At a time when American democracy faces real threats, many mainstream Jewish leaders are struggling to find public footing. Some leaders have spoken out, and some institutions and denominations have joined together on statements condemning violence, cruelty, and impunity in immigration enforcement, for example.

But on this issue, and on several others that have arisen in recent years — aggressive gerrymandering, threats to voting rights, the dismantling of the federal bureaucracy, retributive investigations against political enemies, and the erosion of democratic norms — most Jewish establishment organizations have remained silent.

This unevenness is striking, given the Jewish people’s historical allergy to authoritarianism and how essential healthy democracy has been to the success and thriving of the American Jewish community. So what’s going on?

Several factors have converged to produce this hesitation.

First, there’s fear. Jewish leaders carry a heavy responsibility: We feel a powerful obligation to keep our Jewish communities safe and united. Speaking out on politically charged issues in a divided America risks highlighting internal divisions, alienating long-time partners, and drawing government retaliation.

Second, some leaders are defining Jewish interests narrowly, insisting that the collective Jewish agenda is limited to defending Israel against threats and fighting discrimination that specifically targets Jews (and separating the defense of Jews from broader concerns about civil rights and the vulnerability of other minority groups). Those leaders either do not believe that liberal democracy keeps Jews safe, or they do not feel that they can divert resources from their parochial interests into a concern for the broader body politic, or they feel that the responsibility for attending to these broader challenges belongs elsewhere.

Third, in our post-Oct. 7 context, antisemitism is real and rising, and debates around Israel are raw. Many of the activists leading the fight against authoritarianism are also openly anti-Zionist, making them difficult partners for mainstream Jewish organizations, creating real tension and impeding........

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