When Loving Israel Means Saying What Israelis Don’t Want to Hear

How one can be pro-Israel and oppose a war 90 percent of Jewish Israelis support.

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All of us at J Street stand in solidarity with Temple Israel in Bloomfield following this week’s attack. Our statement condemning the attack and the antisemitism it represents can be found here.

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Earlier this week, my colleague Ilan Goldenberg wrote about how one can both be pro-Israel and still oppose the war with Iran.

His argument rested on a distinction both obvious and often ignored: Americans and Israelis see the world through different lenses. Israelis experience the consequences of Middle East conflict immediately and directly. Americans – including American Jews – have the luxury of distance as we assess implications for the U.S., the region and our own interests.

I agree with Ilan that it is not only legitimate but inevitable that American and Israeli perspectives sometimes diverge.

But I want to take up a harder question – one I’ve heard frequently during these two weeks of war: How can I – or J Street – claim to be pro-Israel while opposing a war that more than 90 percent of Jewish Israelis support?

Doesn’t being pro-Israel mean aligning with the will of the Israeli public?

For me, the answer lies at least partly in Jewish tradition.

One of the defining features of Jewish history is that loving your people has never meant uncritical agreement. Again and again, the voices most concerned for the community’s future stood outside the consensus – warning, challenging, often rejected in their own time.

The Bible is filled with such figures.

The prophets were not popular commentators affirming what people wanted to hear. Jeremiah warned that leaders were steering the nation toward disaster, as the public demanded defiance and refused to listen.

Amos condemned the complacency of a society that believed its prosperity guaranteed its safety while ignoring injustice.

Isaiah cautioned against relying on power alone, warning that strength without wisdom would lead to ruin.

Though out of sync with majority opinion, they spoke as insiders who loved their people enough to risk being dismissed.

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Jewish tradition teaches that standing apart from the majority can itself be an expression of responsibility.

That feels especially relevant now.

The Israeli public overwhelmingly supports this war, and anyone who cares about Israel has to respect that.

But respect does not mean silence.

It does not mean those of us outside Israel lose the right – or the obligation – to speak honestly about what we believe is in Israel’s best interest, in America’s best interest, or in the long-term interest of the Jewish people.

American Jews have long held that supporting Israel does not mean supporting every policy of every Israeli government. Large majorities say you can be pro-Israel while disagreeing with Israeli actions.

That principle cannot apply only when Israelis themselves are divided. It has to apply even when the public is united – because love of Israel is not the same as agreement with it.

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There is another reality that is uncomfortable but impossible to ignore. Jews who do not live in Israel also have a stake in the decisions the State of Israel makes, because those decisions affect how Jewish communities around the world are seen and treated.

When Israel goes to war – especially when the United States is involved – fairly or unfairly, the actions of the Israeli government become part of how Jews as a whole are perceived.

When Israel is seen as helping push the U.S. toward military conflict – a perception already voiced in public debate, including by Secretary of State Marco Rubio – that perception can shape attitudes toward Jewish communities far beyond Israel itself.

Recognizing this is not an accusation against Israel, and it is not an argument that fear of antisemitism should determine Israeli policy. Israel must act based on its own security needs.

It is simply an acknowledgement that Jews outside Israel also live with the consequences of decisions made there. That gives us not only a stake, but a responsibility to speak honestly about what we believe will lead to greater security and stability for all of us.

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This divergence of views is not new. For many years, Jewish Americans have held more diplomacy-oriented views on Middle East policy than the government of Israel – and often than the majority of Israeli Jews.

Jewish Americans strongly supported the JCPOA even as the Israeli government fought it. Most opposed the Iraq War as Israelis welcomed Saddam’s defeat. Large majorities see Donald Trump as a danger at home even as he remains highly popular among Israeli voters.

American Jews live as a minority in a diverse democracy and tend to emphasize diplomacy, coalition-building, and universal rights. Israelis live in a sovereign state in a dangerous region and often emphasize military strength and immediate security.

Both perspectives are shaped by real experience. Both are legitimate. And reaching different conclusions does not make American Jews any less committed to Israel’s future.

J Street exists because a large segment of Jewish Americans occupies that space – deeply committed to Israel’s security, but more skeptical of military solutions and more inclined toward diplomacy than many Israeli leaders. Giving voice to that perspective is not a rejection of Israel. It is part of the honest conversation that has always existed within the Jewish people.

Moments of near-unanimity are often when dissenting voices are most needed – not because the majority acts in bad faith, but because fear and urgency can narrow what feels possible.

The prophetic tradition does not teach that dissent is always right. But it does teach that disagreement can flow from loyalty rather than betrayal.

To be pro-Israel is not to believe Israelis are infallible. It is to believe the future of the Jewish state matters enough that we must speak our truth about what will strengthen it – and what we fear may endanger it – even when that puts us at odds with the overwhelming majority of Israelis themselves.

That is not a rejection of Israel.

It is, in the deepest Jewish sense, an expression of love and responsibility for it.

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