HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Jewish history includes three episodes of flourishing in exile: the Babylonian diaspora’s great academies; the centuries-long experiment in Moorish and then Christian Spain; and the American Jewish experience, particularly after World War II. But the American experience has come under intensifying threat and the causes are not mysterious.

Political polarization, the collapse of institutional gatekeepers and social media’s amplification of fringe voices were always going to put pressure on American Jews. But the effects of these forces have been compounded by one contingent factor: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s mismanagement of Israel’s relationship with the United States during his decades of dominance over Israeli politics.

Two consequential innovations have marked this period. First, from coordinating a 2015 speech to Congress with Republican leaders — over U.S. President Barack Obama’s objections — to endorsing Donald Trump in the 2024 election, Netanyahu has transformed the U.S.-Israeli relationship from a bipartisan strategic alliance into a factional arrangement with the GOP.

© The Japan Times