A widening gulf between progressive and Orthodox, and between American Jews and Israelis, but at the same time the pogrom in Amsterdam reminds us of our common fate.
Thank you for this. Sharing with my rabbi. Two other complementary ways to think about this divide: Nevi'im vs Shomrim and the two halves of Hillel's "If I am not..." saying. Point being, we, as individuals, may live as one or the other, but we, as a Jewish people, need all of us.
I am a Liberal Jew. I live in a Modern Orthodox neighborhood. Almost all my neighbors voted for Trump. Before the election I had conversations with several neighbors, asking who they expected to vote for. When they said Trump, I asked why. The typical response was “I know he’s a terrible person but he’s good for Israel.” I didn’t want a confrontation but I kept wondering why no one would say he’s good for America. I kept wondering why they would be willing to sacrifice what’s good for America, the country they live in, for what they perceive as what’s good for Israel. Where are their loyalties, I asked myself.
(Note: several weeks before the election I wrote an essay on why Jews should not vote for Trump. In it I argued, persuasively I think, that with Trump there are no guarantees he would be any better for Israel than Harris who consistently stated that she absolutely supports Israel’s right of self-defense.)
Thank you for this. Sharing with my rabbi. Two other complementary ways to think about this divide: Nevi'im vs Shomrim and the two halves of Hillel's "If I am not..." saying. Point being, we, as individuals, may live as one or the other, but we, as a Jewish people, need all of us.
I am a Liberal Jew. I live in a Modern Orthodox neighborhood. Almost all my neighbors voted for Trump. Before the election I had conversations with several neighbors, asking who they expected to vote for. When they said Trump, I asked why. The typical response was “I know he’s a terrible person but he’s good for Israel.” I didn’t want a confrontation but I kept wondering why no one would say he’s good for America. I kept wondering why they would be willing to sacrifice what’s good for America, the country they live in, for what they perceive as what’s good for Israel. Where are their loyalties, I asked myself.
(Note: several weeks before the election I wrote an essay on why Jews should not vote for Trump. In it I argued, persuasively I think, that with Trump there are no guarantees he would be any better for Israel than Harris who consistently stated that she absolutely supports Israel’s right of self-defense.)
Very informative and interesting.
He’s dead wrong on the. 80-20 split
https://open.substack.com/pub/thenewzionisttimes/p/the-jewish-vote-delivered-for-donald?r=4v6a4&utm_medium=ios