Denouncing Israel?
Although many of these Jewish progressives might claim to be Zionists, they seem to be attempting to put a "friendly face" to Zionism -- one that could be described as "soft Zionism" or "Zionism-lite." They appear to find the Jewish religion "offensive," and instead promote an airbrushed "politically correct" expression of social justice, more to their liking. Many also undertake to "remain committed to two safe and secure states – Israel and Palestine – as the most viable solution to the present situation."
As Netanyahu explained in 2025, "There was a Palestinian state. It was called Gaza. Look what we received. The biggest massacre since the Holocaust."
The problem these frightened people will encounter, unfortunately, is that conceding to the ambient political ethos of Jew-hate will not make them any safer. Did Germany's Nazi regime first inquire of Jews if they were Progressive/Reform, Conservative or Orthodox before sending them to death camps?
Today's ubiquitous antisemitism generally supports toward all Jews a barely-concealed death wish, perhaps borne of envy at their success, whatever their affiliation or position on the Jewish "identity spectrum."
Perhaps many progressives in New York City are hoping that Mamdani will help them to advance their social programs, while many Islamists may be hoping that the progressives will help them to advance their Islamist programs.
"We are not guests in our own story.... We have carried these words through expulsions and ghettos, through inquisitions and pogroms, through the cattle car and the crematorium, through the lecture hall and the algorithm. We will carry them still. And we will not whisper." — Moshe David, CEO of The Roar of Judah Foundation, JNS, April 21, 2026.
According to the Hebrew prophet Isaiah, Jews are destined to be a "covenant for the people" and a "light for the Gentiles ... (so) that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."
In the words of John 4:22: "Salvation is from the Jews."When certain prominent Jewish community leaders in the diaspora denounceIsrael's coalition government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as an "existential threat" to the nation, which then, in their view, risks becoming "incompatible with Jewish values", it says more about those speakers than about Israel.
Some individuals -- even Jews, such as Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy -- who claim that criticism of Israel's government is a "Jewish obligation," which, from their perspective, does not amount to "an act of disloyalty." No one, of course, ever criticizes Israel; they must find that so disappointing.
The central issue would appear to be the definition of "Jewish values." One answer can be found in the UK-based Movement for Progressive Judaism's "Core Values and Beliefs" -- oddly, a view not that different from progressive Christian denominations such as the Church of England, among others.
This view embraces an understanding of gender that disregards the XX-XY chromosome distinction between genders; deprecates the Ten Commandments, and pledges made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob not only on the distinctive character of Jews as people chosen to carry forth the covenant but also on the biblical promise of land. It is a view that appears both theologically and morally compromised.
Although many of these Jewish progressives might claim to be Zionists, they seem to be attempting to put a "friendly face" to Zionism -- one that could be described as "soft Zionism" or "Zionism-lite." They appear to find the Jewish religion "offensive," and instead promote an airbrushed "politically correct" expression of social justice, more to their liking. Many also undertake to "remain committed to two safe and secure states – Israel and Palestine – as the most viable solution to the present situation."
As Netanyahu explained in 2025, "There was a Palestinian state. It was called Gaza. Look what we received. The biggest massacre since the Holocaust."
"Soft Zionism" among Jews is indeed a capitulation, directed by fear, to the increasing, pervasive odor of antisemitism, and quite distant from core principles of Jewish identity, which has been rooted in the "People of the Book" in their ancestral land for nearly 4,000 years.
The problem these frightened people will encounter, unfortunately, is that conceding to the ambient political ethos of Jew-hate will not make them any safer. Did Germany's Nazi regime first inquire of Jews if they were Progressive/Reform, Conservative or Orthodox before sending them to death camps?
Today's ubiquitous antisemitism generally supports toward all Jews a barely-concealed death wish, perhaps borne of envy at their success, whatever their affiliation or position on the Jewish "identity spectrum" (and here, here, here and here).
The "Progressive Judaism" movement is prevalent not only in the United Kingdom, but in almost all other Western nations. Jews, for the most part, are permitted to think and believe whatever they wish, no matter how outrageous. JNS reports that a recent survey in New York City -- the center of Jewish life in the region with more than one million Jewish residents – discloses that 42% of people who self-identify as Jewish approve of, or are "not sure" (which implies they do not strongly disapprove), of anti-Israel Mayor Zohran Mamdani. A significant number even voted for him.
Mamdani vowed to arrest Netanyahu should he visit New York and revoked policies permitting the city to purchase goods made in Israel. Moreover, accordingto JNS, "his spokeswoman said that synagogues violate international law when they host pro-Israel events."
Sadly, some of these voters seemed to have believed campaign promises to deliver free bus rides and government owned grocery stores. Perhaps many progressives in New York City are hoping that Mamdani will help them to advance their social programs, while many Islamists may be hoping that the progressives will help them to advance their Islamist programs.
The JNS report adds:
"Mamdani has said that he opposed Israel's existence as a Jewish state.
"Even many of those who voted for the mayor disagree with him, per the poll, which suggests that 60% of respondents support the idea of a two-state solution if it would end the Israel-Palestinian conflict, while 26% oppose the concept."
At a time when the very security of Israel is at risk, attacked by Iran and its proxies, it is almost beyond belief that a significant percentage of diaspora Jews would even consider a two-state solution to the Palestinian conundrum. A Palestinian state, as Netanyahu pointed out, would have the effect of setting the stage for another October 7, 2023, massacre, or worse. Perhaps those enlightened souls should spend some time in Israel experiencing the reality of daily life under bombardment from Islamist enemies who seek their blood.
Jewish communities in Western nations, since October 7, 2023, have been facing escalating threats, hatred, prejudice, and assaults. The UK Commissioner of Police, Sir Mark Rowley, recently conceded that "threats to the Jewish community had reached an unprecedented level." His admission stems from numerous occurrences of violent attacks of Jews such as the Manchester attack on a synagogue last year, in which two people were murdered on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year; the firebombing of two Jewish charity ambulances in April 2026 and, in the same month, a stabbing attack on Jewish men at Golder's Green, the heart of Jewish life in London. Jew-hate in the UK has spun out of control, with no solution in sight.
Aside from the UK, vicious assaults on Jews have become common throughout Western nations, the worst being December's devastating Bondi Beach terrorist attack in Australia. France has both Europe's largest Jewish community and the largest Muslim population in Europe. Unsurprisingly, some 80% of Jews there feel unsafe. "The majority of young people are thinking about how they can live in Israel before it is too late," explains a young Jewish doctor.
In the US, the American Jewish Committee's annual State of Antisemitism in America Report for 2025 revealed that "91% of American Jews say they feel less safe as a Jewish person in the United States due to violent attacks in the past year... 73% of American Jews, say they have experienced antisemitism online..."
Moshe David, CEO of the nonprofit Roar of Judah Foundation, commented on the report:
"This is not background noise. This is climate. This is a people learning to move through the public square with a new tightness in the chest, a new alertness in the eyes, a new awareness that even the air of modern life has become hostile."
It is evident that Jews are no longer safe in the United States, the UK, France, Italy, or in any Western nation where Jew-hate has become normalized. As a result, many wish to emigrate. These constant assaults on peaceful Jewish citizens who now live in fear will doubtless escalate further. Political leaders seemingly lack the will or courage even to name -- let alone to confront -- the root cause of terror, the source of which overwhelmingly emanates from radicalized sectors of their Muslim communities. Almost all incidents of anti-Jewish violence in the West are perpetrated by Islamists.
Unfortunately for them, the sorry attempts by progressive diaspora Jews to become less conspicuous in the surrounding culture by adopting a diluted version of Zionism and Jewish identity will not work. In the words of Moshe David:
"What stands before us is the ancient demand that the Jew make himself smaller for the comfort of the world. Not leave, not always convert, not always vanish in the old brutal forms, but soften, edit, dilute and translate himself into something easier for the age to tolerate.
"Be Jewish, perhaps, but not too Jewish. Speak, perhaps, but not in the full thunder of your own inheritance. Remain, perhaps, but only after you have been trimmed into acceptability.... Lower your voice. Stand down your particularity. Explain your loyalty.
"That expectation is itself a moral obscenity."
Jews have confronted challenges to their authenticity ever since the various exilesfrom their homeland began, and now have arisen again. One can adapt to the culture by surrendering one's strength, or live a proud and dignified life. Meanwhile, Israel is there as a sanctuary.
David continues:
"We are not guests in our own story.... We have carried these words through expulsions and ghettos, through inquisitions and pogroms, through the cattle car and the crematorium, through the lecture hall and the algorithm. We will carry them still. And we will not whisper."
According to the Hebrew prophet Isaiah, Jews are destined to be a "covenant for the people" and a "light for the Gentiles ... (so) that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."
In the words of John 4:22: "Salvation is from the Jews."
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