Oct. 7 did not create a crisis of Jewish identity in America. It exposed one that had been growing for decades.
As anti-Israel demonstrations swept across college campuses and Jewish students were harassed, intimidated and forced to defend their very existence, many Americans asked a difficult question: Why are so many young liberal Jews uncomfortable defending Israel?
The answer did not begin on campus. It began at home.
For too long, much of the American Jewish community was convinced that Jewish identity would somehow sustain itself. We assumed that celebrating Chanukah, attending a Passover seder, having a bar or bat mitzvah, and showing up at synagogue a few times a year would be enough. It wasn’t.
We devoted extraordinary energy to helping our children succeed academically and professionally, but neglected to ensure that they understood who they were as Jews.
Many graduated high school knowing more about every major social-justice movement than about Jewish history. They could discuss colonialism, privilege, oppression, and yet had never seriously studied Zionism, the biblical connection of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, the expulsion of nearly 1 million Jews from Arab countries or the countless wars Israel fought simply to survive.
That educational vacuum has consequences. A student who has never learned why Israel exists is far more likely to believe someone who claims Zionism is nothing more than colonialism. A young Jew who has never studied Jewish history cannot recognize when that history is being rewritten. Someone who has never developed a meaningful connection to Israel will struggle to defend Israel when doing so comes at a social cost.
None of this means that Jewish education should produce unquestioning supporters of every Israeli government or military decision. Judaism has never been built on blind obedience. Our tradition celebrates debate, disagreement and moral inquiry. But an enormous difference exists between informed criticism and inherited ignorance.
Criticizing Israel because you understand its history, challenges and complexities is healthy. Rejecting Israel because you’ve absorbed slogans from social media or a campus protest is something entirely different.
For too long, much of American Jewry was convinced that Jewish identity would somehow sustain itself.
Today, too many liberal American Jews feel they must choose between their progressive values and their Jewish identity. That is a false choice. Judaism has always championed justice, compassion, human dignity and moral responsibility. Those values are woven into our tradition. But they do not require Jews to deny their own history, abandon their peoplehood or apologize for believing the Jewish people deserve the same right to self-determination afforded to every other nation.
The deeper problem is that politics has become a stronger identity than Judaism itself. When our children can recite every criticism of the one Jewish state on the planet but cannot explain why it was created, something has gone terribly wrong.
When they know the language of every political movement but not the language of their own heritage, we have failed them. When “Zionist” has become a label they fear because no one ever taught them what Zionism actually means, that failure belongs to us, not to them.
The solution is not another public relations campaign or another round of social-media hashtags. The solution is education.
Jewish day schools must become more affordable. Synagogues must once again place education at the center of communal life. Families cannot outsource Jewish identity to Hebrew school once a week. Jewish organizations should invest less in temporary political campaigns and more in raising a generation that understands Jewish history, Hebrew, Zionism, Israel and our shared heritage.
This education must begin long before students arrive on campus. Our children should understand Jewish history before activists distort it. They should know Israel’s story before someone else rewrites it. They should be equipped to defend Israel’s legitimacy while acknowledging the humanity and suffering of Palestinians. They should be able to criticize Israeli leaders without questioning Israel’s right to exist. Above all, they should understand that being Jewish is not something to hide, dilute or apologize for.
This is not simply a liberal Jewish problem. It is an American Jewish problem. A people cannot survive on memory alone. Identity must be taught; belonging must be cultivated; and pride must be earned through knowledge. None of that happens by accident.
The real question is no longer why so many young American Jews feel disconnected from Judaism and Israel. The real question is whether we are finally prepared to do something about it.
Before universities, activists and social media tell our children what it means to be Jewish, we must teach them ourselves. Before our children are pressured to abandon Israel, we must explain why Israel matters. Before they are told they must choose between justice and Jewish identity, we must remind them that Judaism has always demanded both.
If we fail to educate the next generation, then someone else will; in fact, they are already trying. We can no longer afford to leave that lesson to others.
