When a small but vocal minority of Israelis celebrate the life and mass murder of Baruch Goldstein and turn his grave into a shrine, when Israelis applaud the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, many American Jews shed even more of their illusions about Israel and more of their commitment. The pluralism battles are another part of the problem. Reform and Conservative Jews, the backbone of the pro-Israel movement in this country for so many years, feel rejected as the Israeli government, dependent on fervently religious coalition partners, grants even more power to religious authorities who deny the very legitimacy of these streams of Judaism. All of these factors are coming together to accelerate a trend that has been slowly separating American Jews from Israel for more than a decade. This disconnect threatens pro-Israel power in Washington and Jewish unity worldwide.
Many Jewish leaders are deeply worried.
So far, the signs are mixed. The writer is a Washington, D.C.-based political correspondent for American Jewish newspapers. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.