American Judaism Has Lost the Jews

Over the years, I’ve written passionately about what I see as the decline of American Jewry. Specifically, the communal institutions and groups (synagogues, community centers, federations, ADL, AJC, Aipac, etc.).  Few are aware that 30% of Jews are not affiliated with any of them.  Among youth, the percentage rises to 40%. What some call “mainstream” communal life, along with its accepted conventions (Zionism, synagogues, etc.), is steadily losing its appeal to all but older Jews.

It is becoming a relic of the past; unresponsive to the needs and interests of today’s Jews–especially young people.  It remains mired in the concepts of yesteryear: the (so-called) perils of intermarriage, Zionism, parochialism.  Instead of grappling with the problem, and devising new programs to address it, they offer half-measures and band-aid solutions.

As an example, they present tradition Jewish education as a rigid, insular set of laws and values.  They reject social attitudes vital today, such as intersectionality, universalism, social justice, etc. Jewish summer camps and Hebrew schools teach loyalty to Israel above all.  They often teach the historicity of the Bible and take the stories literally.  That in turn, buttresses Judeo-supremacist claims that Israel is a divinely mandated gift to the Jewish people.This is a version of Judaism that is a poisoned chalice.

These instititions do not explore Judaism critically, as an intellectual endeavor.

This is borne out by the results of a Pew opinion survey which found that from 2007 to 2024 percentage of Jews for whom religion was important in their lives decreased from 72% to 57%, a 35% drop.  Religion as represented by our synagogues and denominations is failing us.

Perhaps the most predominant disenchantment is the continuing embrace of Israel and Zionism, despite their crimes of genocide, apartheid and ethnic cleansing.  In particular, young Jews have no patience.  Only 35% believe that Israel is essential to being Jewish.  Only one in three of all those polled define themselves as Zionist. 14% (over 1-million) identify as anti-Zionist. This particular finding gives the lie to claims repeatedly made on social media that “98%” of Jews are Zionist.

I’ve long heard the Zionist dismissal, that anti-Zionists are a marginal group among Jews. Not so, if it ever was.  In fact, it is the future regardless of whether the current mainstream likes it or not.

The New Jews have no allegiance to the old ways. Their parents and grandparents, who imbibed Zionism with their mothers’ milk, are the passing generation.  A younger generation will arise who “knew not Joseph.”  Then Israel will be on its own.  And the traditional communal organizations will become ever more irrelevant.

Recent studies bear out these findings.  Only 25% define their identity as based on religion. The rest are portrayed as “Jews of no religion.”  Unfortunately, instead of using a neutral label for them, most surveys adopt that term.  That negative formulation implies a stigma attached to having no religious affiliation.  In the historic past, Jews may have been defined by religion. But this is increasingly not the case.  It indicates that both surveys and attitudes in general do not reflect this transformation.  The term makes a tacit and unwarranted value judgment.

To be clear, though these findings indict organized Judaism as insular and out of touch, I am not anti-religion or anti-synagogue.  In fact, I was raised in the Conservative movement and attended Jewish Theological Seminary. At one time, I considered myself an observant Jew. But the polls and reality don’t lie, nor can I.

The break between American and Israeli Jews

Israel is undergoing the reverse process.  50% of Jews identify as Orthodox with 20% moving from secular to Orthodox.  Given its high birth rate, the overall population will become even more religious over time.  This, in turn, will be reflected in political processes, as the Orthodox in general have more right-wing, hard-line views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.  They will strengthen Israel’s embrace of Judeo-supremacy and the trend toward a messianist genocidal state.

With American Jews moving in the opposite direction, the gap between these two communities is ever widening.  However, this is not reflected in the approach of communal institutions and leaders, who continue to maintain a lockstep approach to Israel.

As long as they continue to stand by Israel and take no position that diverges from it, they will find themselves progressively more out of step with the majority of Jews (40% of whom believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza).  Leaders reflect their followers. They are with them, not behind them.  Those who lag won’t last.  As the older generation dies off, they will find themselves without a constituency.  This in turn, will be reflected in the diminishing power of the Israel Lobby, which in turn will further a progression within the Democratic Party away from supporting Israel.

If these institutions are to remain relevant–if they wish to claim they represent Jews–then rabbis and leaders of these organizations must step up, raise their voices as Israel desecrates normative values in the name of a perverted form of Judaism: Jewish-supremacy.  There must be recognition here in America, that these two forms of Judaism cannot co-exist.  The leaders must say this out loud and vigorously.  As long as they continue their silence, Judeo-supremacy will overwhelm what I call normative Judaism.  This will further erode affiliation with mainstream institutions.

Conversely, the anti-Zionist movement must create its own institutions, traditions, and modes of affiliation to replace those which are passing from the scene.  Groups like Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, and If Not Now and a handful of synagogues have started this process. It must have a clear-eyed engagement with tradition–the good, the bad, and the ugly–embracing what is progressive and discarding what is not. After which new traditions will arise.

When I was a teenager, I attended Camp Ramah, where college students taught us Jewish philosophy, Biblical literary exegesis, and organized volunteer social justice projects in local (non-Jewish) communities.  They taught us to inquire, to probe, to question, and to grapple with these traditions; to engage and intersect with the anti-war movement of the time. To do so required delving deeply into tradition and texts.

Today, little or none of this happens.  A tradition of rote ideas has replaced that.  As a result, American Judaism is increasingly impoverished, offering little to the youth who are entering a path to determine their spiritual-religious identity. It does not bode well for the Jewish future.