While the strategy to be followed in relations with the new Government of Israel is being discussed in the corridors of the White House, alarm bells have gone off in synagogues and Jewish communities in the United States. Given the unprecedented power that the extreme right will accumulate in the coalition led by Beniamin Netanyahu, an internal report from Congress in Washington has warned of "the implications it will have for Israeli democracy, its room for maneuver to manage tensions with Arabs and Palestinians, and relations with the United States and other countries.”
American Jewish organizations have been a fundamental pillar in the defense of Israel since its founding. At critical moments, such as the Yom Kippur War (1973), the shipment of arms and money from the US was key to avoiding the debacle. But in the world's second largest Jewish population center – some six million – progressive tendencies dominate. According to the Pew Research Center, seven out of ten American Jews identify with the Democratic Party. His ancestors imported secularism and affinity with the left from Europe, in the face of the rampant fascist anti-Semitism that was eating away at the old continent.
To boost judicial immunity from the corruption cases she faces, Bibi is strengthening the loyalty of her partners by handing over key portfolios. Itamar Ben Gvir – a racist anti-Arab arsonist – will be appointed Minister of National Security, with responsibilities for the military police that patrol the occupied territories; and his associate Bezalel Smotrich, a representative of the settler hardliners, will control the body that issues construction permits for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, as well as demolition orders for Palestinian structures. Tom Nides, the US ambassador to Israel, hinted that the Biden Administration will avoid associating with these radicals.
“We are at a crossroads and it scares me. Potential actions this government may take could strain relations between the State of Israel and the majority of American Jews,” warned Jeremy Ben-Ami, leader of the pro-Israeli peace group J-Street. The ideological cocktail of the most right-wing government in the history of this country includes supremacist tendencies, definitively squandering the creation of a Palestinian state, demands to erode the independence of the judicial system, and less respect for reformist or conservative currents of Judaism, the majority in the United States. . The ultra-Orthodox will retake the monopoly of the delicate balance between State and religion, and are trying to approve the segregation of men and women in public events.
Avi Maoz, appointed by Netanyahu as Deputy Minister of Jewish Identity, compared gays to pedophiles and defends sexual conversion therapy. He wants to change the parameters of the law of return, which currently allows anyone with a Jewish grandparent to immigrate to Israel. In the struggle to reinforce the Jewish character of the State, Maoz rejects conversions to Judaism that are not through the orthodox path. “They are the most extreme voices in Israeli politics,” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union of Reform Judaism. Generally, American liberals espouse a less rigid version of Jewish identity.
In an interview with NBC, Netanyahu tried to calm the dust. "I am the one who makes the last decisions", he blurted out after guaranteeing that he will safeguard democracy and the rights of minorities. During his previous term (2009-2021), Bibi already put relations with North American Jewry under strain. His public disagreements with Obama, his reluctance to make concessions to the Palestinians, disagreements over the Iran nuclear deal and his close ties to Donald Trump – who recently met with white supremacist Nick Fuentes – have fostered their estrangement.
The American journalist Max Schindler, who worked in Anglo-Saxon media such as the Jerusalem Post, is heartbroken. “As a gay American Jew, I grew up visiting and loving Israel. I was a volunteer on the kibbutz. My father attended every Aipac convention (influential conservative Jewish lobby), and traveled to Tel Aviv six times a year, ”he explains to La Vanguardia.
Schindler believes that Trump and Netanyahu exacerbated the division among the Jews of the allied countries. “Among my friends, coming from pro-Israel movements, many reject this government. I hope that the Jews of America can put pressure on the Netanyahu government to stop the human rights violations”, he stated, referring to the 55 years of military occupation of the West Bank. Despite its difficult implementation on the ground and the expansionist plans of the incoming executive, the two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains the preferred option for many American Jews.
From the progressive wing of the Democratic Party the clamor is growing to adopt a tougher position against Israel. “It could happen suddenly, or in fascicles. But there is an emerging rift between the Jews of the two countries," concluded author Eric Alterman.
