Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict over Israel

by Dov Waxman

How Israel is dividing American Jews

Trouble in the Tribe explores the increasingly contentious place of Israel in the American Jewish community. In a fundamental shift, growing numbers of American Jews have become less willing to unquestioningly support Israel and more willing to publicly criticize its government. More than ever before, American Jews are arguing about Israeli policies, and many, especially younger ones, are becoming uncomfortable with Israel's treatment of Palestinians. Dov Waxman argues that Israel is fast becoming a source of disunity for American Jewry, and that a new era of American Jewish conflict over Israel is replacing the old era of solidarity.

Drawing on a wealth of in-depth interviews with American Jewish leaders and activists, Waxman shows why Israel has become such a divisive issue among American Jews. He delves into the American Jewish debate about Israel, examining the impact that the conflict over Israel is having on Jewish communities, national Jewish organizations, and on the pro-Israel lobby. Waxman sets this conflict in the context of broader cultural, political, institutional, and demographic changes happening in the American Jewish community. He offers a nuanced and balanced account of how this conflict over Israel has developed and what it means for the future of American Jewish politics.

Israel used to bring American Jews together. Now it is driving them apart. Trouble in the Tribe explains why.

Genres: Israel, Jewish, Judaism, Nonfiction, History, Religion, Middle East

328 pages, Hardcover

Published April 12, 2016

Reviews

[Jef Sneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a quick read, a bit repetitive, and strangely enough, as the author is telling us about all the divisiveness in the Jewish community over Israel, the book itself seems very non-controversial. Non- controversial and not divisive, as we can all believe the statistics and we can all accept that there is a conflict. Is that a paradox?

Last week I sat next to a hard right wing Israel supporter. In front of me was a pro-Palestinian Jew who questions everything that Israel does. We all sat listening to Dov Waxman talk about his book. He made a very nice presentation of his thesis in under an hour. We all had to agree.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read! The book is well researched, balanced and fair. It documents the growing polarization in the American Jewish community over the Israeli government's policies and its treatment of the Palestinians. It also describes struggles faced by American Jewish groups who speak out against these policies.

[Sed2109 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not usually much for non-fiction, but reading this book was almost cathartic, since it illuminated the dynamics I've been living within my entire life. Anyone interested in the Israel-related fault lines in Jewish American communities should pick this up - it is accessible for newcomers to the topic, but will hold your attention even if you're old-hat to the debate.

[Roberta Korus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent and illuminating examination of why American Jews are now arguing so publicly and bitterly over Israel, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular. For me, the history of support for and conflicts over Zionism and Israel within the American Jewish community, as well as the history of the organizations that have been front and center in the discussions, was particularly interesting. Waxman also investigates the community's social, religious and demographic trends to help explain the "trouble in the tribe." A five-star book but for the slightly annoying habit of the author to hew in every chapter to what my husband (also a college professor) prescribes as the recipe for a college essay: "Tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em. Then tell 'em. Then tell 'em what you told 'em."

[Scott Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book but it read like a master's thesis. This book could have made a good magazine piece. I learned a little and gained a little perspective. My conclusion is that the rift in American Judaism is not going to heal until the Palestinian issue is resolved by the Israelis and Palestinians. I also don't buy the argument that the Orthodox are going to outbreed the Reform Jews. Many of the Orthodox kids don't stay as Orthodox Jews. It's almost impossible in this Modern Internet based culture.

[The Jewish Book Council]

Review by Susan M. Chambré for the Jewish Book Council.

[Ori Tsameret · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly respect Dr. Waxman's commitment to dispassion and appreciate the insights and broad framing here -- frankly it's rare enough to get a comment on, say, JVP, without comparing anti-Zionist Jews to Nazis. That being said, in the name of 'neutrality' (he never says this but I'm inferring), Waxman completely omits any acknowledgement, much less direct mention of any intra-communal power dynamics or larger forces at play. Framing this as a "conflict" or "debate" only mirrors the larger trappings of discourse on Israel & Zionism which continues to act as though Israelis and Palestinians stand on even footing. Additionally, the internal damage to ideological and cultural diversity in the community is completely ignored, and it almost feels as though Waxman would have an easier time just offering some interpretation rather than contorting himself to refuse to acknowledge the established party lines here (though maybe I'm reading this with post-Oct-7-brain). My last critique here is really about the lack of scope. Though this was written post-2014, there is no mention of IfNotNow, and little if any mention of internal splits in, for example, J-Street U or Habonim Dror. This is great for someone who is just climbing out of an echo chamber but mostly just bland for anybody else!

[Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing and laser-focused on American Jewish opinion on Israel, without discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict itself. The chapter on the pro-Israel lobby was especially well-done. It was interesting to note that J Street was established within a year after the publication of Mearsheimer & Walt's The Israel Lobby; I wonder if one caused the other.

In one of the two empirical chapters, Waxman cited poll data showing that the Orthodox are staying more involved while Conservative and Reform Jews, those more critical of Israel, are disappearing. I wonder if this will make Jewish Voices for Peace and If Not Now's strategy of telling young Jews to boycott their Israel birthright trips backfire. Since those trips heighten attachment to Israel, without them more liberal Jews will be less involved on issues regarding Israel, and American Jewry will be dominated by the Orthodox, who are bigger obstacles to a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jews are at the forefront of Palestinian solidarity movements. SJPs are about 50% Jewish, according to Norm Finkelstein. If liberal Jews just become indifferent, that's not good for applying pressure on Israel.

[Raquel Cervantes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This topic is huge to me. I wanted to read this book the moment I read the title. Then, 63 pages later I could no longer fight the urge to put it down. It is so repetitive I felt I was reading the same two paragraphs over again but with different wording and supporting quotations. I was hoping to learn a lot. I did not. I felt like he was a child again taking a test and suddenly came upon an essay question and the answer was one he only had limited knowledge or understanding for, but in hopes of the undeserved A, he decided to extend his answer into a 215-page book instead. It could probably, maybe, have made a good 10-page paper. I can't believe his reviews are this high. Next on the list: same topic, but better book and better author.

[Eric Flamm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m all about exploring the relationship between US Jews and Israel in my life, so it’s natural I would read scholarship about this topic. I recently finished Dov Waxman’s Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict Over Israel. Waxman does a great job documenting and explaining how we’ve arrived at our current sorry state. I don’t always agree with his conclusions, but as he researches things and talks to people, I tend to believe he has the more comprehensive view. This book cuts to the chase about all the juicy stuff of Jewish community. Pictures by the talented Gili Getz.

[Mark Ehlers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waxman provides an excellent summary of the growing divide that exists in the American Jewish community over its relationship with and feelings towards Israel, especially among younger Jews and between Orthodox and non-Orthodox, religious and secular Jews. The book presents the issues in their proper historical, political, and cultural context and explains how and why the liberal Zionist project is threatened by Israel's rightward political drift and continued occupation of millions of Palestinians, which runs counter to the liberal values held by the majority of American Jews. Waxman explains how the long-standing emotional connection most American Jews have historically held for Israel can no longer be taken for granted, especially by an American Jewish establishment increasingly out of touch with the wider Jewish community. The book is clearly written, if a bit repetitive.