Amichai Chikli | First One Through

Very few countries in the world have a position in the government for descendants of the country’s original inhabitants who live abroad. Only one also has non-governmental organizations to combat the hatred of those persecuted members in the diaspora.

Israel.

The Jewish State of Israel was founded on three central beliefs of Modern Zionism: that Jews are a people who originate in the land of Israel; they have a right to self-determination and sovereignty in their homeland; and that their country will not only be a safe haven against Jew-hatred, but will combat noxious anti-Semitism around the world.

Today, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs is Amichai Chikli. Born in Jerusalem, he is the son of a Tunisian Conservative rabbi. His governmental position is to strengthen the bonds between Israel and Jews of the diaspora.

*Israeli MK Amichai Chikli (Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)*

Outside of the government, the World Zionist Organization promotes Zionism, and is a vehicle for world Jewry to interface with Israel. Nerya Meir assumed the head of the Diaspora Department and Raheli Baratz-Rix heads the WZO’s Department for Combatting Antisemitism. Last year, Prime Minister Yair Lapid appointed the actress Noa Tishby to a new position of Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and Delegitimization.

This letter is for each of them.

To Israel’s leaders to Diaspora Jewry,

We know that Israel is very busy with countless issues, and the roles each of you play to ensure a strong bond between the Jewish State and Diaspora Jewry is always appreciated.

We are keenly aware of how the nature of our relationship has changed since the re-establishment of the Jewish State in 1948: from a nascent struggling country fighting for survival seeking bodies and funds from diaspora, to a thriving democracy in the heart of an illiberal Middle East with the greatest concentration of Jews anywhere for the first time in almost two thousand years. The modern state welcomes Jewish immigrants, visitors and investment, while it no longer feels they are critical to its survival.

There are a few things to keep in mind as we enter this stage of our relationship.

The United States

Since 1948, the Diaspora has changed remarkably. In 1948, at the country’s founding, there were 34 countries with over 25,000 Jews. Today there are only 17, half that number. To put that in context, the 15 non-U.S. diaspora countries with over 25,000 Jews stands in contrast to 27 U.S. cities with more than 25,000 Jews.

Two countries – Israel and the United States – account for roughly 85% of world Jewry, with the U.S. accounting for 73% of the Jewish diaspora. While the U.S. does not define the diaspora, it is the most significant country by a very wide margin.

There are eight other diaspora countries which have over one percent of diaspora Jews living there, but only two of them – France and the United Kingdom – are also significant trading partners with Israel and members of the United Nations Security Council. Some of the other countries – like Argentina and Russia – have declining Jewish populations and should be viewed as countries for Israel to target for aliyah, rather than as significant long-term outposts of global Jewry.

Diaspora Anti-Semitism and Terrorism

Historically (the 1970s through 2010s), anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist attacks occurred in world capitals such as Athens, Rome, Istanbul, Paris, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Mumbai and London. Fanatics burst into synagogues, Jewish community centers and kosher restaurants and killed as many people as possible.

While the scourge has not left major international cities, the current trend in violence is more prevalent in American cities such as Pittsburgh, PA, Colleyville, TX, Jersey City, NJ and Poway, CA. It shouldn’t be a surprise: there are three times as many Jews in Pittsburgh (42,000) than in all of Turkey (14,300).

The same is true for Jews living in the Israeli territories east of the 1949 Armistice Lines (E49AL). While there are 25 countries in the world with over 10,000 Jews (including the U.S. and Israel), there are nine cities (and growing) in E49AL with such totals. Almost all have experienced attacks.

The facts above have been true for many years but have not penetrated the minds of most people. Part of the reason is attacks on Jews in European cities and E49AL is almost always tied to anti-Zionism, easily triggered in societies with centuries of ingrained anti-Semitism. This is in contrast to attacks in the United States which arise from anti-Semitism in a country established on the basis of religious freedom.

This is changing.

While the Israel-Gaza war in 2014 saw a sharp rise in anti-Semitic attacks in Europe, there were virtually none in the United States. Not so for the eleven day skirmish in May 2021, when gangs assaulted Jews all over the country. Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL said during that time that “the brazenness, the audacity of these assaults in broad daylight. We have seen people basically say, if you are wearing a Jewish star, you must be a Zionist and you should be killed…. we have unhinged, fictionalized conspiracies about Israel, that somehow the Jewish State is systematically slaughtering children or committing genocide. And then that leads to real-world attacks on Jewish people in the streets of America, on our campuses, in our communities.”

It is in the streets of dozens of American cities that the danger of anti-Semitism is now the most pressing, and the scourge is increasingly tied to anti-Zionism.

America’s Jewish Cities and Universities

The 27 cities in the United States with over 25,000 Jews are not only in the biggest states which are solidly Democratic as popularly believed. While many are found in New York, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts and Illinois, a growing number are in Florida, Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

As shown in the table above, fifteen of the top 27 U.S. cities are located in solidly Democratic states per the 2020 presidential election. Seven cities were found in Republican states and five were in swing states.

Beyond these major Jewish population centers, are cities with universities with significant Jewish populations, many of which are suffering from anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist violence and rhetoric.

Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism have also spread to universities with significant Jewish populations in cities with relatively few Jews. Those include Brown University in Providence, RI (14,200 Jews) and Duke University in Durham, NC (12,000).

As an example, in February 2022, Duke passed a resolution which condemned anti-Semitism which included using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism which covered anti-Zionism. This was likely in response to vile anti-Semitic and anti-Israel speakers at the campus in 2019 as covered by a Ami Horowitz video. However, by March 2022, the Duke Student Government was sponsoring Student for Justice in Palestine events featuring noted anti-Zionist and anti-Semite Mohammed El-Kurd. The AMCHA Initiative has long tracked how universities with an SJP chapter are much more likely to have anti-Semitic incidents on campus.

College campuses have become fertile ground for extreme fundamentalist governments including Qatar and Saudi Arabia to pour over $1 billion to influence the next generation of students. Leading schools which have taken their money include Columbia University, Tufts University, the University of Southern California, George Washington University, NYU, MIT, Harvard, Georgetown and Carnegie Mellon. The Arab states have used their oil wealth to export the demonization of the Jewish State and Jews around the world.

And the impetus for exporting their hatred onto American shores is their hatred for Israel. Killing the Jewish State’s strongest supporter is a key aim of anti-Zionists.

Israel’s Fight Against Anti-Semitism in America

It is noble and appreciated that Israel is taking up the fight against global anti-Semitism.

Minister Chikli, you talked about the diaspora community and suggested that small communities might be best served by making aliyah to Israel, and plan on investing a good portion of your 500 million NIS budget in the education of the larger communities. This is wise. While it will be difficult for Israel to match the dollars of the Muslim Gulf states going into America’s leading universities, it can invest in the middle and high schools of the United States’ largest Jewish cities.

America’s Jews and communities are mostly well-off and well-organized. We have numerous Jewish schools, synagogues, community centers and Israel advocacy groups, especially compared to the other countries in the diaspora. But there are things that must come from Israel to the various cities listed above to help fight the rising anti-Semitism. Here is the start of a list:

Israelis and Israeli products in the schools and markets
Collaboration between American universities and companies and those in Israel
Eloquent and well versed Israelis on news channels
Establish pro-Jewish narratives
Bi-partisanship, connecting with all streams of Judaism
Open and clear communication between Israel and U.S. Jewish leaders

Israelis and Israeli products in the schools and markets

Getting young Israelis into cities across the United States with programs like shinshinim should be expanded. The Israelis get a better appreciation for America, and Americans get a first-hand account of what is happening in Israel, not from the news or textbooks, but from young Israelis living in the Jewish State.

The BDS (boycott, divest and sanction) movement against Israel should not only be fought legally but on the ground. Getting lots of Israeli products and brands into stores should be a priority of the Israeli government, not just the Israeli companies.

Collaboration between American universities and companies and those in Israel

Israeli universities and companies are in a good position to continue to leverage their leading research and technological prowess to collaborate with American institutions. An active bi-lateral flow of human and financial capital can cement positive long-term relationships.

Eloquent and well versed Israelis on American media

Israel must develop a comprehensive team of fluent English speakers who are adept at public relations on a range of topics. The most glaring problems are when Israeli spokespersons cannot handle basic questions on television when Israel is in a conflict. The government must have a team of people in constant dialogue with the full range of American media on political, economic, cultural, religious, historical and scientific matters.

Establish pro-Jewish narratives

It is very important to establish and correct information that is being propagated in the media and on campuses, but the Israeli government must do more to craft the narratives. For example, not only should the statistics about the Arab population in Jerusalem and Israel be laid out to dismiss the ridiculous charges of genocide and ethnic cleansing, but stories of real people should be featured. The world loves a good story, and Israel is more than capable of humanizing the liberal country it has built in the heart of the illiberal Middle East.

Bi-partisanship, connecting with all streams of Judaism

As described above, there are Democratic and Republican Jews and they live in a range of cities. It is imperative for Israel to maintain good relations with both parties, ESPECIALLY as the divide in the country grows.

Similarly, it is important for Israel to connect with all the streams of Judaism which are much more common in the United States than in Israel and the rest of the diaspora. The Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative branches of Judaism are much larger than the Modern and Ultra Orthodox streams. Those liberals tend to be much more critical of religious and nationalistic actions by Israel, while the more Orthodox tend to be more likely to make aliyah. Israel needs to keep a good relationship with each community.

Open and clear communication between Israel and U.S. Jewish leaders

The last item on this short list is for good lines of direct communication. If the government of Israel is directly communicating with American Jewish leaders, hopefully it will prevent Jewish leaders from lobbying the U.S. government to take actions against Israel, as J Street did aggressively, in pushing the Obama Administration to allow UN Security Council Resolution 2334 to pass.

Israel is at a very sensitive moment in history with Iran on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons capability, and the largest percentage of West Bank Arabs itching for violence against Jewish civilians in twenty years. At the same time, American Jewry is more divided as it faces growing anti-Semitism, a break from historic norms when Jews normally come together when faced with Jew hatred.

The global fight against anti-Semitism can be won with Israeli and American forces acting together with common purpose. We look forward to working together with you at this important time in history.

Best,

The readers of First One Through