For generations, the US-Israel relationship has been a key component of American Jewish life. Many American Jews see Israel as an integral part of their Jewish identity, and a recent Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) study found that 88% of American Jews support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state. Yet only 37% choose to identify themselves as “Zionists.”

By the most basic definition, Zionism is the movement for Jewish self-determination in the Jewish people’s ancestral homeland. That makes the gap between support for Israel’s existence and identification with the word “Zionist” particularly striking. The JFNA findings also suggest that American Jews do not share a single understanding of what the term means, helping explain why support for Israel’s existence is considerably higher than identification with the label itself.

Since October 7, questions about the future of American Jewry have become increasingly urgent. Antisemitism, political polarization and growing divisions over Israel have forced American Jews to confront difficult questions about our place in the United States and our relationship with Israel. The US-Israel relationship is not only a matter of foreign policy, but for many American Jews, it intersects with identity, community, security and our........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)