The Future of Judaism (A Warning and a Way Forward)

Could the Jewish People disappear? Through violence? Or internal indifference?

THE WORLD IS FACING A DANGEROUS MOMENT IN HISTORY FOR ISRAEL AND WORLD-WIDE JEWRY AND THE FUTURE OF JUDAISM

About a quarter of the way into the 21st Century, Charles Dickens’ famous reference to the “best of times and the worst of times” fairly describes the Jewish People, the Jewish Faith and the Jewish State. Circumstances have become so dynamic and fluid that reasonable minds could differ significantly on Judaism’s future trajectory.

The Jewish People find themselves hated and wrongly blamed for much of what ails the world. Antisemitic attacks—physical and verbal—have reached levels not seen since the Holocaust. Indeed, the geographic scope of antisemitism, owing in large part to the ease by which hateful messaging is transmitted, has a depth and breadth not seen before.

Jews are just a tiny part of the world’s population but garner attention far beyond their numbers, which are at risk of dwindling further. More than eighty years since the Holocaust, they still have not fully restored the six million murdered by the Nazis, and the forces of antisemitism may incentivize even more Jews to abandon their faith. Yet, while Jews continue to shrink in number in the Diaspora, the Jewish population in Israel has gone from 600,000 at the birth of the State in 1948, to more than 7.5 million today. More Jews now live in Israel than anywhere else.

One can take comfort in the fact that Jews, for the first time in 2000 years, are not helpless against their accusers. Most of the world’s Jews live either in Israel or the United States, the former, a nation where Jews comprise the majority of the population, control the government and are defended by an extraordinary army; the latter, a nation with the most advanced system of legal protections against discrimination anywhere on the planet. But the uneasiness remains palpable.

The Jewish Faith also finds itself navigating between those with unwavering adherence to ancient texts and Rabbinic rules, and those seeking to update their beliefs and practices to create consistency with modern social and societal mores. The former group, which  includes students and supporters of Orthodox yeshivas, is growing dramatically in numbers at a rate far greater than any other segment of the Jewish population. The latter group, dominated by progressive influences, is struggling for relevance and shrinking in numbers.

The State of Israel is stronger than ever. It has dramatically weakened its enemies, including its most implacable foe, Iran, which it fought side by side with the United States military for the first time in history. American officials have praised Israel’s military capabilities, including its exquisite intelligence service as well as its air force, considered to be tied with the US Air Force as the best in the world.

At the same time, Israel’s standing in the United States has dropped just as dramatically. The Democrat Party now sides more with Israel’s enemies than with Israel. Forty out of forty seven Democrat senators have voted to deny Israel all military assistance, including funding for Iron Dome which saves Israeli and Palestinian lives. And in New York City, the city with the largest Jewish population in the world, progressive Jews have helped elect a decidedly antisemitic mayor who has surrounded himself with a staff of Hamas sympathizers!

On a simplistic level, perhaps the future of Judaism can be seen as a continued strengthening of Israel’s physical power accompanied by a continuing deterioration of its global standing, and a dramatic weakening of Jewish influence and support for Israel in the United States. But that’s far too simple and without the many nuances and factors that must be considered. Indeed, the future of Judaism is subject to debate like never before. 

Ambassador David Friedman, bestselling author of One Jewish State: The Last, Best Hope to Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and Sledgehammer: How Breaking with the Past Brought Peace to the Middle East, has had a front row seat, and often has taken the stage, as these issues have emerged and been litigated. He is in a unique position to offer a sober assessment of Judaism’s future, along with recommendations to make that future a bright one.