No doubt, the Israeli government meant well when it dispatched Naftali Bennett, Israel’s education minister who is also in charge of Israel-Diaspora relations, to the US after the Pittsburgh massacre. But Bennett came off as obtuse, telling American Jews how they should secure their synagogues. Like, what does he know? He doesn’t live here.
No doubt, former American Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, who now lives in Israel, also meant well when he took the opposite approach. He wrote of the Israelis that their “job is to listen” to American Jews. He elaborated to JTA, “The events of Pittsburgh and the aftermath underscore the importance of a dialogue between Israel and American Jews that is respectful and characterized by listening in which Israelis don’t insert themselves into American politics” — including White House policies on white supremacist groups.
In his own way, Shapiro also came off as obtuse, for the salient fact is that Bennett, however undiplomatic, reflects the new reality. American Jews have not faced up to it. Simply put, American Jewry is no longer Number One. Israel has eclipsed American Jewry in sheer numbers, in cultural and religious vitality, and in Jewish continuity. Israel’s own internal issues notwithstanding, Israel’s Jewish credibility — obtuse or otherwise —will attenuate American Jewry. It’s the future, with or without dialogue.
Copyright © 2018 by the Intermountain Jewish News
