For decades, American Jews rarely had to choose between their political convictions and their attachment to Israel. Support for Israel and commitment to liberal American politics largely reinforced one another, forming a stable alignment that defined postwar American Jewish life. The wars in Gaza and now Iran have shattered that alignment. For the first time in a generation, many American Jews find themselves pulled in opposing directions by loyalties that once comfortably coexisted.

The devastation in Gaza has produced deep anguish among American Jews, troubled by the scale of Palestinian civilian deaths and the moral cost of prolonged war. Yet sympathy for Israeli fears has not disappeared. Israel’s confrontation with Iran, long portrayed by Israeli leaders as an existential struggle, evokes an equally powerful instinct of solidarity. The result is not indifference but tension: opposing war while understanding why Israel believes it must fight one.

This dilemma is intensified by American politics. Most American Jews remain firmly aligned with the Democratic Party and strongly oppose Donald Trump, including his willingness to pursue military confrontation with Iran. Yet Israel’s leadership views Iran as its gravest threat and welcomes American force directed against it. American Jews, therefore, confront an uncomfortable reality: opposing the American president’s war may feel politically necessary, while opposing Israel’s strategic outlook feels emotionally and historically fraught.

What appears today as a sudden crisis is, in fact, the culmination of a transformation decades in the making.

For much of Israel’s early history, American Jewish support for Israel was remarkably unified. Israel appeared small, vulnerable, and surrounded by hostile neighbors. The memory of the Holocaust, reinforced by Israel’s victory in 1967 and its near defeat in 1973, created an emotional bond grounded less in ideology than in survival. Supporting Israel felt self-evident, an expression of collective responsibility rather than political judgment.

Disagreements existed, but they rarely challenged the underlying assumption that Israel’s wars were defensive and morally necessary. Support for Israel seemed fully compatible with liberal political identity because Israel itself was widely perceived as a democratic underdog struggling for existence.

That perception began to change in the early 1980s.

The Turning Point of 1982

The 1982 Lebanon War marked a psychological turning point for many American Jews. Unlike earlier conflicts, the invasion........

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