The legitimization of anti-Zionism shows failure of Jewish leadership - opinion

Parts of the Jewish leadership have failed. It is not that they failed to stop the rise of Jew-hate. That is beyond their control. But there are those who failed, in a very real way, to equip the Jewish community with knowledge and pride in order to navigate the world in which we find ourselves.

They have allowed anti-Zionism – a post-Holocaust form of Jew-hate – to be legitimized and find a home in our synagogues and organizations. 

The worst offense 

Arguably, this is the worst offense of all, and even those who would eschew such ideas have contributed to the Jewish leadership failure in a variety of ways.

I am privileged enough to speak to Jewish communities throughout the world, and one question I hear asked consistently is, ‘Why didn’t we know our history?’ This is a fair question and one that demands an answer.  

Jewish establishment failed to educate Jews 

Why don’t many Jews, per their own estimation, understand Jewish history? Why don’t they have the knowledge and confidence to defend themselves against the barrage of hate coming their way?

The Jewish establishment has failed to educate Jews on what it actually means to be Jewish. They failed to inspire and empower Jews to see their Jewishness as a source of pride, and not shame. They ignored the reality on the ground.

 The mainstreaming of Leftist Jew-hate, which Jews from the former Soviet Union, like scholar Izabella Taborosvsky, have been warning us about for years, was ignored. They ignored what transpired in the UK under former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and they ignored British Jews who screamed for America to wake up. 

Even after the horrifying events of October 7 and the frightening rise in Jew-hatred around the world, there are those in positions of power who describe the situation in the diaspora as a ‘blip’. This is an egregious error and epitomizes everything that is not well within the Jewish professional world. 

That we have to rely on individuals with chutzpah, passion, and social media accounts to educate, inspire, and empower the Jewish masses is shocking, particularly given the existence of many powerful organizations committed to working for the continuation of our community. 

Those individuals – often on social media – work to better our community, to defend it, and to ensure its survival. And, as I have learned through countless conversations, they are often treated with serious disrespect by those in positions of power. 

YOU MAY read this column and wonder if I am angry. You would be right; I am angry. You should be angry too. We have been failed by those who were charged with protecting Jewishness. 

It is staggering that our community, with all its resources, has found itself on the back foot. Look at our enemies. Look how organized they are. And look at parts of our establishment. Look at how they flail without a solution when one stares them in the face. Where are the millions of dollars being raised spent, as we know things are going from bad to worse?  

A 2021 survey by the Jewish Electorate Institute National Survey of Jewish Voters found that 43% under 40 agreed that “Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is similar to racism in the United States,” while 41% of those under 40 are not “emotionally attached... to Israel.” 

Why has the Jewish leadership been asleep at the wheel?

These frightening statistics beg the question: What have portions of the Jewish leadership been doing and why have they been asleep at the wheel?

For years now, I have championed Jewish Pride. Jewish Pride is not some unproven hypothesis. We have concrete examples that demonstrate its transformative power. We only have to look at the LGBTQ+ community to see how the idea of pride transformed them. Jewish Pride is the answer, but parts of our organized community continue to ignore it. 

What we have seen is inertia and incompetence. And quite frankly, our community deserves better. 

I have had the pleasure of working with individuals and organizations who understand the threats we face and are fighting with all they have. They are leaders. Real leaders. 

They understand the solution of Jewish Pride and are doing everything in their power to act, but there is vast room for further action and awakening across the community.

Post-October 7, the Jewish people are reeling with pain and trauma. We are also – for the first time in decades – more or less united in our Jewishness and our Zionism. This is an opportunity that we cannot squander. 

Now is the time to fight. We face an existential threat in the Diaspora and we must wake up to it. We need all those in positions of power to act, not just some. We need leaders who are able and willing to have honest – and often difficult – conversations about Jewish experience and identity. Leaders who will inspire and empower. Leaders who understand what is at stake and are willing to act. 

PERHAPS SOME of those in positions of power need reminding: Jewishness does not belong to us. We are caretakers of it for future generations. Failed Jewish leadership does not just endanger the current generation of Jews; it endangers every generation that will follow. 

We owe it to them, ourselves, and our ancestors to get our act together and to engage in a program whereby education and empowerment become the priorities of every single Jewish community organization committed to the continuation of the Jewish people. 

Jews must understand Jewish history and identity. And this must extend way beyond an education that centers on Jews as a religion. Jews are not a religion. We are a people who have a religion and this is a very clear distinction. We must understand our history. That we are indigenous to the Land of Israel – together with all that connection entails. Including how this shapes our identities as modern Jews. 

Jews must also understand Jew-hate. They must understand how it manifests, functions, and mutates. More importantly, they need to understand how Jew-hate impacts us. We have to grasp the corrosive nature of shame and trauma, which leads to internalized anti-Jewishness. 

My second book, Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride, was one of the first books in generations that discusses this critical subject – a telling phenomenon in its own right.

Above all else, we Jews need to be taught to feel pride in our Jewishness. This is not some intangible idea.

 Yes, it is a feeling. But it is one that we can reinforce with education as well as action. Jews – all Jews – should be taught that they have a right and a responsibility to participate in active Jewishness. 

We have inherited a rich civilization – one that has survived because we have passed it on for countless generations. Jews need to understand the rich traditions from which they came and understand how these are still relevant to our lives today.

And yet, all is not lost. If we act swiftly, a crisis can be averted. We can, for example, halt the advance of anti-Zionism in our community. But it’s up to each one of us to take on that responsibility and move forward toward a solution.

The writer is the founder of the modern Jewish Pride movement, an educator, and the author of Jewish Pride: Rebuilding a People. His new book is Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride.