September 1, 2004

By BARBARA SOFER

Living in Israel, I have naively believed that whether or not a president of the United States supported the State of Israel would make a significant difference to my voting Diaspora brethren. That was particularly true after these four painful years of terror. I imagined the awkwardness of Democrats voting Republican for the first time because of President George W. Bush's closeness to us during these times. I was wrong.

This isn't a question of Republican or Democrat. According to a recent poll, for only one of the seven Jews who step into a voting booth for the presidential election will the candidate's attitude towards Israel prove crucial. Most don't care. This revelation comes from a survey conducted on July 26-28 by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research for the National Jewish Democratic Council. Forty-two percent of those polled do worry about terrorism and national security. Three percent will vote for Ralph Nader, the candidate who suggests that the Bush administration is a puppet of the Israeli government. A mere 15% of Jewish voters see Israel as the lynchpin of their voting decision.

Remember that American Jewish support of candidates at the polling booth and in campaign fundraising – not our estimable democracy or our biblical promise – are the most important factors in the American government's support of Israel, according to Uzi Dayan, the former head of Israel's National Security Council. But according to this poll, President Bush's support of Israel did nothing for him in the Jewish community. So whoever wins the race may easily conclude: Why bother?

Explaining the lack of zeal about Israel, the New York Jewish Week, a distinguished newspaper with a Zionist editor, suggests that "the suicide war has taken its toll on American Jewish support. [resulting in] a sense of fatigue in the effort to keep Israel at the highest levels of concern through four years of bloodshed. The longer the war drags on, one fears, the more observers tend to equate the Palestinians and Israelis as combatants who refuse to make peace."

Among the factors that Brandies University historian Jonathan Sarna blames for the low priority placed on Israel are "the growing emotional detachment of younger Jews from Israel" and the "increasing discomfort many liberal Jews feel with Israel."

Ouch. In addition to having had to face an attack on our very existence – 25% of Israel's population have been close enough to hear at least one bomb go off – we are being patronized and punished as irredeemable warmongers. Once again, we bemoan the failure of our flaccid national public relations campaign, which has failed to prevent this new equivalency of bellicosity among our own Jews. Once again we are assailed by a sense of unfairness.

But – even more important – what consequence does the indifference to Israel have within the world of the Jewish people? American Jewish Committee Executive Director David Harris sees the poll as good news. He told the JTA that the real winner was the Jewish community, courted by both sides: "The key for me is that the Jewish vote is still very much in play. Both parties are making a concerted effort to go after [it]."

Sorry, but this Zionist can't share Harris's optimism. I'm deeply disappointed that so few of my fellow Jews feel love or family affiliation with the Jewish state. At the very least, I'd expect them to care out of self-interest. My version of Zionism includes the notion that Israel's continued existence and prosperity are important to all Jewish voters.

What can we do? It's so easy and pointless to cast blame. The survey demands a drastic awakening among those cherished brethren who do care. What a daunting challenge: How do we get our own community to love Zion?
There's no time to lose. I suggest that all rabbis focus their High Holiday sermons on the need to support Israel and then announce the immediate reinstatement of bar/bat-Mitzva programs that bring high school students and their families to Israel. Absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder. The requirement for leadership in Jewish organizations to study in Israel must be renewed.

Don't wait for birthright israel to mold your offspring's Jewish identity. Every family should set up an Israel Travel Fund. I have friends that took home improvement loans to travel to Israel. They felt they couldn't think of anything that would improve their home more. Every Jewish parent should insist on Jewish pre-school and Jewish summer camp, encourage kids to apply to colleges that have large Jewish populations, and boycott universities fermenting with anti-Israel activism.

Philanthropists, hold back checks and pledges from universities until you are sure Israel isn't vilified in the Middle East departments. Instead, redirect those checks to support Jewish day schools and summer camps. And Jewish students, don't hesitate to cross campus wearing Jewish stars and kippot.

Grandparents, take on the traditional role as an unflagging resource of Judaism and Zionism. Get educated yourself, and bestow Jewish books, Jewish games, theater tickets to Jewish plays, Jewish jewelry, and Jewish trips. Having Jewish grandchildren is a privilege and a responsibility.

Indifference shouldn't be confused with commendable neutrality.

The Greenberg survey was conducted on Tisha Be'av. Let it be a wake-up call that leads us to rethink and rebuild.