The Dilemma

This morning over breakfast, our 8 year old grandson remarked, “I love the French Soccer Team, and if Israel was playing in the World Cup, I’d have a big dilemma of who to support.”

This got me thinking about a discussion I had a number of years ago with Rabbi Bondenheimer, a German refugee who started a German congregation in our community. “Rabbi Bondenheimer,” I asked, ” How can you love Germany after the Holocaust?” He explained that life in Germany was similar to that of the United States. Jews were integrated into the intelligentsia and achieved high positions in the arts, sciences, and business. They fought in the German wars and were proud Germans. Of course, Israel was still a dream at the time, but many did not support the Zionist dream for either disinterest or  fear of dual loyalty. 

We are about to celebrate July 4th, and until fairly recently, many  American Jews have enjoyed unprecedented levels of security and success in America. This makes the recent rise of antisemitism more mystifying for so many.

For how many is there a dilemma at all?

For how many though is there a dilemma at all? Young Jews on college campuses have either become apathetic to Israel or actively oppose the existence of a Jewish state. How many Jews, especially those who are younger feel the pull of dual loyalty between Israel and the United States? For that matter, how many Jews care at all about remaining Jewish and identifying and learning about their heritage? Perhaps for many  the dilemma is not a dilemma at all.