Conversations around dinner tables in Israel and abroad come at a time when there are questions and concerns about how the current conflict between Israel and Hamas will play out, not only for Jews in Israel, but also for Jews living in Israel. takes on a special meaning. Diaspora.
This unprecedented war in Israel, combined with a rise in anti-Semitism around the world that has been unparalleled since the 1930s and 40s, has led to questions about the fate of the Jewish people if Israel no longer exists. A problem has arisen. As I write these words, I feel extremely guilty for even writing something like this.
However, these thoughts arose during a dinner table conversation in which the view was expressed that Iran might reach a stage where it might drop a nuclear bomb on our beautiful country. One guest said that history shows that the Jewish diaspora is essential to the survival of the Jewish people.
Can Jews survive without Israel?
But is this the case today, when Jews in the diaspora are rapidly declining? Europe is no longer a comfortable place for Jews. This is partly due to the demographic reality that the Muslim population numerically far exceeds the Jewish population. After all, numbers seem to matter, especially during government election times.
How did a discussion around the dinner table arrive at the above-mentioned unpleasant concept? The idea that there is only one place for Jews today, and that place is Israel. It happened when I expressed it. My thoughts come from the reality of anti-Semitism that pervades the hallways of the most prestigious universities around the world. The constant attacks on Israel have produced an alarming rise in anti-Semitism. Recognizing that our universities produce our nation’s future leaders should be a cause for great concern for us Jews, no matter where we live.
In the words of a prominent professor who was invited to speak at a London synagogue on the future of British Jewry, he shocked his audience by saying that the only future for Jews lay in the state of Israel. Ta. Demographic studies tend to support this view, as the assimilation rate of the diaspora increases over the years. A notable finding is that with the increase in intermarriage, the majority of children from these marriages are no longer Jewish.
But one of my dinner guests asked where in America the second largest number of Jews lived. Demographics are at play here too, with the number of Jews declining. Just read the May 2021 Pew report to see that America’s Jewish population is declining at an accelerating rate.
According to the report, four in 10 married Jews (42%) have a non-Jewish spouse. The reality is that 47 percent of non-Orthodox Jews are married to a non-Jewish spouse, and that number is increasing every year. About 61% of Jews who married after 2010 had a non-Jewish partner, compared with 18% of Jews who married before 1980.
Among married Jews who say one parent is Jewish, 82% have a non-Jewish spouse, compared to 34% when both parents are Jewish. One million children live in households with no Jewish adults but at least one adult with a Jewish background, while 900,000 are not raised as Jewish in any way. Judging by this 2021 Pew report, it is very likely that the number of Jews in the United States will be even lower in 2024 than in 2021.
If the above scenario is correct, then Israel must survive if there is to be a future for the Jewish people.
However, the current conflict between Israel and Hamas has shocked all of Israel. The question of how we were captured without our knowledge on October 7, where over 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were savagely murdered and over 250 taken hostage remains unresolved until now. Questions remain. Although 123 hostages have been freed (including two who were dramatically rescued by the Israeli Defense Forces days earlier), around 134 remain prisoners, including some who are believed to have died.
What is clear is that this war was costly. We have lost too many brave soldiers and thousands more have been injured, including 4,000 with serious injuries such as loss of limbs and paralysis. Apart from the psychological trauma that many will be left with at the end of this war.
Israel is fighting Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north, but the real enemy we are facing is Iran, and this is no doubt a factor in the extensive support the US is currently giving Israel. do not have.
But big questions remain. Who will confront Iran, which is the source and not the agent? Iran has been able to continue producing nuclear weapons unabated while its proxies attack US forces in Syria and Iraq. The United States is fighting back but remains committed to withdrawing its remaining forces from the Middle East in the near future.
The United States is preparing for a presidential election in November, which in itself does not bode well for Israel, as candidates will need to demonstrate to voters that the United States wants to avoid war and focus on domestic issues.
When I look back, I remember Germany in the 1930s. At first, no one wanted to confront Hitler. History reminds us of the Munich Agreement of September 29, 1938. At the time, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain boasted that an international agreement had been reached with Hitler that would allow Hitler to retain the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in exchange for Germany not claiming any more land in Europe. Chamberlain returned to England on September 30, saying, “Peace be our time.” Although he was relieved to hear the news, many wondered whether appeasement was the best decision.
Looking at the West’s attitude toward Iran today, it is hard not to think that what the United States is offering Iran is appeasement rather than confrontation.
Going back to basics, we question how the current conflict between Israel and Iran’s proxies Hamas and Hezbollah will play out in relation to Israel and Jews living elsewhere. If there is any doubt that we are one people, anti-Israel Jewish hate rallies around the world insist that we are recognized as one, regardless of our country of residence. I will do it. But when it comes to survival, we can only rely on ourselves. And we are lucky that we live in a time when Israel exists. Israeli chai.
The author is president of the Israel-Britain Federation Society.