The Jewish year, which ended Oct. 2, was a terrible one for the Jewish people. Those in Israel endured Hamas’s savagery, while many in the U.S. experienced the largest wave of antisemitism in decades, mostly on elite campuses Jews had idealized for a century.
As the new year begins, the state of the American Jewish community is daunting. While American Jews are proud of their achievements, they are mostly secular in nature: high levels of assimilation, education and income. The record of distinctly Jewish achievements is mediocre at best: less Jewish education and knowledge of Hebrew and fewer visits to Israel than any other major diaspora community. If these trends continue there will be fewer Jews who strongly support Israel, are involved in Jewish life, and are interested in passing their identity to their children and grandchildren.
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