Jewish
Frontier

In its relatively short history, Israel has known no real peace. Arabs have waged constant war against it, either openly or by terror. Given Israel's protracted crises, the low-grade war waged by the Palestinians who surround it, and the groups of fundamentalists who vow to obliterate it, what can American Jews do? There is no certainty that the American government or American public opinion will continue to view the Jewish State with affection into the distant future. A rearrangement of world alliances, for whatever reason, could generate a change in political mood that would work against the vital needs of the Jewish State. Add to this the possibility of a decreasing influence of the Jewish community due to a reduced population because of a declining birth rate, intermarriage and assimilation, and it is conceivable that in a few generations, removed from the birth pangs of Israel's early history, American Jews will perceive a threat to Israel's existence with indifference. Their desire to influence American lawmakers to bolster Israel's defenses could wane. There is no easy solution to this problem. But perhaps a dedicated segment of America's Jewry could launch a program of educational renewal with respect to Israel and the Jewish people, a program designed to permeate American society.

Actually, Jews are not amateurs in educating Americans about their past and are forever alerting the public's attention to the Jewish experience. In this case, the most striking example concerns the destruction of Europe's Jews during the Second World War. A generation ago, the term "Holocaust" was rarely mentioned or discussed publicly in the United States. Since that time, the term has come to stand for the horrors that Jews sustained while most gentiles stood by in silence. Today public school teachers talk about it to their students. Colleges and universities offer courses and sponsor programs of remembrance about the Holocaust; while survivors, who had for years remained silent about their experiences, are now beseeched to speak about their dark past. Holocaust museums, which are found in many major cities, are crowned by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, endorsed and partially supported by the Federal government as a national institution in Washington, D.C., a must for visitors to the nation's capital city. Most significant is the religious impact of the Holocaust on the nation's churches. Catholics and Protestants of numerous denominations, like Jews, pause each year to commemorate Yom Hashoah. They see it as a tragedy committed against the Jewish people by the Christian world, a blot upon humanity. It was a catastrophe that might have been prevented, if not for the absence of Christian values and behavior.

American Jews should not overlook the potential support available to them from the Christian community, especially from evangelical Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church. Through dialogue and informal discussions, Jews should make every effort to nurture these pro-Israel sentiments.

Evangelical Protestants, those who are generally characterized as biblical literalists or fundamentalists and who classify themselves as "born again" include among them friends of Israel. Indeed, by the late nineteenth century, evangelical Protestants, driven by their peculiar eschatology, displayed a passionate Zionism equal but for different reasons to the fervor of the Lovers ofZion; and it persists to this day. They continue to yearn for an end to the dispersion of the Jewish people. They find Arab demands upon the State of Israel unreasonable and highly distasteful. Together their numbers are large — recent polls count almost 40 million "born again" Christians — and cross denominational lines. Among them are included many of the most influential Americans. They sit in the halls of Congress and Senate and vote consistently for bills in support of the Jewish State. They pilgrimage frequently to the Holy Land and fill its best hotels to capacity, while Jews stay home. For the sake of Israel, American Jews should welcome the commitment to Israel extended by many fundamentalists.

To be sure, American Jews should also remain suspicious of the evangelical caress of Zionism. Protestant evangelical hope for a Jewish return is intimately linked at times — but not at all times — with the hope for a Jewish conversion to Christianity. In fact, many see the return as a signal for the second advent of the Christian savior and the beginning of world redemption. However, Jewish concern for their safety and their children's safety is exaggerated. Neither should American evangelicals' stress on public prayers and Bible reading or even a silent prayer in schools cause a permanent alienation between Protestant faithful and American Jews. Most important is that many evangelicals are eager to learn from Jews of their views and anxieties about Israel. The first time priority of American Jews is to strengthen public support for the Jewish State.

The Roman Catholic Church moved more slowly than did evangelical Protestantism in its recognition of the Jewish State. It was not until 1985 that the Holy See admitted with caution that the existence of the State of Israel held great religious and political importance for the Jewish people. The Church's eagerness to dialogue with Jews and learn more about them did not at first include the issue of Zionism. The omission was not an oversight. It was deliberate. Strong Arab objection to any favorable mention of Zionism was an inhibiting factor. Also, the Church found it hard to acknowledge that Providence would approve a Jewish return to the Holy Land. Church doctrine had not yet caught up with the reality of Jewish sovereignty. What is more, the Holy See was deeply concerned about its own role and the security of its religious sites in the Jewish State. Perhaps most important was the absence of instruction on all levels of Catholic education about the roots of Zionism and the centrality of the Land.

It was the Church's revelation of the depth of American Jewish anxiety for Israel's safety during the crisis of the Six Day War that jolted the American hierarchy into the realization of the importance that the Land held for the Jews. American bishops urged their faithful followers to treat Jewish love of Israel with greater sensitivity and understanding. Actually, it was because of this realization that the subject of Israel's centrality for Judaism became an integral part of the dialogue between Jews and the Catholics. The subject of the land constituted a new plank in the strengthening structure of Jewish-Catholic relations. The trend was capped by the formal recognition of the State of Israel by the Holy See in 1993. That was a move long awaited by American Jewry and the Catholic hierarchy.

Jews should not take the Catholic change of heart towards Israel lightly. It represented a profound theological reversal: the acceptance of Israel as a sovereign State of the Jewish people. Moreover, it was an indication of the Church's wish to learn more about Judaism and to understand its deepest hopes.

Yet it would be foolish to believe that the Catholic Church's alteration of its sentiments with respect to Israel was absolute. Despite all of its sympathetic utterances, Rome, as is also true of a segment of liberal Protestantism, has kept one of its eyes focused on the hostile complaints about the Jewish State from Christian and Muslim Arabs. Arab gripes have engendered a note of ambivalence about Israel's place in the Middle East. American prelates have tried to walk a thin line between Israel's needs and Arabs' desires. Some Christian groups have counseled Israel to exchange strategic land for peace, to show more trust in its Palestinian neighbors. But none of these criticisms ever call into question the need of a Jewish State. On the contrary, in the wake of the Shoah, its existence has been viewed by the Catholic Church as imperative: it realizes that any attempt to define Judaism without Israel would constitute a gross distortion. A number of prelates have defined anti-Zionism as a new version of antisemitism. Such growing sympathetic gestures have tightened the bonds between American Catholics and Jews. Leading American Catholics hope that normalization of the Church's relationship with the Jewish State will intensify and improve the dialogue between the two faith communities.

It is imperative that, for the sake of America's future relationship with Israel, Jews seize the opportunity to engage in dialogue with Roman Catholics. With about fifty million adherents to the Church of Rome, this important segment of American society dare not be ignored. Its eagerness to enhance its knowledge about Judaism offers American Jews a golden opening to explain their political and religious thinking about the Middle East. If Jews do not share their heritage and concerns with them, who will? Strengthening the ongoing dialogue with the Christian Community is a crucial aspect in the battle for public opinion. The responsibility for instructing America will not be easy. There will be setbacks and disappointments. But this is the American Jewish Home Front. This is a role that American Jewry must Fill. Current conditions allow us to deal with it successfully. What Israel needs and deserves is an assurance that American public sentiments continue and will continue to support her in her confrontation with those who seek to destroy her.