Judaism 3.0 : Judaism’s Transformation To Zionism

by Gol Kalev

the Conservative structure theoretically provided an ability to preserve American Jewry through the conduit of the Jewish religion. There was only one problem – lack of demand, both in terms of membership and in terms of engagement.

Unlike in Israel, where a secular and Orthodox religious Jew inevitably see each other in the cafe, bar, military, workplace, supermarket and on the street, in America, the Orthodox tend to live in different areas and have limited interaction with other Jews.

In addition, in recent decades, a political rift has emerged between American Jews as a whole, and Orthodox Jews.

It is not that there is migration from Reform, Conservative and unaffiliated Jews towards Orthodoxy. This percentage growth is due to the natural birthrate of the Orthodox, and mostly the early stages of evaporation of non-Orthodox American Jewry.

The Reform, Conservative and Orthodox attempts have all failed to stop this evaporation – that is simply because the anchor of American Judaism is no longer the religious aspect of the Jewish nation-religion. There is a transformation of Judaism’s anchor from its religious aspect to its national aspect. The failure of the transition attempts is further aggravated by the reduced significance of American Jewish leadership.

Jews who are involved may know or care about their leaders, but in the digital age, most American Jews do not need “Jewish leaders.”

(only 41% of American Jews are estimated to have ever visited Israel).

Weakens your overall argument, no?

The American Jewish stereotype is no longer reflective of a contemporary American Jew, but of a historic Jew.

such stereotypes are certainly no longer viewed as a source of inspiration for the young Jew, as they were in the past. On the other hand, the Israeli Jew does inspire young American Jews.

Indeed, the Jewish brand is now one of a number of ethnic American brands that are available for consumption by all Americans: Irish, Italian, Jewish.

Evaporation of a group is a legitimate and natural process. Yet, it seems clear that given their past and current behavior, American Jews do not want to evaporate.

While evaporation is the more natural path, new circumstances have emerged in America that can facilitate a transformation, assuring American Judaism’s survivability. Indeed, the transformation from Judaism 2.0 to Judaism 3.0 is evident already.

There is a gradual cultural Israelization of the American Jewish experience alongside its gradual de-Yiddishization.

Today’s American Jew has been rejecting the legacy Jewish products available to him.

Whether it is emotional criticism of Israel’s policies or pride in its technological achievements, the Israeli connector is an organic one that originates on the American Jew’s end.

For example, during the May 2021 Israeli-Hamas conflict, numerous social media posts harshly criticizing Israel began with “As a Jew...” Many of those American Jews do not write other posts “as a Jew,” and are not engaged with other aspects of their Judaism.

not only the connection to Judaism switched from “duty” to “want,” but it also switched from a top-down process to bottom-up. If one were to examine the confluence of transactions an American Jew has with Judaism, he would find that more and more of those are now Israel-related.

(i) Wide array of Israeli products to connect around

to the American Jew, Israeli products are now something that he desires and seeks, while the Jewish American products are the ones that are “shoved down his throat.”

(ii) Non-political connection

The array of appealing Israeli products enables American Jews to more easily embrace Israel, even if they disagree with its policies.

(iii) Israelization of American Jewish culture

The Israelization of the American Jewish community is not a political one, but a cultural one.

This is reflected in the shift in the type of Jewish-related entertainment that American Jews consume.

shift in the Holocaust perception in American Jewry from that of victimhood, to internalizing that the response to the Holocaust is a strong and safe Jewish state.

This too is in line with a shift from past-driven connections – the Holocaust – to contemporary and relevant ones – Israel.

REMOVAL OF THE ALIYA BURDEN FACILITATES THE CONNECTION THROUGH ZIONISM

Zionism can now become the anchor of Judaism, given the growing understanding that Zionism goes well ...

it is now fully acceptable to Israelis if the Jew does not make Aliya. This is somehow analogous to the Datlaf phenomenon described earlier – just as one can stay secular and consume religious experiences a la carte, one can stay in America and consume Israeli experiences a la carte.

Paradoxically, the removal of the “Aliya requirement” as a perceived condition for admission as a full member of the Zionist club paves the path to greater connections of an American Jew to his Judaism through Israel.

An American Jew no longer needs to visit Israel in order to experience Israel. The digital revolution, social media and mental shift to the cloud makes this possible. Hence, through Zionism, Judaism is more accessible than ever.

Vacation homeowners – the new Aliya

An American moving to Israel was expected to stop being culturally an American, and to now become an Israeli. But that is no longer the case.

Now Israelis speak your language and understand your culture.

One is no longer faced with the immediate challenge of learning Hebrew or culturally turning into an Israeli.

The arrival of Israeli Americans and their growing relevance has profound implications on the American Jewish narrative and is a key contributor to the transformation of Judaism to Judaism 3.0.

alternative role model for young American Jews and an alternative Jewish experience in America.

There are more Persian Jews and Sephardi Jews. They not only tend to have stronger ties to Israel, but also have more of their Jewish identity intertwined with Zionism.

The American trend of heritage-identity allows a correction of the previous attempt to label the Jewish “home-country” as Eastern Europe. One reflection of this trend is the anemic response to the attempt to revive the Yiddish language and culture, alongside the robust response to Israel-like activities.

The American Jew’s search for an ideal meets Zionism not only due to demand but also since Israel triggers his Judaism.

The American Jew is increasingly defined by his relationship to Israel whether he chooses to or not – in both negative and positive.

People generally associate Jews with Israel, whether Jews like it or not.

Birthright is the primary Jewish experience for most young Jews

Birthright akin to the Bar Mitzvah – an initiation ritual into Judaism.

But unlike the Bar Mitzvah, done at a much younger age of 13, which is a Jewish religious experience (Judaism 2.0), Birthright is a Jewish national experience (Judaism 3.0). Hence, the most potent Jewish experience of a young American Jew is turning out to be a national one.

It radically elevates Judaism on the hierarchy of identities and that is because it is a Zionist experience, not a religious experience.

for Judaism to be relevant, it needs to be attractive and desirable. Absent an outside wall like in the past, and without internal group commitment (such as with Orthodox Jews), American Judaism needs to thrive in a non-committal environment. This is especially since in a postmodern world, the concept of commitment is no longer necessary. Products and experiences that require commitments are under-consumed. “Can cancel at any time” is on the rise, and “long-term contract” is dreaded. This is reflected in consumer products, services, personal relationships and career choices.

But such non-committal affiliation is not possible under Judaism 2.0.

The Israeli Jew

His day-to-day experiences in Israel shape his Jewish identity. Regardless of the Israeli Jew’s attitude towards Jewish religiosity, he is committed and fully affiliated with Judaism. On the other hand, for the American Jew who has been connecting to his Judaism through Judaism 2.0, it is the Jewish religious affiliation that serves as a primary barometer of the depth of his connection to Judaism.