A few weeks after October 7, 2023, a small Facebook group began with about 35 people.

It was created for people who felt increasingly politically homeless: Democrats, liberals, progressives, and people who believed in social justice, civil rights, equality, and peace, but who also believed Israel had a right to exist, defend itself, and be understood in all of its complexity.

Israel is also, in many important ways, an example of a progressive society: universal health care, strong labor traditions, a livable minimum wage, affordable higher education, protections for women and LGBTQ people, an independent judiciary, a free press, robust elections, and major public investment in science, water technology, agriculture, medicine, and clean energy.

At first, it was simply a place to talk.

Today, that group, We Are Progressive, Liberal, Woke and Pro-Israel, has grown to more than 9,700 members. On June 25, it stood at 9,600 members, up more than 16 percent in less than a month. The next day, it crossed 9,700. It may have reached 10,000 by the time you read this. The group is now growing by 100 members in less than two days.

But the number is not the story.

The story is why people came.

Many members arrived feeling isolated. They had been told, directly or indirectly, that to remain progressive they had to abandon Israel, ignore Jewish history, accept slogans in place of facts, or remain silent when antisemitism was repackaged as political activism.

In today’s political climate, it increasingly appears to be a tactic of people who........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)