What is the significance of Israel in the lives of Jewish Americans?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

When the Middle East became a major hot spot in international affairs in the 1960s, a revival of 1930s levels of anti-Semitism occurred. Many Jewish Americans expressed concern that because Jews are freer in the United States than they have been in perhaps any other country in their history, they would ignore the struggle of other Jews. Israel's precarious status has proven to be a strong source of identity for Jewish Americans. Some Jewish Americans have shown their commitment to the Israeli cause by immigrating to Israel.

The majority of Jewish Americans feel the United States should remain active in world affairs, compared to 36 percent of the total U.S. population. However, even among Jews, support of Israel is not uniform. Although not all American Jews agree with Israel's actions, many Jews express support for Israel's struggles by contributing money and trying to influence American opinion and policy to be more favorable to Israel. A survey taken in 2013 showed that 30 percent of Jewish Americans feel "very attached" to Israel and another 39 percent feel "somewhat attached." But that still leaves nearly a third (31 percent) who feel distant from Israel. One in eight feel that is not an important part of begin Jewish to care about Israel. There are those within the Jewish community who see Jews who did not totally back Israel as giving support to anti-Semitism.

The development of agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbors and the international recognition of Palestinian autonomy in Israel did not end the concern of Jewish Americans that continuing anti-Israeli feeling reflected anti-Semitism.