Publications

AH: You have spoken out recently about the politicization of anti-Semitism. Can you tell me a bit more about how that manifests itself and what can be done to prevent it?

AF: Since the election in the U.S. there has been a rise in hate crime, or at least a perceived rise, because there has been a great deal of reporting on it. And so, all of a sudden, the political arena began to focus on it and we started hearing and reading that it was a result of Donald Trump “opening a Pandora’s box.” That was and is an overstatement because it ignores the fact that anti-Semitism was around long before Donald Trump was a candidate for president, as evidenced by the fact that American Jews have been targeted in about 1,500 attacks per year on average before his candidacy. In that sense, the hate crimes we see now are not new, nor are they the result of a change in politics or politics rhetoric. According to the ADL polling data, between 10-15 percent of the country hold anti-Semitic views, and that was true before this election season as well.

In our society, the protection of Jews and other minorities came as a result of a social contract of sorts: an understanding that you can hold any bigoted view you like in your heart and in your home but there is no tolerance for bigotry or racism in the public arena. This was not enshrined in any legislation but it was understood that breaking with this norm would prevent one from succeeding politically or commercially. Donald Trump eroded that standard by expressing bigoted views in public and breaking all the social taboos that protected ethnic minorities, women, and the disabled - and still succeeded. This campaign season broke the taboos we had worked so hard over the years to establish, and it contributed to a growing sense of entitlement to express feelings of prejudice.

Nevertheless, for us to view the struggle against anti-Semitism along party lines would undermine our ability to combat it; to my mind, there is too much blame placed on Trump from one side of the political spectrum while the other side is much too quick to defend him.

AH: Do you think the increasingly polarized politics of the U.S. is spreading to the Jewish community? Are American Jews more or less divided than in years past?

AF: The American Jewish community reflects the rest of American society, and so what happens in the larger American political discourse certainly affects us. But my concern is that many of those speaking or acting in the political arena are doing so as Jews rather than American citizens participating in political life. When they clothe their political activity in Judaism, that can undermine the community’s credibility, impact, and influence, especially in an environment that is so polarized.

AH: How then would you suggest that they clothe their political activity?

AF: They can speak as lawyers, doctors, businessmen, or Americans, but not necessarily as Jewish lawyers, doctors, or businessmen. We have a very delicate situation in the White House today, as the two people closest to the President are Jewish. Are Jared Kushner and his wife, Ivanka, there as Jews or as family members and advisors of the President? I see their importance and significance as based on their relationship to the President. Therefore, I do not believe that we should impose upon them expectations to act as Jews, and that doing so could be damaging. If they succeed or do not succeed in their current roles, it should be as the daughter and son-in-law of the president rather than the Jewish daughter and son-in-law. We should, however, take pride in their Jewishness. It is a delicate line but an important line to care about.

AH: How is it possible for Jewish community leaders to avoid wading into the debate when it is so present (news updates, social media, TV)?

AF: There is no consensus on the Jewish community’s view regarding the President; there is the Democratic Party view, and on the other hand, there is the Republican Party view. It is true, there are overwhelming sentiments regarding specific policies among American Jews. For example, we as a community have a deep sensitivity to the issue of immigration, so one can understand that some Jews will speak out in the context of the history of Jewish immigration and its significance. However, there is no Jewish consensus regarding Trump’s travel ban.

AH: At what point is it acceptable to enter into the political debate and say “enough is enough”; this is not a political issue but a moral one?

AF: We are still debating the role of religion in society, as Trump and the Republican Party would like to increase the role and visibility of religion in in political life. He has signed an executive order that grants religious institutions greater freedom to engage in political activity, and that is contrary to the spirit of our political tradition and our constitution.

Using a religious value system as a guide for what we would like to see in the political arena is a complicated matter; the American Jewish community has issues with some evangelicals who would like to make America a more Christian country, so that is something we need to be very sensitive about. We should be careful not to present our struggle on civil rights issues only as a Jewish agenda per se because introducing religion into the political can boomerang.

The degrees of separation of church and state do vary at the local level, but until now the Supreme Court of the United States has upheld it consistently on a national level. However, the religion-state issue is a dynamic, and it can shift. Trump tried very hard to get the evangelical vote and he succeeded in doing so; now he may feel some obligation to return the favor by pushing for some elements of their agenda.

AH: How will the new phenomena we have discussed affect Israel and the discourse on it? Do you think Trump’s chummy relationship with Netanyahu and relatively weak support among American Jews could alienate the community from Israel?

AF: The U.S. Jewish community-Trump-Israel dynamic is both fluid and complex. I suspect that even some American Jews who are not supportive of the President on the whole are delighted by the new tone in the U.S.-Israel relationship. There is also a great irony in the fact that many Jews opposed to President Trump during his candidacy are now embracing his serious efforts to reach a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians, while the Jews that supported him are now a bit nervous about his efforts to put the peace process back on the agenda.

AH: Is there hope for a right-wing Israel (or what has been for the large majority of the last 4 decades) among an increasingly liberal Democratic party?

AF: President Obama said something along the lines of “in order to love and support Israel, I do not need to love and support the Likud” and I think he is right about that. I do not think that Democrats have to align with Likud in order to support Israel, as the bilateral relationship is based on fundamental interests and values that go beyond partisan politics. I do not think Israeli “occupation” or the Likud Party will come between Israel and the diaspora, but rather issues of religious freedom and pluralism.

Jews outside of Israel are more disturbed by the fact that they might not be considered Jewish in Israel and that some non-Orthodox branches of Judaism are not able to worship freely in the Jewish state, which goes against the basic moral value of freedom of religion. The American Jewish community’s struggle for respect for Judaism in America has imprinted upon it the core value of respect for a diversity of views and perspectives. Many Israelis don’t have a good grasp of this issue because the religious dichotomy in Israel is far starker between the religious and the secular. There is also a lack of appreciation of how diaspora Jews desperately value and want Israel’s recognition of their Jewishness, but Israel is not willing to give it because of the political stranglehold of the Orthodox rabbinical authority.

In order to fix this issue, the system needs to be changed. There has been discussion of taking steps to right this wrong for 69 years now, but there has been no progress, and that is largely a function of Israel's political dysfunction. I do not know how to overcome this problem, as election after election it is clear the issues of security and economics are far and away the top priorities of the Israeli people, despite the fact that this issue is extremely important as well. Losing the relationship between the U.S. Jewish community and Israel could be costly, and if American Jews feel rejected they will lose interest. So far, the trends are not promising, but I remain optimistic that things can change for the better.