Executive Summary

The American Jewish community contributes greatly to Israel’s national security and societal resilience. It sponsors a powerful network of advocacy organizations that help garner support for Israel in the US diplomatic and security arenas. It donates vast sums to promote Israeli arts, science, medicine, education, and social welfare. It contributes to the mosaic of cultures that shape Israeli society. For these reasons and more, a strong and pro-Israel American Jewish community is a vital strategic asset for the State of Israel. However, several trends indicate that the community is weakening, and its support for Israel is eroding.

These changes include:

• Large-scale disaffiliation from the organized Jewish community, related to broader trends of secularization and assimilation. Although the American Jewish community has increased in size, the growth has been greatest among the least engaged parts of the community.

• Weakening Jewish communal institutions, as evidenced by declining synagogue membership, plummeting supplementary school enrollment, and shrinking donor rolls to federation campaigns. New institutions and organizations are regularly established, but the overall trend is toward fragmentation and erosion of organizational capacity.

• Declining participation in Israel-based experiential programs. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Gaza after October 7, 2023, tens of thousands fewer young Jewish adults from the diaspora visited Israel over the last five years than would otherwise have been expected.

• Increasing division over Israel amid widespread criticism of its conduct in the war in Gaza, especially regarding the large number of civilian casualties, paucity of humanitarian aid, and related policies in the West Bank. Overall, emotional attachment to Israel, especially in the younger generation, has reached its lowest level in decades.

• Growing polarization between right-wing and liberal factions in the Israel advocacy arena, with both moving toward more extreme positions. As a result, the overall influence of the advocacy network has diminished, as the opposing camps increasingly cancel out each other’s impact.

These changes in the American Jewish community are taking place within a broader society that has become increasingly politically polarized and more critical of Israel. The growing criticism of Israel in the US polity both reflects and contributes to greater antisemitism, with manifestations intensifying on both the left and right. As a result, the American Jewish community is deeply challenged not only by its own institutional weakening and division but also by an external environment that has grown exceedingly hostile.

The rapid unfolding of antipathy toward Israel in US politics and society is a major threat to the US–Israel alliance. In the near term, American Jews remain an important bulwark supporting the alliance, especially among liberals and Democrats. However, further erosion of US Jewish support for Israel could help pave the way for the Democratic Party to turn fully against the alliance.

In the medium and long term, a diminished US Jewish community would also have economic costs for Israel. The informal networks that greatly facilitate Israel’s scientific and industrial development would weaken. The philanthropic flows that benefit Israel’s nonprofit sector would diminish. The greatest damage, however, would likely be the most difficult to quantify: An American Jewish community that is less supportive of Israel would leave Israel more isolated globally, less capable of extending soft power, and less confident in its role as the nation-state of the Jewish people. 5

Israel’s Current Practices and Policies

Israel relates institutionally to diaspora Jewish communities through a variety of government ministries and third sector organizations. Its programs of support for American Jewish life include legacy initiatives of the Jewish Agency, comprising more than 2,000 emissaries to federations, summer camps, and colleges, as well as over 100 region-to-region and city-to-city initiatives. Israel also contributes funding and support to Taglit-Birthright Israel, the organization that brings diaspora Jewish young adults on educational tours of the Jewish state. The program’s extraordinary reach and proven impact have made it a substantial factor in Jewish continuity in the United States. Long-term programs in the Masa framework, including yeshiva, gap year, and study abroad programs, have also demonstrated significant and enduring impact.

At the same time, Israel’s policies on a range of issues have strained relations with American Jews, especially the liberal majority. Policies regarding religious pluralism have been a perennial source of discord. More recently, the Netanyahu-Levin judicial overhaul has divided not only Israelis but also American Jews, largely along similar religious and political lines. Over the last two years, moreover, large sections of the American public were alienated by Israel’s actions and policies in the Gaza war, which also raised deep concerns among many Jewish Americans. During interviews conducted for this report, many Jewish leaders expressed frustration that the views and experiences of American Jewry were not considered by Israeli policymakers.

Policy Recommendations

Growing evidence suggests that the American Jewish community faces profound communal challenges and that its support for Israel is weakening. Primary responsibility for the vitality and continuity of American Jewish life lies with American Jews themselves, their organizations, and their philanthropies. The State of Israel, however, should contribute as best it can to these efforts and work to foster resilient ties between the Jewish state and the world’s largest diaspora community. Drawing on 50 interviews with key informants in the United States and Israel, this report offers policy recommendations and initiatives in the areas of diplomacy, education, politics, and planning.

Diplomatic Sphere

1. Restore Israel’s Standing with the US Public
Israel must undertake a comprehensive effort to rehabilitate its reputation in the United States. This effort should begin by reconsidering some of the more radical policies of the current government that have alienated many US voters and American Jews. In the future, Israel should refrain from actions that seriously harm its democratic character, and should pursue actions in the diplomatic arena to expand the Abraham Accords and open a renewed dialogue with the Palestinians.

In parallel, Israel should launch a comprehensive new approach to communications and public diplomacy. A revitalized public diplomacy should proactively articulate Israel’s case, be well funded, and staffed by people with a sophisticated understanding of the diverse American publics. It should include not only strategic communications but also initiatives of exchange and cooperation across diverse spheres of higher education, science, law, arts, and sport. In addition, social and cultural bonds must be reestablished.

2. Restore Israel’s Standing within the American Jewish Community
Pro-Israel sentiment has declined not only among the general public but also within the American Jewish community. Although many American Jews have applauded Israel’s resilience and supported its conduct of the October 7 war, others have become more critical, aligning with claims that Israel has committed war crimes and expressing a declining emotional attachment to the Jewish state. A program of targeted outreach to the Jewish community should be included as part of the broader overhaul of public diplomacy. This engagement should be conducted by all sides in a spirit of humility and with a genuine desire to hear and understand a wide range of perspectives.

Educational Sphere

3. Restore Israel Experience Programs to Scale
Over the last quarter of a century, Israel-based experiential education has proven an effective means of outreach to more assimilated segments of the American Jewish community. Yet, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war, participation in these programs has been severely curtailed. Israel should support Taglit-Birthright Israel and other providers of short-term Israel experiences—including the new RootOne program for teenagers—to rebuild capacity as quickly as possible.

4. Make Israel a Global Center of Higher Education
At the same time, long-term educational frameworks should be significantly expanded. These frameworks include gap-year programs and university-based study abroad, dual-degree, and full-degree programs. The main obstacles to expanding these programs—marketing, costs, and quality—all can be overcome with sustained investment. A reasonable goal would be to enroll 10,000 American Jewish young adults annually in gap year programs, matching the number of Israelis participating in national service and pre-military academy programs. In parallel, full-degree and dual-degree undergraduate and graduate programs taught in English should also be expanded, with the aim of establishing Israel as a world center of higher education for the Jewish people.

5. Expand Opportunities for Israelis to Learn about American Jewry
Israelis express a strong sense of kinship with diaspora Jewry and a desire to nurture the relationship. This affective orientation, however, exists in tension with a generally limited knowledge of diaspora Jewish life, including in the United States. Study tours to US Jewish communities should be expanded and made routine for Israeli elected officials and a widening circle of opinion shapers, including journalists, university presidents, business leaders, and heads of medical and cultural institutions. Additionally, the state should initiate broad-based education about diaspora Jewry within Israeli high schools, pre-military academies, service programs, and the IDF, as well as through civil society initiatives. Broad public exposure to American Jewish life through television, film, and other media should also be encouraged and supported.

Political Sphere

6. Extend Dialogue to a Broad Spectrum of Pro-Israel Advocacy Groups The declining influence of Israel advocacy organizations is a consequence of both macrosocial trends, largely beyond the control of communal institutions, and internal divisions between right, center, and liberal camps. Although the political diversity is one reason for the diminished clout, it does have a silver lining, as it ensures that most American Jews have outlets in which to advance their priorities, and it enables the pro-Israel network as a whole to engage with most factions in the increasingly polarized polity of the United States. As rolling back the clock to the days of a unified pro-Israel lobby is impossible, Israeli governmental and non-governmental actors should engage with all organizations of the pro-Israel network while encouraging organizations on the right and left flanks to moderate their more extreme positions.

7. Improve Mechanisms of Consultation with American Jewish Leaders Just as Israel should reach out to a broader spectrum of advocacy organizations in the United States, it should also seek to expand opportunities for American Jews to express their views within Israel’s governmental bodies. Several avenues exist for institutionalizing and regularizing the representation of American Jews. These include establishing a formal body under the auspices of the president of Israel, and formalizing the participation of major diaspora Jewish organizations within a number of Knesset frameworks (e.g., the Committee on Immigration, Absorption and Diasporas). Another option would be an interparliamentary committee of members of Knesset and heads of major global Jewish organizations. None of these frameworks should entail voting rights for non-Israelis.

In addition, there is a need to establish a professional body within a cabinet-level ministry (e.g., Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs) that would advise the government at the highest level and on an ongoing basis, with assessments of the implications of its decisions for diaspora Jewry.

Planning and Funding

8. Establish a National Strategy on Antisemitism
Although Israel is a signatory to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), it is among the few signatory nations without a national strategy to combat antisemitism. By adopting such a policy, Israel would demonstrate its commitment to fighting antisemitism under the 2018 Nation-State Law and its solidarity with diaspora Jewish communities. Israel’s national strategy on antisemitism should focus mostly outward, on ways of holding other nations and non-governmental organizations accountable for combating antisemitism and on emphasizing measures best undertaken by a sovereign state rather than by diaspora organizations. It should also assess the ways Israel’s policies may have contributed to the capacity of antisemitic actors on both the right and the left to win new audiences and expand their influence. Finally, the strategy should be formulated in consultation with diaspora Jewish organizations, remain as politically neutral as possible, and be developed for implementation across successive Israeli governments.

9. Create a Framework for Long-Term Funding and Planning Israel’s governmental and nongovernment organizations working on issues related to American Jewry operate with very little common strategy and unpredictable funding streams. To effectively implement the initiatives outlined in this report, long-term planning, improved coordination, and predictable funding are required. Multi-year funding should be allocated for public diplomacy, Israel-based experiential and higher education, and education for Israelis about diaspora Jewry. Funding should also be allocated for development and implementation of a national strategy on antisemitism. All such funding should be accompanied by provisions that mandate regular consultations among key governmental and non-governmental bodies for the purpose of coordination and strategic planning.

Conclusion

Israel benefits from a strong and flourishing American Jewish community that continues to support Israel’s core national interests. However, the American Jewish community shows many signs of internal weakening and a deteriorating social position, and its near-consensus support for Israel can no longer be taken for granted. This report sets out a national strategy aimed at contributing to the vitality of the community and ensuring its future ties with the State of Israel. Israel’s alliance with the American Jewish community is a national security asset and is core to its purpose as a democratic nation-state of the Jewish people. With vision, investment, and hard work, Israel can make a vital contribution to the American Jewish future and to the alliance between the world’s largest two Jewish communities.