After a series of lectures in Jewish communities across the United States, it becomes clear that the crisis in Israel-US relations runs deeper than it appears: Young Jewish Americans are losing friends, polarization is increasing, and Israel's security dependence on the US is greater than ever. But instead of continuing an endless internal struggle among ourselves, we need a fundamental paradigm shift regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - one that will extract us from the 'zero-sum game' and offer real hope for a better future.
By Israel Pikersh
Last September, I had the privilege of visiting four cities in the US: San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC, and New York, to speak with leaders, organizations, and Jewish communities from both right and left. For many years, my partner Aviad and I have been accustomed to lecturing before different audiences who believe in conflicting values. We've spoken with Palestinian and Zionist partners, ultra-Orthodox and secular Jews, conservatives and progressives - and often these conversations took place back-to-back. But to my embarrassment, since I've been experiencing this for many years, I thought I'd heard it all. Rarely do I experience emotional turmoil during a lecture. But that's exactly what I experienced on one cool evening in San Francisco.
One Evening in San Francisco
That evening, I spoke with a group of about 40 young people from the "Atid" community through the IPF organization. The audience consisted of young people aged 20-35 who were interested in our movement's vision. Even before the lecture, during dinner, I had the chance to speak with some of them. I was surprised to hear that many of them began participating in community activities after October 7th. I started to understand that some of the participants in the lecture were in the midst of a profound self-examination of their identity in the American space. When I left Israel, I left behind a very determined society under physical attack. Today's Israel is like a modern Sparta where no group or tribe rushes to acknowledge an identity crisis. But in the US, I encountered the opposite picture. San Francisco's beautiful and secure pastoral setting covered the quiet emotional storm I was exposed to. At the beginning of the lecture, I asked the participants "How many of you stopped talking to friends following October 7th?" About half of them raised their hands. I asked them "Do you feel that your environment forces you to hide your Jewish identity in the closet?" and many of them answered affirmatively. This exposure shook me as well. How is it possible that after one hundred and twenty years of Zionism we are still in the same survivalist situation that Zionism was supposed to extract us from?!

A lecture in San Francisco for young members of Atid Community from the IPF organization. Photo: Anahnu Movment.
It's important to note that the findings from that evening's audience are not random. In fact, they well reflect the research data known to us. In a survey conducted by the Pew Institute last April, it emerged that 47% of Jews aged 18-34 stopped talking to someone because of something they said regarding the war. Another survey conducted by the Jewish Federations organization in collaboration with the The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation shows a sharp rise in many Jews' willingness to participate in Jewish community frameworks. This renewed consolidation is a natural and justified response to the crisis we face. However, the decentralized community structure we've been accustomed to for thousands of years is not enough to deal with the challenge before us. It doesn't matter whether these are communities in the US or political sectors in Israel. The walls of the community or political tribe can provide a sense of solidarity, but equally they can polarize and hide from us the severity of our strategic situation. Therefore, alongside the welcome community sharing, we must add and think about additional national solutions that will fulfill Zionism's goal and get us out of the strait.
Israel-US Relations
There are enormous power gaps between Israel and the US. Therefore, it's only natural that throughout history, small and imperceptible changes in American policy have led to real distress in Israel. This happened, for example, during Trump's tenure when the administration sought to evacuate a small group of American soldiers from a strategic junction in Syria, And it's been happening during the past year with delays in supplying certain armaments to Israel. These specific crises are a natural and inevitable part of the relations between the countries and don't contradict the strong alliance between us. However, if a reality emerges where their frequency and intensity increase over time, this could undermine the foundations of the alliance. Unfortunately, I believe that's where we're heading.
Let's start with the facts. First, within American society, there is an ongoing, years-long attack in public opinion against the very legitimacy of Israel's existence: "from the river to the sea." The core claim of many leaders of this group is that Israel's existence necessarily contradicts Palestinian rights, as proven by the 1948 Nakba and the 1967 Occupation. Based on this, some attackers conclude that Israel has no right to exist. The fact that Israel's existence doesn't have to come at the expense of Palestinian rights, and that without Israel Jews would have no right to self-determination, does not affect them. This claim is too theoretical in their view since they don't see it happening on the ground. But worse, some even argue that under these conditions, Palestinians have legitimacy to use murderous terrorism against Jews. In doing so, they erase the sacred principle of human rights that injustice doesn't justify injustice and effectively support terrorism. Although we must distinguish between legitimate criticism focusing on how Israel operates on both sides of the Green Line, and illegitimate antisemitic criticism of Jews' right to self-determination and security, it's nevertheless apparent that since October 7th there has been a significant rise in this specific type of antisemitic criticism. This trend appears across many university campuses.
Despite the relatively small size of these antisemitic groups, their influence on American policy is not insignificant. In liberal democracies, even a minority group can have some influence on policy. Unlike the American Congress where pro-Israel organizations have significant influence, when it comes to the White House, the situation is more complex. For example, the current presidential elections are characterized by a tie in polls between the two candidates, and every vote in swing states has an impact. Moreover, from the perspective of US presidents from both parties, the clear and ongoing interest in supporting Israel doesn't always align with all other US interests at any given moment. For example, at this time, the US is positioning many forces in the Middle East to protect Israel and prevent the war's expansion. However, from the American perspective, these forces are missing from other risk areas such as East Asia. From all these considerations, it was possible to sense in the recent television confrontation between Harris and Trump that both candidates support Israel's right to defend itself but simultaneously presented the war's continuation as a burden on the US. This position seemingly contradicts Netanyahu's position as recently presented in a recording from an internal party meeting.
The second fact is that American Jewry largely supports Israel's right to defend itself, and at the same time, most Jews also believe that uninvolved Palestinians in Gaza should receive humanitarian aid. In the Pew Institute survey from April, 74% of American Jews support providing American armaments to Israel. Additionally, 61% of Jews support providing American humanitarian aid to uninvolved Palestinians in Gaza. This means that any American president who decides to confront the Israeli government regarding humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip can expect broad political support from the Jewish audience or at least silent acceptance of his or her policy. And again, on this issue too, there have been several precedent-setting clashes between the Israeli government and the American administration.
The combination of these two phenomena leads us to a strategic crisis. On one hand, the voice of the group opposing Israel's right to exist is growing stronger. On the other hand, many Jews feel uncertainty about their place in American society for the first time in their lives, alongside moral difficulty with the Israeli government's approach to human rights. Not only are these facts serious in themselves, but as a result, it's likely that crises between Israel and the US will become more frequent and intense. The political restraints in Israel and the US have loosened. Although in the short term there is no real danger to the strong alliance between the countries, ten years ago we wouldn't have imagined these cracks forming in the wall of relations between us.
And from here to the third fact that worries me most as an Israeli: The State of Israel depends directly and irreplaceably on our alliance with the United States of America. Israeli armaments, as well as the guarantees given to the Israeli economy by the US, are vital to our survival. Moreover, during this war, the US deployed soldiers for the first time in an active defensive effort to protect Israeli citizens during Iranian missile attacks. Our dependence on the US is greater than ever, and we must not accept the internal rift between different parts of the Jewish people. We must seal the cracks that have formed between us. This is our duty for our children's future.
Yes We Can
Given the complexity described above, we face two possible paths: One is to continue fighting against antisemitism, continue arguing about what antisemitism is and where the boundary lies, and continue the disputes between right and left and between different shades of Jews in Israel and the US. These disputes deal with weighty issues indeed, and they deserve proper attention. However, if we continue to walk only this path, without fundamental change, our situation in Israel and the US is likely only to deteriorate.
On the other hand, there is another way. A way of change and hope. During my journey in the US, I had the privilege and pride to speak with holders of diverse political views and organizations standing in different places on the left, center, and center-right. Among others, I appeared on a J Street organization panel and in a lecture before the professional staff of the AJC organization in Washington. Among all the families, communities, and local leaders I met, there were many disagreements but the concern was identical: Will the US still be tolerant of Jews ten years from today? And what is the best way to establish Israel as a secure and just state? Everyone received me with a warm welcome, solidarity, and great effort to help. It was a journey of great pride in my Jewish and Zionist belonging.

J Street conference in Washington. Photo: Anahnu Movment
Therefore, given our shared concern, I suggest we take action that will change the entire picture. All the difficulties and disputes mentioned above branch from one central point: the zero-sum game between us and the Palestinians. The prevailing assumption in both peoples is that only one side can ultimately survive, "either us or them," and that Israel's existence must come at the expense of Palestinian land and demographics. Therefore, Palestinians will never give up the right of return and Zionism can never agree to it. This is the false assumption that drives antisemitism in the US and causes many Zionist Jews to believe we have no choice but to pay any moral, security, economic, and political price, as long as we don't lose in the eternal war with the Palestinians. These are exactly the reasons why we must change this paradigm.
The old theories from left and right focus mainly on the territorial aspect of the conflict - on separation into two states or on occupation. These approaches fail to extract us from the zero-sum game. Their main product is national and regional confrontation that we cannot continue to withstand. To uproot the zero-sum game from its place, we must strive for a new version of the two-state vision that will focus on the equal rights of both peoples. For this, we must redefine our position regarding fundamental issues such as the right of return and the status of minorities in Israel and Palestine, and build the appropriate security model for this. We must demand of ourselves and the Palestinians complete equality of rights and mutual taking of responsibility for past injustices. If we do all this, even unilaterally, then the zero-sum game will end immediately.
In the first stage, this will be a long-term unilateral move promoted by the Jewish side. We are the stronger side, and therefore only we can take the first step. However, our first step will have many immediate advantages: The antisemitic group in the US will be weakened. Many will abandon it and prefer to support the new reconciliation efforts. We can also promote internal connection within the Jewish people between the center-right and the left that will re-establish the political coalition that built Israel, and even lead to stable regional normalization. Only this way will we rescue the Jewish people from the current distress, and eventually the Palestinians will also join the reconciliation. We will be happy to establish an equal and full partnership with them whenever they choose to do so.
The change begins with abandoning the 'zero-sum game' perception against the Palestinians and building a new model based on equal rights. This is a move that requires courage, but it is necessary to ensure our shared future. When I left San Francisco that evening, I understood that those young Jews I met are our future - and this future depends on the choices we make today. It is in our hands.
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