Judaism 3.0 : Judaism’s Transformation To Zionism

by Gol Kalev

Jewish Americans are not a religious minority. They are an ethnological group that is an integral part of the mosaic of America – just like Irish Americans, Italian Americans and Mexican Americans.

Trump issued an executive order acknowledging that Judaism is a nationality.

As Jews abandoned their old ways of life, they became a member of a bigger “religion”: Americanism.

America’s ethos is no longer shaped by the “Mayflower narrative,” but instead by a strong embrace of cultural pluralism

The rise of the Latino constituents solidifies the cultural pluralism trend that contributes to Jews feeling more comfortable to center more of their identity around Israel and Zionism.

Zionism (Judaism 3.0) is more in line with the American narrative also because it provides greater clarity to the American about who is a Jew, at a time when Americans increasingly embrace and expect clarity.

early in the 20th century, over-embrace of Zionism could have been considered a loyalty reducing characteristic, raising concerns of dual loyalty, today such overt love of Zionism would be considered a positive loyalty-enhancing characteristic.

America’s version of cultural pluralism is not multiculturalism. It is not a collection of unrelated cultures in competition with one another, as the case is in Europe.

The threat to the American narrative comes from universalism, and from a misapplication of cultural pluralism.

Americanism accepts and encourages multiple cultures, as long as they are supportive of, and integral to, the dominant American narrative.

Dual loyalty to America and to one’s ethnological national affiliation is natural and built into Americanism.

the triumph of Zionism (Judaism 3.0) strengthens the American narrative in its philosophical debate against contemporary European universalism.

American particularity vs. European universalism. This might be turning into the philosophical global divide of the 21st century, akin to the late 20th century divide between capitalism (US) and communism (USSR) and the 19th century one between republicanism and monarchy.

For an American Jew, a connection to Judaism through Zionism (Judaism 3.0) is a profound demonstration of support of the American-led side of this philosophical debate, since Zionism at its core is about particularity and counter-universalism.

The European Union has been increasingly positioning itself in recent years as a global force to counter Americanism.

Its messages highlight the divide: America is religious, Europe is increasingly atheist; America is capitalist, Europe is socially conscious; America is militaristic, Europe is pacifist.

The rise in power of the EU and its attempts to influence Americanism goes hand-in-hand with the domestic rise of universalist forces in America.

Who are these importers of European values to America? Who are these “Hellenizers?” They are the ones with the broadest set of touch-points with Europe: Those in banking, in academia, trade, journalism, and other such jetsetters – a group that is perceived to strongly correlate with American Jews. (Judaism 2.0).

Exports From Europe to America: Israel-bashing and BDS

the anti-Israel movement resonates primarily with communities that are at the point-of-entry to European values: primarily within liberal and progressive, as well as in the Jewish communities, but less so with the American Muslim community.

While Judaism 3.0 is a reflection of the American ideal and the values of the American Revolution, Judaism 2.0 is to a certain extent, a reflection of the European sphere-of-influence in America, including its perceived European counter-Americanism.

The same is happening today. The EU is attempting to spread the ideas of post-nationalism, post-religion and universalism, dedicating significant budgets and political capital to it. These ideas are in a head-to-head conflict with the ideas of the American Revolution.

Recognizing that Judaism has transformed and is now in Judaism 3.0 would allow Jews to disassociate from the European side of the European-American conflict, and be more closely aligned with Americanism through Zionism.

Europe chose Jerusalem as an arena for its philosophical battle with the United States. Sadly some Jews in America sided with Europe. European opposition to Jerusalem epitomizes its opposition to Americanism.

Americanism and Zionism on one side, Europeanism and Judaism 2.0 on the other.

The more non-Jewish Americans relate to Judaism through their own Israeli experiences, the easier it is for Jews to relate to Judaism through Israel.

if the non-Jew admires Israel, then so can the Jew, without being nervous about being suspected of dual loyalty.

Rightly or wrongly, there is a strong association of American Judaism with American liberalism.

Therefore, one’s view of the Liberal movement affects how one views Judaism. As those views change, so does the American perception of Judaism.

The Liberal movement and the Democratic party are shifting. New forces have emerged that are taking the movement in a different direction, and those no longer have strong Jewish associations. Not only do those new directions have only limited Jewish influence, but to a large extent, as will be discussed, some of those new liberal forces house scornful sentiments towards the old style liberalism that was associated with liberal Judaism.

Core to this new ethos is the rise of the Progressive movement.

The third group, loosely defined as Alt-Left, houses a consortium of anarchists, revolutionists, neo-Communists, rebelling teenagers of various ages and various others.

For parts of this group, the Jew is “the Man.”

Putting the forces of those three groups together, and their rising demographic power, it can be concluded that Judaism 2.0 is losing its hold on the American Liberal movement. At the same time, Zionism (Judaism 3.0) is becoming the more relevant Jewish issue to those new forces of the Liberal movement, whether from a positive or negative point of view.

For the first group, African American and Hispanic, strong religiosity translates into strong support of Zionism.

For the Progressive, while being anti-establishment means anti-liberal Judaism, Zionism (Judaism 3.0) represents an issue that evokes passions and strong emotions – mostly, from a negative point of view.

The Alt-Left provides perhaps the stronger evidence of a Jewish transformation, since they tend not to make much distinction between Jews and Israel. For many of them, there is no difference: “Jews control the world” is the same as “Israel controls America.”

Hence, whether from a positive or negative point of view, trends in the American Left and Liberal movement support the reality that there is a transformation of Judaism in America from Judaism 2.0 (liberal Judaism) to Judaism 3.0 (Zionism).

For the Republicans and Conservatives,

Given the strong association of Jews with the Liberal movement, the rejection of liberalism translates into an indirect implicit rejection of American Judaism (Judaism 2.0).

The strongest disdain of liberal Judaism is expressed by Jews themselves.

Unshackled from accusation of being anti-Semites, Orthodox Jews and politically conservative Jews are at the forefront of expressing disdain at liberal Jews and outlets associated with liberal Judaism such as The New York Times.

For this group, strong support of Israel is paramount. The liberal Jews’ attack on Israel is loathed.

The support for Israel amongst the right is not only deep but also broad. Various groups that make up the conservative coalition in the United States support the State of Israel, each for its own set of reasons. For some conservatives, support for Israel is even a core issue on which they will decide which candidate to elect.

Christian Right

Libertarians and Isolationists:

For this group, support for Israel is also driven by the strong alliance and ability to rely on Israel in the war on terrorism and protection of American interests in the region, in lieu of sending American forces.

The Alt-Right is a diverse group, with diverging attitudes towards Israel and Judaism.

Elements of Alt-Right are outright Jew-haters,

But there are also those identified as Alt-Right who express disdain at the establishment, but do not engage in such hateful activities.