There has yet to be serious conversation, let alone effective action, on the issue of religious pluralism in Israel, one of the core issues that may determine the future of relations between Jews in Israel and in the United States.
The issues that pose the greatest challenge to strong American Jewish-Israeli ties are not the oft-cited left/right matters such as settlements or access to the Kotel.
More than 2,100 people, mostly American Jews, are converging in Jerusalem this week, participating in the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Global Forum. It’s the first time that my organization is holding its signature annual event in Israel, and, we are told, it is the largest-ever gathering in Israel’s capital by an American Jewish advocacy group.
The message of the AJC survey is clear. If the concept of a global Jewish community – am ehad – is to retain any meaning, each of its two major components must develop a greater appreciation for the priorities and needs of the other. If not, the next AJC survey will find even more American and Israeli Jews writing off those in the other country as “not part of my family.”
There are few observations that have proven more durable than Godwin’s Law. Created in 1990 by attorney Mike Godwin, it is quite simple: The more heated a political argument becomes, the higher the likelihood that one side will mention Adolf Hitler. Whoever mentions Hitler first, loses the argument.