RSS
Young Jews Are Turning Away from Israel. What Will Get Them to Turn Back?
Last Sunday, at the final seminar of the semester for the Write On For Israel class of 2022, a piece of heartfelt but troubling advice to the students from one of the guest speakers drove home for me the depth and seriousness of anti-Israel sentiment in our society today.
The speaker, a former college admissions officer, is an alum of Write On, the two-year Jewish Week program that has helped educate and prepare high school students for the Mideast debate on campus since 2002. (Nearly 1,000 students from public, private and Jewish day schools have graduated from the program; founded with the support of the Avi Chai Foundation, its chief sponsor today is the Paul E. Singer Foundation.)
In responding to a question about whether the students, currently juniors in high school, should highlight their involvement with Write On and deep engagement with Israel in their college admissions essays, she began: “I hate to say this … it’s not what I’ve been telling Write On students the last six years when I speak to the group, and I would not have said this two weeks ago, but I think you should avoid controversy in your essays.”
She went on to explain that in the current climate, “it’s not just Israel, but any topic that is highly controversial” might have a negative effect on admissions staffs in the highly competitive quest for placement.
Clearly pained by her own advice, the woman, who in the past encouraged students to “write your truth,” said that if students “feel the need to write about Israel,” they should focus on how they have learned to engage in difficult conversations in a respectful manner, acquired qualities of leadership, and shown willingness to embrace diversity and be open-minded.
One key question that admissions officers ask themselves in reading college essays, she said, was “can you be a good roommate? That’s the litmus test.”
The speaker was being sincere, honest and focused on helping students gain acceptance into the colleges of their choice. But I was left with the lingering question: Can you be a good roommate if you’re a Zionist?
More and more, and especially in the wake of the most recent Israel-Hamas conflict, the answer for many college students may well be “no.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised.
For some time now, we’ve been aware that Jewish students – not just Zionists – are being marginalized from a variety of liberal activities on a relatively small but influential number of U.S. campuses.
“Intersectionality” is the term du jour, meaning that categories of race, class and gender are seen as “overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination and disadvantage,” according to the dictionary. In practical terms, groups that promote progressive causes, minorities, social justice, LGBTQ students, etc. tend to perceive Jewish students as “privileged” and “white,” and thus excluded. The Israel-Palestinian conflict only heightens the tensions.
According to the new Pew Research Center study on American Jews, younger Jews are less inclined to come to the defense of the Jewish State than their elders.
The troubling trend is not new, but it is increasing.
Young Jewish adults (ages 18-29) “are less emotionally attached to Israel than older ones,” the report found. “As of 2020, half of the Jewish adults under age 30 describe themselves as very or somewhat emotionally attached to Israel (48 percent), down from 60 percent in 2013.
In addition, 13 percent of young Jews support BDS (the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel).
There are numerous reasons one can cite for these disturbing statistics, ranging from the fact that younger people in general are moving further left, to the policies of an increasingly right-wing Israeli government led for the last 12 years by a prime minister on trial for fraud and bribery and closely associated with Donald Trump.
In recent days we are seeing that many Americans, including Jews, see direct parallels between the struggles of African Americans in the U.S. and Palestinians in the Mideast. They get most of their information – and misinformation – from social media, which is subject to false narratives and emotional videos that portray the suffering of Gazans without explaining that Hamas, whose charter calls for the death of Israel and all Jews, initiated the conflict.
In an increasingly binary and toxic atmosphere, you are either pro-Palestinian or pro-Israel; there is no room for historical facts, complexity, nuance or appreciating that one can be both a fervent supporter of the Jewish state and critic of some of its policies – just as many Americans love their country while disagreeing with the administration in Washington.
‘Fervent Debate is Good for Israel’
Another critical factor is that the great majority of young American Jews are woefully under-educated about modern Israeli history and culture.
John Ruskay, former CEO of UJA-Federation of New York, believes the Jewish community is too focused on Israel advocacy and not enough on Jewish education. In a paper he wrote recently for the Jewish Policy Planning Institute, a Jerusalem-based think tank, he asserted that “the conflation of Israel advocacy and Israel education has resulted in growing numbers of North American Jews ill prepared to understand and negotiate the complexity of contemporary Israel.”
Ruskay adds that “leadership avoids investing in substantive Israel education and as a result, the drift continues, gulfs widen, large numbers turn away.”
He told me the issue calls for “massive investment” from Israel and American Jewish organizations and foundations, beyond funding. The goal would be to convince the community that “fervent debate is good for Israel” and can “strengthen connection and engagement.”
Students and faculty meet online for the final seminar of the semester for the Write On For Israel class of 2022, May 23, 2021. (WOFI)
Avoiding the difficult and complex issues and only presenting one side of the Israel narrative results in more and more young American Jews hearing “the other side” for the first time on college campuses, leading them to often ask, “why didn’t they tell us?”
Ruskay acknowledges that in encouraging debate over “core assumptions and policies” regarding Israel, the process will be “messy and noisy,” but he believes it will lead people to develop their own visions of “what Israel can and should be.” Otherwise, he worries, “more and more Jews turn away – not in anger, not as opponents – but because there is simply no place within our community to grapple with the complexity and contemporary Israel.”
Wonders and Dilemmas
Write On For Israel, committed to that struggle, has walked a fine line between advocacy and education from its beginning, in 2002, at the height of the Second Intifada. At the time, with suicide bombers killing Jewish men, women and children at an alarming rate, the issues seemed more stark, and advocacy was strong. Over the years, though, as events made Israeli life less dramatic but more complicated, Write On has championed education as primary. There has been a recognition that tough issues must be confronted rather than avoided. Visits to Israel, which are part of the Write On curriculum, have focused on both the wonders and dilemmas of the Jewish State.
“The challenges have increased, but so have the rewards,” noted Linda Scherzer, who has directed Write On from the beginning. “We continue because it’s important,” noting that she still hears from early graduates of the program, now in their mid-30s, who describe the two-year experience as pivotal to their Jewish identity.
But the goal is always to find a balance between love of Zion and the realities of Israeli society, understanding and appreciating both.
During the Write On session last Sunday, which was on Zoom, an instant poll found that 94 percent of the students said they were getting most of their Mideast news on social media, much of it critical of Israel, and that only a small percentage were responding to it.
Should they be more engaged?
Charlotte Korchak, an American-born senior educator of StandWithUs, an Israel advocacy program, provided context on the conflict and advice on how to counter some of what she called “the overwhelming onslaught” of accusations on social media – including from popular celebrities like Trevor Noah and John Oliver – that portray Israel as an apartheid state, guilty of racism, colonialism and ethnic cleansing. She also said the students could be most effective in engaging friends who spout these false views on social media by sending them private messages offering to talk about the issues. “Explain that you can be pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel,” she said.
In an end-of-year wrap-up in the closing moments of the three-and-a-half-hour program, several Write On students reported that they appreciated feeling encouraged, as one girl said, “to make room for other voices, see both sides and advocate our own views.”
That was deeply satisfying to hear, but the road is long and steep, and the trend lines are going the other way. The time for communal action is now.
—
The post Young Jews Are Turning Away from Israel. What Will Get Them to Turn Back? appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
A Note From the Editor: The Oct. 7 Massacre, One Year Later
Pro-Israel rally in Times Square, New York City, US, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Dear readers,
It is highly unusual for The Algemeiner to post an editor’s note. But we felt the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel required special acknowledgment — and reflection.
You are no doubt familiar with the brutal and unimaginable details: 1,200 murdered, thousands more wounded, and 251 hostages kidnapped in the largest single-day slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. Perhaps even more shocking than the brutality itself was the sheer glee and brutality with which the terrorists perpetrated mass murder, sexual violence, and other acts of hate too horrible to relive here.
The Hamas-led pogrom had echoes of past persecution that resonated with Jews to their core.
And then there’s what happened afterward. Not just the Gaza war, which has brought an infuriating amount of international pressure on the world’s lone Jewish state to stop defending itself and remain a victim-in-waiting to genocidal terrorists. Perhaps more striking has been the global surge in antisemitism, with Jews around the world being harassed, intimidated, and even assaulted simply for being Jewish.
Those who don’t think the fate of the Jewish state and the Jewish people are intertwined should answer a few simple questions. Why was a Jewish woman beaten and raped in a suburb of Paris as “vengeance for Palestine”? Why are synagogues and Jewish restaurants being defaced with messages of “Free Gaza”? Why do Jewish students at universities across the US and beyond face physical assault, threats, and harassment?
If it was not obvious before, it should be now: anti-Israel animus and antisemitic hate are often one and the same. The former has fueled a historic surge in hate crimes against Jews over the past year.
It has been a difficult last 12 months, full of pain, anguish, and fear. But the past year has also revealed remarkable strength, courage, and resilience. New Jewish and Israeli heroes have emerged, and despite what other media outlets may lead you to believe, I have largely observed unity and solidarity among the Jewish people and their allies, not division.
One year later, Hamas is decimated, Hezbollah is — against all odds — being dismantled as I type this, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the regime in Iran is about to suffer a major blow. There is a real sense that the tide is turning. Even the campus protests are dying down, being kept alive now by a small band of unsuccessful radicals rather than the masses of “activists” who filled the encampments last spring semester.
Here it is worth noting that the anniversary of Oct. 7 is taking place right after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, a time to think about the year that just happened and the one to come.
As we enter the year 5785, Israel’s deterrence has been restored, and there is a real sense that the Jewish state is achieving a victory. Arab states afraid to expand the Abraham Accords in this current political moment may see an opening to pursue normalization once the fighting slows.
In short, I believe we are transitioning from a time of tragedy to one of optimism.
Of course, we must never forget the 101 hostages still in Gaza and continue pushing for their release. It is unimaginable that they have suffered in captivity for 365 days. The soul of the Jewish world cannot heal until they are home.
And we must remain vigilant as antisemitic outrages continue to spike in the US, Europe, South America, and beyond. Not to mention anything could happen in the Middle East, such as another major Iranian-led attack on Israel, to change the regional equation.
But if the last year has been one of agony, the next year could be one of promise and opportunity.
We can all play a part to make this happen, even armed with nothing but a laptop. Indeed, The Algemeiner is more committed than ever to covering the stories that you care about and impact both the Jewish people and the world at large.
The meaning of “Algemeiner” is “universal.” The main reason for this publication’s name is to reference our mission of reaching as many people around the world — both Jewish and non-Jewish — with our journalistic work as possible. But another reason, I think, is that Jewish values are Western values that, when put into practice, make the world a better place. However, when they are spurned, everyone loses. As the journalist Vasily Grossman observed in his book Life and Fate, “Tell me what you accuse the Jews of — I’ll tell you what you’re guilty of.”
Reflecting on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, I could not help but think of a quote by the great American writer Mark Twain. In an 1899 essay titled “Concerning the Jews,” Twain noted that, despite comprising such a small percentage of the global population, the Jewish people somehow not only overcame great empires seeking to destroy them but also thrived in fields as wide-ranging as art, music, literature, finance, and science.
Marveling at the ability of Jews to survive and prosper against all odds without exhibiting “decadence” or “infirmities of age” despite their ancient heritage, Twain concluded, “All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?”
And with that, let us always remember the atrocities of Oct. 7 and also look forward to a new year in which both the Jewish people and the Jewish state will not only survive but thrive.
Sincerely,
Aaron Kliegman, managing editor
The post A Note From the Editor: The Oct. 7 Massacre, One Year Later first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
US Treasury Department Targets International Charities, Individuals Fundraising for Hamas
Palestinian supporters protesting outside a Scotland vs. Israel match at the a UEFA Women’s European Qualifiers at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland on May 31, 2024. Photo: Alex Todd/Sportpix/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has identified three individuals and one charity as having significant financial ties to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
In a statement released on Monday, the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, OFAC announced new sanctions against the entities spotlighted by its investigation and noted they play integral roles in funding Hamas’s terrorism ventures under the guise of “charitable work.” The department said that the investigation was part of its efforts to surface abuses by self-described “charity organizations” really working to financially support terrorist groups.
“As we mark one year since Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack, Treasury will continue relentlessly degrading the ability of Hamas and other destabilizing Iranian proxies to finance their operations and carry out additional violent acts,” US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said in a statement. “The Treasury Department will use all available tools at our disposal to hold Hamas and its enablers accountable, including those who seek to exploit the situation to secure additional sources of revenue.”
“Treasury is committed to exposing terrorists and terrorist organizations that abuse the NPO sector. By publicly identifying a sham charity, this action reduces the overall risk of the NPO sector and helps preserve access by legitimate humanitarian organizations to financial services,” OFAC added in a statement.
The Treasury Department identified Hamid Abdullah Hussein al Ahmar (al Ahmar), a Yemeni national living in Turkey, as an influential and prolific financier of Hamas. According the US government announcement, al Ahmar has served as the chairman of the Al-Quds International Foundation, a charity organization controlled by Hamas. In addition, OFAC identified nine entities controlled by Ahmar — Al Ahmar Trading Group, Al Ahmar Oils Supply and Distribution, Sama International Media, Al Salam Trading and Agencies General Establishment, Saba, Trade & Investment S.R.O, Sabafon International SAL, Sabaturk Dis Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Vivid Enerji Yatirimlari Anonim Sirketi, Investrade Portfoy Yonetimi Anonim Sirketi — as potentially having ties to Hamas’s operations.
The agency also flagged a cohort of Hamas funders based in European countries. Italy-based Hamas member Mohammad Hannoun runs the “Charity Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People,” according to OFAC, which said the so-called “charity” actually operates as a fundraising effort for Hamas’s military wing. Hannoun has been designated by OFAC for “having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, Hamas.”
Germany-based Hamas member Majed al-Zeer helps spearhead the terrorist group’s European fundraising initiatives, OFAC claimed, adding that he has “appeared publicly with other senior Hamas members in order to generate funding and other support for Hamas.”
Adel Doughman leads Hamas’s Austrian activities and is “one of the most prominent Hamas representatives in Europe,” according to OFAC. Doughman has also maintained high-ranking positions in Europe-based organizations that have allegedly funneled money to the terrorist group.
Both Al-Zeer and Doughman “are being designated for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Hamas,” OFAC wrote.
OFAC also highlighted Hamas’s use of “unlicenced” financial institutions such as Al-Intaj Bank to help facilitate their activities. The Hamas government in Gaza granted the alleged terrorist-supporting bank a “permit” to operate in the Palestinian enclave. The bank “provides financial services for Hamas despite not being connected to international banks,” OFAC said.
OFAC levied sanctions on the implicated actors, banning their organizations and transactions from operating in the United States and mandating their reporting to the agency.
“As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above, and of any entities that are owned directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by them, individually, or with other blocked persons, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC,” the agency wrote.
In the year following Hamas’s Oct. 7 slaughter of 1,200 individuals in southern Israel, US federal agencies have identified a flood of terrorist-tied fundraising and information efforts on American soil. In July, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines warned that “actors tied to Iran’s government” have encouraged and provided financial support to rampant protests opposing Israel’s war against Hamas.
Iran has for years provided Hamas with weapons, funding, and training.
The post US Treasury Department Targets International Charities, Individuals Fundraising for Hamas first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Kamala Harris Refuses to Affirm Netanyahu as an ‘Ally’ of the United States
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, US, Aug. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Erica Dischino
US Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris refused to affirm that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu is an “ally” of the United States, dodging a direct question on the subject and fueling doubts about her commitment to the Jewish state.
During an interview with the long-running news program “60 Minutes,” Harris was pressed on the Biden administration’s struggles to secure a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which has totally ruled Gaza since 2007. Journalist Bill Whitaker asked the incumbent US vice president whether Washington, DC wields influence over Netanyahu and whether the Biden administration considers the Israeli prime minister a trusted partner.
“Do we have a real, close ally in Prime Minister Netanyahu?” Whitaker asked.
“I think, with all due respect, the better question is do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people? And the answer to that question is yes,” Harris responded.
Over the course of the interview, Whitaker accused Netanyahu of ignoring American requests to tone down Israeli military activity in Gaza and Lebanon. Harris did not voice disagreement with the journalist’s claims.
“We supply Israel with billions of dollars in military aid. And yet, Prime Minister Netanyahu seems to be charting his own course. The Biden-Harris administration has pressed him to agree to a ceasefire. He’s resisted. You urged him to not go into Lebanon. He went in anyway. He has promised to make Iran pay for a missile attack, and that has the potential of expanding the war. Does the US have no sway under Prime Minister Netanyahu?” Whitaker asked.
US officials have said in recent weeks that Hamas has refused to agree to a ceasefire deal, pointing the finger mainly at the terrorist group’s top leader, Yahya Sinwar.
Meanwhile, Israel has in recent weeks been launching more intensive military operations against the terrorist group Hezbollah, which for the past year has been firing rockets, missiles, and drones at northern Israeli communities almost daily.
Iran, which supports both Hamas and Hezbollah, launched over 180 ballistic missiles at Israel directly. The Jewish state has vowed to respond to the attack.
Harris responded to Whitaker, arguing that American military aid has allowed Israel to “defend itself against 200 ballistic missiles” aimed at killing the Jewish state’s civilians. “It is without any question,” she continued, that the federal government has an “imperative” to help Israel mitigate threats from belligerent entities such as Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah. The vice president added that Israel has an obligation to allow “humanitarian aid” to enter the Gaza Strip and cooperate with ceasefire negotiations.
Harris added that American pressure against Israel has “resulted in a number of movements in that region” that have helped improve living standards for Palestinians in Gaza.
Since ascending to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket in July, Harris has sought to shore up support among the Jewish community as well as the Arab and Muslim communities in the US. The vice president has also been dogged by accusations that she maintains only mild support for Israel.
In an official White House statement commemorating the Oct. 7 slaughter of roughly 1,200 people throughout southern Israel, the vice president vowed to “do everything in my power to ensure that the threat Hamas poses is eliminated, that it is never again able to govern Gaza, that it fails in its mission to annihilate Israel, and that the people of Gaza are free from the grip of Hamas.”
In the same statement reflecting on the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Harris dedicated a paragraph to seemingly criticizing the Israeli war effort. The Democratic nominee promised that she “will always fight for the Palestinian people.”
“Hamas’s terrorist attack on Oct. 7 launched a war in Gaza. I am heartbroken over the scale of death and destruction in Gaza over the past year — tens of thousands of lives lost, children fleeing for safety over and over again, mothers and fathers struggling to obtain food, water, and medicine,” the statement read. “It is far past time for a hostage and ceasefire deal to end the suffering of innocent people. And I will always fight for the Palestinian people to be able to realize their right to dignity, freedom, security, and self-determination. We also continue to believe that a diplomatic solution across the Israel-Lebanon border region is the only path to restore lasting calm and allow residents on both sides to return safely to their homes.”
The post Kamala Harris Refuses to Affirm Netanyahu as an ‘Ally’ of the United States first appeared on Algemeiner.com.