This is chilling & yet I see it as well. Had no idea you wrote that piece for the Hamagshimim journal way back then.
Working in Jewish Education in the U.S. this is at the forefront of my mind. I want to have hope that our history in the U.S. will take a different course as we struggle through this.
Thanks for articulating the absurd situation in which New York Jews find ourselves. And by absurd I mean that we've arrived at a point vis-a-vis antisemitism/antizionism that is so hard to register that we can only label it absurd. Absurd that I'm entertaining the idea of investigating Lox and Loaded (Google it if you're not familiar). Absurd that many local Jewish Zionist friends are making active Plan B arrangements...and debating when we'll "know" it's time to pull the trigger. And mostly absurd because we know this antisemitic playbook and we know our Jewish history and yet here we are, watching the sequel unfold. You are correct in that we are too comfortable with our lives here. And too trusting that civility and decency will prevail.
I also came from New York to Israel as a left-wing Zionist via a youth movement, in my case Hashomer Hatzair and not Young Judea. One thing that struck me about your article is the fact that there was no mention of Gaza. One of the reasons why so many young American Jews are becoming critical of Israel is the images of the destruction in Gaza that they see, which we in Israel don't see. It's also wrong to assume that the 1/3 of the Jewish voters who supported him believe that "Israel is an apartheid state, endorse BDS, and refuse to recognize Israel as a homeland for Jews." I have many friends and relatives in New York who voted for him because they believe that he will seriously try to confront the issue of affordabillty that plagues the city. And the alternative Cuomo and outgoing mayor Adams are corrupt politicians. His alliance with liberal Zionist City Comptroller Brad Lander was one of the keys to his victory. As for the question of apartheid, yes, Israel is not an apartheid state. But the situation in the occupied West Bank is clearly very apartheid-like, with two entirely separate legal systems for Israeli settlers and local Palestinians. And while Mamdani doesn't recognize Israel as a Jewish state, he does recognize the existence of the State of Israel, and wants it to be a state based on equal rights for all it's citizens, as promised by Israel's Declaration of Independence in 1948. I assume you would agree with that vision as well. Our struggle over the future direction of Israel will have significant impact on how the younger generation of American Jews views Israel. I too hope that they will not decide that the future of the Jewish people lies only in trying to develop a vibrant Jewish diaspora in the spirit of the editors of Jewish Currents.
Thanks for your comment Hillel. Have we ever met? To the point - sure I have friends who voted for Mamdani for his other policies and explained away his anti-zionism. I don't deny their other stands. But what I do call out is there very quick readiness to "explain" Mamdani. The question is not Gaza (Mamdani was an anti-Zionist before October 7). The issue is not the West Bank - we're always to quick to think that the problem lies with us, that if we would kick out Bibi and Co, and make a Palestinean state, then all would be great. Even under these conditions, Mamdani et al still would deny any claim of the Jews to any land or politic in present day Israel. We need to solve those problems for our own sake - not to satisfy anyone else. Mamdani at al's unwillingness to recognize the peoplehood of the Jews is at its root anti-semitic. They recognize the rights of everyone BUT.... And many Jews buy into that.
Hello Danny, No, we have never met, but have a mutual friend, Danny Shapiro, who was the one who shared your article on the Shomernet run by graduates of Hashomer Hatzair.. Unlike you, I did not grow up in a small Pennsylvania town, but rather in NYC, in Brooklyn to be exact. That's the place where Mel Brooks once explained to a BBC interviewer, "You ask if I suffered from anti-Semitism as a youth. Me? In Brooklyn? How could I? Everyone was Jewish!" I came to Israel primarily motivated by the attraction of the kibbutz ideal and the ideal of progressive Zionism. My main critique of what you wrote is not the discussion about Mamdani, though I'm sure that he would be happy to accept a two-state solution if and when it will be achieved, but rather that I felt you ignored the impact that the images from Gaza over the past two years have had on the younger generation of American Jewish youth. That and the policies of our extreme right-wing government are what is causing such a large percentage of that generation to turn away from Israel, not pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel protests.
Confronting that reality and trying to seek solutions is what I have been doing for the past 20 years as the Israeli Co-Editor of Palestine-Israel Journal www.pij.org, and before that as one of the editors of New Outlook, the Middle East Monthly (that functioned from 1957 to1993), based on Martin Buber's philosophy of dialogue, "I and Thou". I assume that our views are similar for what is needed to change the image of Israel in the eyes of the younger generation of Americans Jews.
Best wishes for 2026 from Tel Aviv,
Ben-Gurion University and virtually all of academia, are one of the foundations of the struggle for a better Israel.
Danny I am surprised that you brushed away what happens in the West Bank and Gaza. There It is a daily fact of life that there are two sets of rules and policies in the West Bank, one for Jews and one for Arabs. Israelis including you (most likely) were denied for many months the images of the destruction in Gaza. In case you are not aware Israel does have Military censorship of news. This pretence is used many times too lightly and is being abused.
And here is some math. Between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean in the state of Israel, West Bank and Gaza are 7.5million Jews and 7.5million Arabs. How are you suggesting managing this situation under the current conditions without reprocusions in the free world against the state of Israel.
I grew up in Israel, served in the IDF and love the country but unfortunately I can see that the current Israeli government policies present existential threat to Israel in the not so far Future.
Thanks for your comment. I don't at all deny what you write. My point is antisemitism was never about Israel. The denial of national rights of Jews, and only of Jews, is antisemitism dressed up in liberal clothes. The physical targeting of Jews in the diaspora because of Israeli actions is pure antisemitism. No other nationality is blanketly targeted because of actions of the national country. That is what I meant that it is not about the West Bank. Criticism of Israel by foreigners because of its policies is fine, as it is of all criticism of policies of all countries. Blanket targeting of of a nationality is racism.
This is chilling & yet I see it as well. Had no idea you wrote that piece for the Hamagshimim journal way back then.
Working in Jewish Education in the U.S. this is at the forefront of my mind. I want to have hope that our history in the U.S. will take a different course as we struggle through this.
I still have the issue from spring 1984!
Thanks for articulating the absurd situation in which New York Jews find ourselves. And by absurd I mean that we've arrived at a point vis-a-vis antisemitism/antizionism that is so hard to register that we can only label it absurd. Absurd that I'm entertaining the idea of investigating Lox and Loaded (Google it if you're not familiar). Absurd that many local Jewish Zionist friends are making active Plan B arrangements...and debating when we'll "know" it's time to pull the trigger. And mostly absurd because we know this antisemitic playbook and we know our Jewish history and yet here we are, watching the sequel unfold. You are correct in that we are too comfortable with our lives here. And too trusting that civility and decency will prevail.
Spot on! Thanks for saying this out loud!
Excellent piece, Danny. I will be sharing it among my Jewish friends in the U.S., most of whom are, like me, former members of Hashomer Hatzair,
Thanks. In a way, this is my response to "prisoner of Zion".
Yesher Koach
I also came from New York to Israel as a left-wing Zionist via a youth movement, in my case Hashomer Hatzair and not Young Judea. One thing that struck me about your article is the fact that there was no mention of Gaza. One of the reasons why so many young American Jews are becoming critical of Israel is the images of the destruction in Gaza that they see, which we in Israel don't see. It's also wrong to assume that the 1/3 of the Jewish voters who supported him believe that "Israel is an apartheid state, endorse BDS, and refuse to recognize Israel as a homeland for Jews." I have many friends and relatives in New York who voted for him because they believe that he will seriously try to confront the issue of affordabillty that plagues the city. And the alternative Cuomo and outgoing mayor Adams are corrupt politicians. His alliance with liberal Zionist City Comptroller Brad Lander was one of the keys to his victory. As for the question of apartheid, yes, Israel is not an apartheid state. But the situation in the occupied West Bank is clearly very apartheid-like, with two entirely separate legal systems for Israeli settlers and local Palestinians. And while Mamdani doesn't recognize Israel as a Jewish state, he does recognize the existence of the State of Israel, and wants it to be a state based on equal rights for all it's citizens, as promised by Israel's Declaration of Independence in 1948. I assume you would agree with that vision as well. Our struggle over the future direction of Israel will have significant impact on how the younger generation of American Jews views Israel. I too hope that they will not decide that the future of the Jewish people lies only in trying to develop a vibrant Jewish diaspora in the spirit of the editors of Jewish Currents.
Thanks for your comment Hillel. Have we ever met? To the point - sure I have friends who voted for Mamdani for his other policies and explained away his anti-zionism. I don't deny their other stands. But what I do call out is there very quick readiness to "explain" Mamdani. The question is not Gaza (Mamdani was an anti-Zionist before October 7). The issue is not the West Bank - we're always to quick to think that the problem lies with us, that if we would kick out Bibi and Co, and make a Palestinean state, then all would be great. Even under these conditions, Mamdani et al still would deny any claim of the Jews to any land or politic in present day Israel. We need to solve those problems for our own sake - not to satisfy anyone else. Mamdani at al's unwillingness to recognize the peoplehood of the Jews is at its root anti-semitic. They recognize the rights of everyone BUT.... And many Jews buy into that.
Hello Danny, No, we have never met, but have a mutual friend, Danny Shapiro, who was the one who shared your article on the Shomernet run by graduates of Hashomer Hatzair.. Unlike you, I did not grow up in a small Pennsylvania town, but rather in NYC, in Brooklyn to be exact. That's the place where Mel Brooks once explained to a BBC interviewer, "You ask if I suffered from anti-Semitism as a youth. Me? In Brooklyn? How could I? Everyone was Jewish!" I came to Israel primarily motivated by the attraction of the kibbutz ideal and the ideal of progressive Zionism. My main critique of what you wrote is not the discussion about Mamdani, though I'm sure that he would be happy to accept a two-state solution if and when it will be achieved, but rather that I felt you ignored the impact that the images from Gaza over the past two years have had on the younger generation of American Jewish youth. That and the policies of our extreme right-wing government are what is causing such a large percentage of that generation to turn away from Israel, not pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel protests.
Confronting that reality and trying to seek solutions is what I have been doing for the past 20 years as the Israeli Co-Editor of Palestine-Israel Journal www.pij.org, and before that as one of the editors of New Outlook, the Middle East Monthly (that functioned from 1957 to1993), based on Martin Buber's philosophy of dialogue, "I and Thou". I assume that our views are similar for what is needed to change the image of Israel in the eyes of the younger generation of Americans Jews.
Best wishes for 2026 from Tel Aviv,
Ben-Gurion University and virtually all of academia, are one of the foundations of the struggle for a better Israel.
Hillel
Danny I am surprised that you brushed away what happens in the West Bank and Gaza. There It is a daily fact of life that there are two sets of rules and policies in the West Bank, one for Jews and one for Arabs. Israelis including you (most likely) were denied for many months the images of the destruction in Gaza. In case you are not aware Israel does have Military censorship of news. This pretence is used many times too lightly and is being abused.
And here is some math. Between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean in the state of Israel, West Bank and Gaza are 7.5million Jews and 7.5million Arabs. How are you suggesting managing this situation under the current conditions without reprocusions in the free world against the state of Israel.
I grew up in Israel, served in the IDF and love the country but unfortunately I can see that the current Israeli government policies present existential threat to Israel in the not so far Future.
Thanks for your comment. I don't at all deny what you write. My point is antisemitism was never about Israel. The denial of national rights of Jews, and only of Jews, is antisemitism dressed up in liberal clothes. The physical targeting of Jews in the diaspora because of Israeli actions is pure antisemitism. No other nationality is blanketly targeted because of actions of the national country. That is what I meant that it is not about the West Bank. Criticism of Israel by foreigners because of its policies is fine, as it is of all criticism of policies of all countries. Blanket targeting of of a nationality is racism.