by Joel Kotkin, spiked
The majority are battling ultra-nationalists to their right and Israel-hating ‘progressives’ to their left.
Whether right or left, Muslim or Christian, anti-Semites speak of Jews as people who pull the strings in culture, politics and especially finance. They assume we are all united in this conspiracy. In reality, not only is there no conspiracy, we Jews are also as divided among ourselves as any other people.
In their long history, the Jewish people have maintained a permanent unified state for no more than 120 years – and that was three millennia ago. It was then divided into two kingdoms before eventually being conquered and divided into separate entities. Devastation followed in the early years of the first and second centuries, when Jews revolted against the might of the Roman Empire.
Other divisions have developed over the centuries. There were notable conflicts between Zionists and anti-Zionists, and between backers of the USSR and America, which continued well into the 1960s. There were also splits between those who clung to ancient traditions, those who looked to jazz up the old faith and others who just walked away.
Today the split among Jews is largely three-way. There’s a zealot-like ultra-nationalist movement with considerable power and influence inside Israel, which could be losing a majority of Israelis and even key Zionists in the diaspora. Then there’s a relatively small, increasingly alienated but well-connected ‘progressive’ faction, which lines up against Israel. Finally, there is the majority – that is, the rest of us who cleave to a middle ground.