At times, our organizations have disagreed sharply over policy, politics, and strategy. Those disagreements have reflected genuine differences over the best way to secure Israel’s long-term future, the proper role of American diplomacy and pressure, the use of US military assistance, and how closely American Jewish organizations should align with the policies of any given Israeli government.
We do not pretend those differences have disappeared. They remain real, and in some cases profound. But after decades of communal leadership in a variety of roles, we have also learned that our public debates do not always capture the breadth of agreement that still exists across American Jewish life. Beneath the noise and polarization, there remains a broad center of shared values and shared aspirations about Israel, Judaism, and the future relationship between the two.
As Jewish Americans and lifelong supporters of Israel, we believe articulating that shared vision has become urgent. At a moment when political discourse rewards ideological purity and mutual denunciation, we believe it is especially important to remind our community how much common ground still exists.
Israel is and will remain a central component of Jewish identity.
Israel’s current government and its policies have contributed to a precipitous decline in American support for Israel, especially among younger Jews. The expansion of settlements, the entrenchment of occupation, the humanitarian devastation in Gaza, and the conduct of the war against Iran have all deepened the divide. Nevertheless, most American Jews still feel a meaningful connection to the country.
Many in our generation — the baby boomers — had parents and grandparents tied personally to Israel’s founding and early decades of struggle. We continue to hope our children and grandchildren will see Israel as part of their Jewish identity and family story.
But sustaining that connection requires honesty about the direction of Israeli politics and policies — and space for Jews to express disagreement without being cast outside the communal tent.
American Jewish identity is not rooted solely in our relationship to Israel. It is shaped by values deeply grounded in Jewish tradition: justice, equality, and the belief that every human being is created in the image of God. These commitments inspired generations of Jews — including us — to stand at the forefront of movements for civil rights, labor rights, and human dignity.
Today, many American Jews look at the policies pursued by successive Israeli governments toward Palestinians and feel profound moral discomfort. They see settlement expansion, permanent occupation, and the denial of political rights to millions of Palestinians as incompatible with both democratic principles and Jewish ethics. They are horrified both by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and by the devastating toll of war on innocent Palestinian civilians.
Our Jewish values require moral consistency, however, and an approach to Israel advocacy that asserts we have no right to question the country’s policies does not meet this moment.
Expressing those concerns does not make someone anti-Israel. And it certainly does not warrant calling those with whom we disagree names and engaging in ad hominem attacks — as Israel’s ambassador to the United States has recently.
Younger American Jews will not sustain a meaningful relationship with Israel if they are told they must choose between their values and their connection to Israel.
While most American Jews still believe the United States should help Israel address real security threats, polling shows they want that support to be strategic and accountable, not unconditional or open-ended. The two of us also believe true friendship requires mutual respect and accountability.
American aid and weapons must be used in accordance with American law and international standards. The United States and its elected leadership have both the right and the responsibility to oppose policies that undermine prospects for peace, democracy, and long-term security. The US-Israel alliance is strongest when it reflects a genuine alignment of values and interests.
We also both believe strongly that a Jewish and democratic Israel requires Palestinian statehood. Israel can and must remain both Jewish and democratic. But that future is impossible without a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea live millions of Jewish and Palestinian people, about half Jewish and half Palestinian. Both have legitimate ties to the land and national aspirations. Neither is going anywhere.
The alternatives to a negotiated peace agreement are grim: perpetual war, permanent occupation, or a single unequal state that could endanger both Israel’s democratic character and its Jewish future.
The only sustainable path is one that guarantees security, dignity, and self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians.
The future we seek is one our parents and grandparents could scarcely have imagined: An Israel fully integrated into the Middle East, secure within recognized borders, and living peacefully alongside a Palestinian state accepted by the region and the world.
That future will require courageous Israeli and Palestinian leadership. But it will also require strong, principled American leadership committed to diplomacy, regional integration, and a just resolution of the conflict.
The loudest voices in today’s debate often insist on false choices: between loving Israel and criticizing its government; between supporting Palestinian rights and supporting Israel’s existence; between Jewish particularism and universal values.
Most American Jews reject those false choices. So do we.
Many people assume the organizations we have led represent irreconcilable visions of the American Jewish relationship with Israel. We do not. Our experiences have convinced us that there remains a broad and vital center in American Jewish life — one that believes in Israel’s security and legitimacy, believes equally in democracy and human dignity, and believes the future depends on Israelis and Palestinians finding a way to live side by side in peace.
The task before American Jews is not to abandon Israel or abandon our principles. It is to help build a future in which Israel, America, and the Jewish people are once again united by a shared commitment to democracy, security, equality, and peace.