The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment

[Baashi]

The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment

By Peter Beinart

 

In 2003, several prominent Jewish philanthropists hired Republican pollster Frank Luntz to explain why American Jewish college students were not more vigorously rebutting campus criticism of Israel. In response, he unwittingly produced the most damning indictment of the organized American Jewish community that I have ever seen.

 

The philanthropists wanted to know what Jewish students thought about Israel. Luntz found that they mostly didn’t. “Six times we have brought Jewish youth together as a group to talk about their Jewishness and connection to Israel,” he reported. “Six times the topic of Israel did not come up until it was prompted. Six times these Jewish youth used the word ‘they‘ rather than ‘us‘ to describe the situation.”

 

That Luntz encountered indifference was not surprising. In recent years, several studies have revealed, in the words of Steven Cohen of Hebrew Union College and Ari Kelman of the University of California at Davis, that “non-Orthodox younger Jews, on the whole, feel much less attached to Israel than their elders,” with many professing “a near-total absence of positive feelings.” In 2008, the student senate at Brandeis, the only nonsectarian Jewish-sponsored university in America, rejected a resolution commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the Jewish state.

 

Luntz’s task was to figure out what had gone wrong. When he probed the students’ views of Israel, he hit up against some firm beliefs. First, “they reserve the right to question the Israeli position.” These young Jews, Luntz explained, “resist anything they see as ‘group think.’” They want an “open and frank” discussion of Israel and its flaws. Second, “young Jews desperately want peace.” When Luntz showed them a series of ads, one of the most popular was entitled “Proof that Israel Wants Peace,” and listed offers by various Israeli governments to withdraw from conquered land. Third, “some empathize with the plight of the Palestinians.” When Luntz displayed ads depicting Palestinians as violent and hateful, several focus group participants criticized them as stereotypical and unfair, citing their own Muslim friends.

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[SeeKer]

Interesting article Baashi. He does well pointing out the dichotomy that exists within the Jewish community. Orthodox Jews are becoming a force to be reckoned with and clearly hold views that exploit the victimhood claim that Israel holds close to its bosom.

 

I would like to say that this could also very well be an issue for Somalia. The disconnect that happens when a new generation can clearly see what the old couldn't. The generation that is in its teenage years at the moment want peace and do not see its emergence coming any time soon. They can't grasp what the fighting is about, they hold different views from the older generation and would most likely settle in the West due to this conflict.

 

Thanks, this read was made for a lazy holiday morning.I think I will post the link on FB.

[Libaax-Sankataabte]

War garaadkii Baashi waakaa godka ka soo baxay.

 

I read this article few weeks back. Great read indeed.

[SeeKer]

I don't think Mr Beinart is focused solely on the foreign policy in America but also on politics in Israel. Israelis who are born outside of their nation, due to the law of return, do still have a say in the power struggle in Israel.

 

As for the two possibilities of the Somali youth, I would have to say that your latter seems more of a realistic outcome. The wounds in Somalia are too deep and sore to heal any time soon, especially in the light of the older generation being perpetually vested in its continuity.