Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
For every Jew, everywhere, and at all times: the shockwave of October 7, 2023, continues to shake the Jewish world and mark new trends that contrast with everything we have known. The “Golden Age” of North American Jewry is coming to an end; “peaceful places” like Australia and Canada have become turbulent; and Europe seems to be moving away from the culture of baguettes, strudel and English pubs toward something entirely different.
With more than a year's worth of perspective, it is already possible to indicate where the new Jewish world is heading. Naama Klar, Director of the Koret International School for Jewish Peoplehood at ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, offers an analysis showing five main trends that will shape how world Jewry will look in the coming years.
5 View gallery
Tel Aviv rally calling for release of hostages; in the background: image of Kfir Bibas displayed on screen
(Photo: AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
“It is important to recognize that October 7 was not just an Israeli event. True, it happened to Jews who live in Israel, but the fact that Kfir Bibas is in captivity represents the dramatic crossing of a line, which could later endanger every Jewish baby.
The image of Jewish-Israeli strength is eroding, and we are all more exposed. The event itself was not just the attack and the taking of hostages, and it was not only Israelis who had to deal with it. Something here transcends boundaries. The moment that Hamas does something at Israel’s southern border, and it elicits a response in every Jewish household in the world, it shows that the event has massive aftershock,” Klar explains.
1. Converging arenas of antisemitism
Everyone is familiar with classical antisemitism. Over the past few years, we have learned to identify the new antisemitism of leftist circles and the woke movement. In the present period, they are joining forces.
“What’s happening is unprecedented. Completely different types of people, who hate each other in everyday life, are acting in the same way, and with the same intensity, toward Jews. Both the far-left and the far-right, who could not be more different from one another, are pointing fingers at the Jews during elections and ascribing disproportionate power to them,” notes Klar.
“Another example is the persecution of young people who served in the IDF, who are fulfilling their ethical and moral duty to protect their families. The global justice system, which is supposed to represent positive values and strengthen humanity, undermines itself when it persecutes them in the name of those values and, ostensibly, justice. In practice, it prefers antisemitism to basic human values.”
According to Klar, “the convergence is of three arenas of antisemitism: classical white supremacism; Middle Eastern Muslim antisemitism, developed in Iran and methodically exported to the entire Muslim world; and state-institutional antisemitism, like France’s arms embargo and anti-Israel actions in international courts and institutions.”
How is this expressed?
“All Jews around the world are identified as part of one collective, regardless of origin or place of residence. The idea of ‘the Jewish people’ is currently under a deliberate and coordinated attack by all the different antisemitic groups. In recent decades, we thought antisemitism was under control, restrained, but we are returning to a world where antisemitism is once again out in the open. It is becoming fashionable again because the world order is organizing itself against Israel and people are afraid to deviate from the accepted world order that is spreading in many countries.”
2. Toxic mixture: Fear, loneliness, guilt and shame
It can be said that the events of October 7, 2023, happened to every Jew, even those who live tens of thousands of kilometers from the Gaza Envelope. According to Klar, the effect of the atrocities has created a new mix of emotions that Jews must contend with: “First and foremost, it is important to understand that we are all afraid, including Diaspora Jewry. There is a real fear of personal insecurity, and we have seen a phenomenon around, Jews removing Jewish symbols, taking down mezuzahs, taking off kippahs and defacement of Jewish symbols in public spaces.
“Another effect is loneliness. Many Jews have lost their social circles, have been cast out of various groups—even apolitical spaces like running groups, choirs, and the like, and are, for all intents and purposes, abandoned. Many Jewish students have testified that people have ceased to speak to them on campus. There is no Jew who has not been abandoned by a friend. In Jewish museums and institutions, entire staffs have resigned. There is an attempt to turn Jews into Israel’s proxies and blame them for the war in Gaza.
5 View gallery
Jerry Seinfeld at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum
(Photo: Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
"We are being tossed down the stairs at every level. It is no coincidence that hundreds of emergency preparedness groups have been established in Jewish communities, and everyone is seeking self-defense. There is also an element of shame, which may be more pronounced among Israeli communities—how did this happen to us? How did they catch us so unprepared? The positive effect of these phenomena is the internal cohesiveness of the community—increased demand for participation in Jewish events, internal strengthening in the community, and many young people exploring their Jewish identity and connecting to it.”
3. The Jews prove themselves: Wall-to-wall support of Israel
Nearly a billion dollars in donations just from North American Jews, global Jewish mobilization on behalf of the hostages, and, above all—and despite political divisions—the vast majority of Jews worldwide, of every stream and stripe, have stood by Israel in its most difficult time.
“What’s interesting is that we have seen donations not only from Jewish Federations and legacy institutions but also from many private individuals,” emphasizes Klar. “Jews who had never before donated to Jewish or Israeli causes opened their hearts, and we have also seen many solidarity and volunteer missions.
"Israel was not left alone. October 7 awakened a very strong spark of connection to Israel in the hearts of most Jews. It’s important to understand that many of them may be against the continuation of the war and oppose Israeli policy in general, but they make a distinction between the government, the state, and the Israelis themselves. The spark is real, despite any criticism they have, and it must not be extinguished.”
Klar continues: “Over the past decade, there have been many challenges in Israel’s relationship with Diaspora Jewry, and there has been a great deal of discussion about a rift or distancing between Jewish communities worldwide and us, Israeli Jews. Some of the reasons for the distancing are global and beyond our control. Some are partially under our control—such as the Palestinian issue or the conflict.
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
"But some issues are entirely the result of Israeli policies and priorities that marginalize or alienate Diaspora Jewry. The symbol of this is the Western Wall—where active struggles are taking place over the issue of prayers for non-Orthodox movements. Members of these movements experienced the cancellation of the Western Wall agreement as Israel’s betrayal of their leadership, who serve the Jewish people. This issue remains a sore point to this day. Nevertheless, despite the imperfect conditions, in the moment of truth—the Jewish people around the world are with Israel, sharing its burden.”
4. Israel as a symbol of moral crisis
Over the years, since 1948, Israel has represented, for many Jews, an ideal: a state founded on Jewish values in the world’s sole Jewish nation-state. According to Klar, “When the dream of the model Jewish state encounters difficulties in reality, the dream and the ideal take a hit, This is projected onto the Jewish identity of Diaspora Jews because they tied their Jewish identity to an ideal, dream-like State of Israel. Statecraft is an unpleasant business. There is an expectation that Israel will be the embodiment of a Jewish state, which exudes Jewish values. And then what actually takes place in Israel is based on realities that don’t meet world Jewry’s expectations.
Over the past decade, there have been many difficulties pertaining to how Israel is perceived and how this perception affects the connection of Jews to the state. October 7 has only worsened the situation. Criticism of Israel has become increasingly antisemitic, and Jews are the first to be exposed to this and must contend with it, both in relation to their identity and their connection to the State of Israel.”
5. The Golden Age of North American Jewry is over
Millions of words, articles, reports, and posts are published every day, but one sharp and precise article created waves not only within American Jewry but throughout the entire Jewish world. “The Golden Age of American Jews is Ending,” claimed journalist Franklin Foer, clearly describing how the largest and most powerful Jewish Diaspora has become vulnerable, lives under threat, and, above all, is concerned about its future in the land of unlimited opportunity.
5 View gallery
Pro-Israeli protester faces pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside Democratic National Convention, Chicago, Illinois
(Photo: JOHN MOORE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
“The article referred to America, but it is true of the entire Jewish world,” Klar explains. "The hard-earned status of the Jews is being eroded. There is a regression from the remarkable achievements of previous generations. They brought us to a certain position, and now we are moving to a position lower than our great-grandmothers in terms of status, opportunity and position in general society.
"Being Jewish was something that embodied a full identity, and now it is no longer relevant. The window of opportunity is closing—there are fewer places to live, fewer jobs that will accept you, fewer interested people on dating apps. Jews are being pushed out of their place in the broader society. Jewish parents don’t want to send their children to public schools because they prefer to protect them from the hostility of their surroundings. In Israel, we feel this at the level of the state, as we are being pushed out of the world order and the circle of accepted nations; in the U.S., they feel this on a personal level.”
Where do things go from here? Klar says that we must understand these processes and move forward: “At the museum, we have an initiative called ‘Jewish Resilience Project’ whose goal is to understand October Seventh as a Jewish event that happened to every Jew on a personal and familial level, as communities, as a state, and as a people. It provides new lenses. People leave here and understand the event in a completely different way, which they take back to their own world. This is a very important historical milestone for the Jewish people, which, in the moment of truth, will need to see who is with us, who is against us, and how we move forward from here.”
Oded Revivi, CEO of ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, sums up: “The Jewish people experienced tremendous upheaval on October 7, and accordingly, the story of the Jewish people is now undergoing a profound transformation.
"Over the past year, we have contended, individually and collectively, with pain, complexity and disappointment, partly due to the silence and lack of support in the international arena. This year, we decided to give special attention in our educational projects and museum initiatives to the issue of lone soldiers, which is close to our hearts; a young generation connected to their Israeli and Jewish roots, even though they may not have necessarily grown up here, is a tremendous force that deserves to be valued and embraced. These young people have emerged from the delicate connection between Judaism and Israeliness, and we want these admirable and principled young people to have a significant role in shaping our future as a people.”