It has become an accepted point of Jewish communal debates in recent years that young American Jews are “distancing” from Israel. However, a contrarian view, that holds that a feeling of attachment to the Jewish state is at least as strong among young Jews as it is for older Jews, has been gaining traction of late, and it is buttressed by a recent poll, sent out yesterday by Mitchell Bard’s American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise.
The poll posed questions to 400 American Jewish undergraduate students and found that 66 percent of them view themselves as feeling “very close” or “fairly close” to Israel. By design, this question of a feeling of closeness is the same posed in the AJC’s 2011 annual survey of American Jewish opinion, which found that 68 percent of the general Jewish population also described their feeling toward Israel in similar terms. This, as well as the polls other results mean, according to Bard, that “Contrary to the claims of some outspoken critics, young Jews do not feel alienated from Israel.”
One rather large caveat should be recognized when looking at the survey results: 43 percent of the interviewees attended a Jewish day school or yeshiva. According to the most recent surveys, there are about 230,000 students in Jewish day schools out of a school age population of about 1.2 million. So, realistically, about 20 percent of young Jews today attend day school. And, as the poll found, they are much more likely to express strong support for and a feeling of connection to Israel than their peers who have not.
Still, the basic results seem clear. Most young Jews feel connected to Israel in roughly the same proportion as their elders. They largely aren’t, though, speaking up about it. And their voices are largely not heard in the debate surrounding their views that continues to roil the Jewish world.
Perhaps the most important point these results, buttressed by the fact of Birthright, represent is that the current American Jewish generation may be a lot more like the last one than most people seem to want to recognize. Not terribly well-educated about Israel or other Jewish matters, it may nevertheless view a positive disposition toward Israel as a fundamental aspect of Jewish authenticity. Far from being beset by the supposed anti-democratic turns of a Jewish state they can no longer identify with, they, like their parents, view with pride a state and society they mostly don’t understand.
The Jews whose views of Israel are changing rather seem to be emerging non-Orthodox leadership. Many of them – from writers, philanthropists, rabbis and others – do seem to be more outspoken in their critiques of Israel and distancing from the Jewish state than was the case in the past.
But rather than leading the Jewish future – on this issue at least – these leaders may face a more uncomfortable reality of proposed constituents unwilling to follow them away from Israel and who instead say things like, “I’m a Zionist, pure and simple.” All of which means that a future where the attention-grabbing young Jews of today find themselves outside of their own community tomorrow may just be more likely than any other scenario.
Great article, and a very true fact. My generation (I'm 22) is very well connected to Israel, and those of us that are educated know the complexities of the challenges that Israel faces. Committed, serious and unashamed Jews love Israel and are proud of the high ethical standards of the IDF. More and more young Jews are choosing to spend extended periods of time in Israel. The problem is that some Reform and Conservative rabbis are claiming a "distancing from Israel" as a projection of their own dissatisfaction with Israeli policies. n
There is one point I have never seen addressed… and the core problem which no one seems to bring up…. n nThe 60's & 70's (Here in the US) was a "break out" time for the United States.. in terms of Civil Rights, and social justice…. And, for the most part… the youth of that day was correct…. nAlot of things that were wrong with society were corrected, because of mass support from Americans…. n nThose people have now grown up, and are today's Baby Boomers… n nWhen the Palestinians say they want their rights, the knee jerk reaction by our younger generation is that Israel is wrong, and is the bad guy…. n nWhat they don't realize is that politics in the Middle East is very different then it is here…. n nActually its almost just the opposite.. Here in the United States.. The country tends to want Liberal leaders, who will help the poor, less fortunate in society…. n nIn Israel, that Liberal attitude takes on a different meaning… Over there.. its all about Israel giving back land.. and leaving… n nJust look at what the Muslim Brotherhood Openly Advocates…. n nThey clearly state that Israel should not exist.. and they have made it one of their missions nto rid the world of the "Zionist" presence…. n nWith respect to the Palestinians claims to the land…. Newt Gingrich was correct but failed to give any of about a dozen reputable sources where his statements could be backed up by facts… n nMyths & Facts. mythsandfacts.org (I think) is one place that one can refer to… n n I have read a couple of very good articles which tell the truth… The Palestinians in the "territories" are being used as pawns by the Arab States…. Jordan, Lebanon, Syria… n nIsrael has a historic right.. some evidence goes back over 2000 yrs of Israels absolute right to Judea & Samaria…… Egypt… which is a very old society… its mentioned in the Torah on numerous occasions…. in truth, Egypt is probably well over 10,000 yrs old.. nMy point…. There is well documented evidence, going back to ancient Egyptian Society, of Israels rights to the land it now "occupies" & claims…..
As one of the leading progenitors of the "Distancing Hypothesis" (along with Prof. Ari Kelman, now of Stanford), I must say that we have been consistently misinterpreted in two respects. One misinterpretation entails the defintion of "distancing," and the other entails its cause. We said very clearly that distancing is about growing apathy about or disengagement with Israel. It means not thinking about, talking about, or caring about Israel. It does NOT mean opposition to Israeli government policies or criticism of Israel's policies, both of which are signs of closeness and attachment, and not distancing and detachment. Second, we stated that the prime mover in promoting distancing was intermarriage — the Jewish children of the intermarried and the Jewish spouses of non-Jews are VERY distant from Israel. Hence, surveys of skewed samples of engaged Jews with high rates of inmarriage or in-married parents cannot serve as a test of the distancing hypothesis. Distancing occurs among Jews who are hardly visible in Jewish life. Not the ones who conduct surveys, write articles, and post comments. Prof. Steven M. Cohen, Berman Jewish Policy Archive at NYU Wagner
I agree. I am 25, have made Aliyah to Israel, and am currently working for a Zionist organization. About four of my friends, all young American Jews, have either already made Aliyah or plan on doing it soon. When I was living in the US, most of the Jewish students I knew at the University of Maryland at College Park were very much pro-Israel. I can only think of two exceptions by names. But even in Israel, you can find self-hating Jews who are very vocal, so the fact that they exist does not mean that most young American Jews are anti-Israel.