eri. The last one happens to be my son, Aviv, who keeps burying friends and celebrating weddings, like so many Israelis.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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