Since the heinous Oct. 7 massacre and the resulting war between Israel and Iranian-backed proxies – Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis – and Iran itself, Jewish communities worldwide have been plunged into a storm of grief, fear, and heightened security risks.
The shock of the terror attack, the ongoing hostage crisis, and the Israeli military operations, albeit very successful, have challenged Israel’s sense of physical security. For Jews living outside Israel – particularly in North America, Western Europe, and Australia – the war has triggered a profoundly different, yet equally severe, psychological crisis.
While they are not under direct military attack, Diaspora Jews are contending with pervasive social alienation, identity conflict, and the crippling fear of violent attack. The feeling of security, once rooted in the implicit promise of social acceptance and institutional protection in Western democracies, is being shattered daily. Part I will focus on the United States, and Part II on Australia.
Erosion of safety
The psychological distinction is critical: Israelis have a state to defend; Diaspora Jews must defend their right to belong. Unlike Israelis, who are sovereign in their homeland, Diaspora Jews are embedded in societies where their safety is conditional upon acceptance by the larger non-Jewish group. As that acceptance rapidly erodes, so does their psychological and communal stability. The very openness that once protected them is now exposing them.
But are all Diaspora Jewish communities the same in the way they perceive and cope with expanding antisemitism and violence directed at their communities? This two-part series takes a look at this question.
The American experience: An unsettling shift
The American Jewish community, numbering approximately 7.6 million, is facing a complex and profoundly destabilizing reality post-Oct. 7, marked by heightened fear, internal division, and a fervent re-engagement with Jewish life. The community’s diverse demographics – 37% Reform, 17% Conservative, 9% Orthodox, and 32% unaffiliated – are not in any way homogeneous.
The initial reaction to the scale of the atrocities committed on Oct. 7 for almost all Diaspora Jews in America was one of “horror, shock, and disbelief,” according to Paul Goldenberg, chief policy adviser to the Rutgers Miller Center on Policing. However, this immediate unity fractured quickly, largely driven by divergent views on Israel’s subsequent military response.
This divergence has been particularly acute along generational lines. Younger Jews tend to be more liberal and more critical of Israel’s actions than their older counterparts. Polling data consistently support this trend, showing that younger Jewish adults (millennials and Gen Z) are significantly more likely to identify as politically liberal and Democratic. This ideology translates into lower levels of emotional attachment to Israel.
While nearly seven in 10 (67%) of Jewish adults aged 65 or older report feeling attached to Israel, this drops to less than half (48%) among those aged 18-29 (Pew Research Center 2022). Moreover, younger Jews express much stronger criticism of Israeli policies, with high proportions agreeing with highly critical statements regarding Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, indicating that their liberal-progressive domestic values increasingly shape their views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
High intermarriage and low Jewish education
Intermarriage rates are at 61% for those married after 2010, and over 32 % of Jews don’t identify with any stream of Judaism. In addition, Jewish day schools in the US receive virtually no direct government funding for general operating costs due to the separation of church and state. They are considered private schools.
The high cost of Jewish day schools (often $18,000 to $30,000+ annually per child) is considered a major barrier to enrollment for non-Orthodox families (Florida is an exception, giving an $8,500 voucher or tax credit to families choosing a private school). Thus, only 5% of non-Orthodox Jewish children attend private Jewish day schools.
These factors help to explain why a significant portion of the community lack the robust historical or educational background that would otherwise help them navigate the complex narratives and powerful rhetoric they encounter, such as the idea that “Israeli Jews are colonizers of Arab land” or as the UN recently stated, “Israelis are committing genocide in Gaza,” which is “believed by 40% of American Jews (Washington Post poll, September 2025), making it extremely difficult to know what the truth is as a Jew.
The consequence is a profound crisis of confidence in the morality of the modern State of Israel, as voiced by 28-year-old Chuck: “Even if I choose to disregard half of the negative things I read in the news about Israel/Gaza and Israel/West Bank, there’s no getting around the suffering of these communities. I find myself unable to feel proud of the modern State of Israel.”
Campus as lightning rod
Goldenberg added that the most immediate and concentrated crisis unfolded on America’s college campuses, transforming young Jewish students into “lightning rods for hostility.” Pro-Palestinian protests and movements, often conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism, created a chilling and hostile academic environment. The consequences are quantifiable: A February 2024 Hillel International survey found that 56% of Jewish college students reported feeling in personal danger due to the conflict, and 7% (about 1 in 15) had considered transferring or leaving school altogether.
This hostility extends beyond the campus gates and into professional and public life, where even symbols of care, like the healthcare environment, can become sites of fear. Allison, a 32-year-old Persian Jew, described her anxiety in a hospital after giving birth: “I worried the nurses might harm my baby simply because we were Jewish. I had seen doctors and nurses wearing ‘Free Palestine’ pins and even incorporating keffiyehs into their attire, and those symbols became deeply triggering for me.”
Insecurity, leadership discord, and the ‘October 8’ response
This pervasive insecurity is aggravated by a perception of fractured leadership in Jewish communities. Goldenberg observed that while many leaders support Israel’s right to self-defense, public “divisions over the policies of Israel’s current government have spilled into public view. This has only deepened a sense of vulnerability among rank-and-file Jews, who look for unity but find discord. This critique has led to frustration, especially among younger generations, over the American Jewish leadership’s perceived slow or ineffective response to campus antisemitism.”
Alex, 30, wrote to me, “Young Jewish people in the States are angry and feel failed by Jewish leadership.”
In response to this external hostility and internal exhaustion, a powerful counter-trend has emerged: the “October 8 Jews.” Driven by a visceral need for solidarity and belonging, many American Jews have retreated into Jewish spaces. Data from the Jewish Federations report that 43% of Jews are seeking a deeper connection to Jewish life since Oct. 7. This movement is manifested in increased involvement at synagogues and community institutions, which are now valued as psychological sanctuaries, places to reaffirm identity and find healing away from hostile public arenas.
As Sarah, 35, put it: “I feel like my Jewishness has become quieter in non-Jewish spaces... However, we have clung closer to Jewish spaces. We have become more involved at shul and have clung closer to our Jewish friends, community, and our faith.”
Another factor that is particularly unique to the American Jewish experience is how divided it is politically. The political landscape of Jewish organizations in the US spans a wide spectrum, often defined by their approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and domestic policy. On the Left wing, groups like Jewish Voice for Peace, which is anti-Zionist and supports the BDS movement; and J Street, which represents the liberal Zionist “pro-peace” movement, advocate for progressive domestic agendas and a more critical stance toward Israel’s government and the “occupation.”
Conversely, the Right and conservative wings are anchored by organizations such as the Republican Jewish Coalition, which actively works to strengthen ties with the Republican Party; and the Zionist Organization of America, which is known for its staunch, unreserved support of right-wing Israeli policies. While many of the most prominent communal organizations occupy the political center, these divergent groups illustrate the deep, complex, and sometimes confrontational range of political views among American Jews, particularly regarding Israel and partisan politics.
On a positive note, a recent Pew Research survey found that 73% of American Jews hold a favorable view of Israel (March 2025).
Still, too many Jews, notably younger Jews, are leaning toward more critical views of Israel. According to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National poll conducted on October 11, 2023, generational views on what the US government should publicly do regarding the Israel-Hamas War varied significantly. Baby boomers and those older strongly favored the US supporting Israel’s military war against Hamas (over 80%), but that took a drastic drop among millennials and Gen Z: Only 48% supported Israel’s war against Hamas.
Adam Milstein summed up the American Jewish divide and choice that lies ahead: “It’s between those who understand that Jewish survival has always depended on Jewish solidarity and self-reliance principles and those who believe Jewish acceptance requires abandoning both” (The Jerusalem Post, September 28, 2025).
Goldenberg, who has been fighting antisemitism all his life, in the US and globally, offered a hopeful note. “American Jews will emerge from this period weaker, more divided, and more isolated. But we can choose differently.
“With strong leadership, honest dialogue, and genuine solidarity, this crisis can become a turning point, one in which American Jews, instead of retreating, reaffirm their strength and belonging in the country they call home.” ■
In Part II, we will look at the Australian experience and analyze what lessons can be learned from these two global Jewish communities.
The writer is a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist specializing in adult and couple therapy, with a sub-specialty in treating anxiety, adjustment, and depressive disorders and addiction. drmikegropper@gmail.com; www.facebook.com/drmikegropper