Family values

Joseph Henson President

Mishpocha and l'dor v'dor are two important aspects of the Jewish ethos — that is, the common spirit of the Jewish culture as seen in our beliefs, memories and aspirations. Mishpocha, "family" in both Yiddish and Hebrew, can be as narrow as your nuclear family or, more often, your extended family and friends. But in response to the unprovoked slaughter of innocents on Oct. 7, we should extend it to its widest. Jews are only a miniscule 0.2% of the world population. Jews are found in many countries, but most live in the U.S. (51%) or in Israel (30%). Given the rise in antisemitism worldwide, the Jewish population is slowly migrating to securer lands from, for example, France or Russia.

L’dor v'dor is, among other things, about passing connections of Jewishness from generation to generation, from older to younger. This transmission of Jewish values, rituals, traditions and especially history to the next generation is critical. There are many ways this can be done, but learning within the family is paramount. Exposure to Jewish camps, youth groups and so forth are significant sources because it’s just not grandpa prattling on. However, to reinforce these values, it is important we show personal involvement in organized Jewish groups from AIPAC through Hillel to ZOA. There is a rainbow of associations from liberal to conservative with Judaism or Israel as its central focus. Within these, Jewish Federations play a vital role.

However, it looks like we may have muffed our capability to smoothly pass along these integral values.

According to a February 2023 Gallup survey, net sympathy for Israel versus Palestinians was 31% or higher for generational groups born in 1979 or earlier, but for those born in 1980 or later, it is negative 2%. This is a momentous drop among the two youngest generational groups, the Millennials and Gen Z.

Net sympathy does not require a monolithic Jewish view for political or social solutions. There are clearly a wide range of principled stands that can be espoused: i) court restructuring, how or not, ii) Israel or nothing on the building/ maintaining/abandoning of settlements in, as you prefer, the occupied or disputed territories, et al. The essential point is to do your best not to let opposition or support of Israeli policies morph into antisemitism, in particular after the Oct. 7 pogrom.

This net sympathy attitudinal shift seems to be, in part, driving an increase in antisemitic views. The Anti-Defamation League’s September 2023 report on Anti-Israel Activism on U.S. Campuses 2022-23 notes, “Vilification of Zionists and expressions of support for terror against Israel defined anti-Israel activism on college campuses.” Likewise, the ADL has warned that “the left-wing movement that agitates against Israel in the name of Palestinian rights has made antisemitism more socially acceptable.” Regrettably, since the Oct. 27, 2018 attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, when a virulent antisemite murdered 11, the embrace American Jews once felt from communities across the United States seems to be fading away.

Amanda Berman, founder of a progressive Zionist group, partially attributes this to the fact that people are applying a simple oppressor/oppressed binary onto the conflict without a sound foundation in the history and actual forces at work on the ground. This speaks to the point that we, the mishpocha, need to be better at passing our values — l'dor v'dor — to next generations.

In December, when this grandpa is in Boston with his college freshmen grandchildren, he will try to practice what he preaches.

Am Yisrael Chai!