A letter to Jews in the USA

 

This is so painful to write, and even more painful to watch unfold.

A majority of American Jews are willing to abandon Israel because they believe it will buy them a sense of security in America.

And this isn’t just one corner of the Jewish community.

It crosses the spectrum, from the ultra-Orthodox to the secular and everyone in between.

How did we get to a point where Jews might be willing to distance themselves from their own homeland, their own people, and a fundamental part of their own identity just to feel safer in the country they live in?

We are already seeing politicians trying to separate Zionism from Judaism, to make you think they love Jews.

Zionism is not some foreign ideology that Jews picked up in modern times.

The connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel goes back thousands of years.

It is woven into our prayers, our holidays, our history, and our very identity.

For generations, Jews prayed to return to Jerusalem.

We pray 3x daily to return to Israel.

At weddings, we remember Jerusalem.

At the end of the Seder, we declare, “Next year in Jerusalem.”

Israel is not some political accessory that Jews can discard when it becomes inconvenient.

And let’s be clear: anti-Zionism is antisemitism.

Denying the Jewish people the right to their ancestral homeland, singling them out for a right granted to other peoples, and demanding that Jews abandon their national identity is not some noble form of tolerance.

It is discrimination against the Jewish people.

To pretend that Judaism can be completely separated from the Jewish people's connection to Israel is to ignore thousands of years of Jewish history.

It is a dangerous delusion.

And here is what truly breaks my heart.

When forced to choose between standing with Israel and feeling safe and accepted in America, too many Jews may choose acceptance over solidarity with their own people.

They may convince themselves that distancing themselves from Israel will protect them.

History should teach us how dangerous that assumption can be.

Yes, there are many of us who will fight this with everything we have.

But we may be outnumbered.

And if we wait until this becomes the accepted position across American Jewish life, it may be too late to reverse it.

This is still a warning, not a foregone conclusion.

But the warning signs are there, and we cannot afford to ignore them.

Our connection to Israel is not something to be embarrassed about, hidden, or sacrificed for the approval of others.

It is part of who we are.

Wake up, friends.

Before we lose something that generations of Jews prayed, sacrificed, and many have even died for.

Please share this message and wake up those who have lost their faith in our religion and homeland.

by Gloria Schneiderman Bernstein