"Post-October 7, it is time to redefine Jewishness. We are a people, not a religion. Our culture is not a bagel. Our history is not The Fiddler on the Roof. I have more in common with a Druze soldier who fights for Israel than with an anti-Zionist American “liberal” whose rabbi campaigns for Mamdani. This essay deserves to be placed on the same bookshelf as Jean Amery’s On the Necessity and Impossibility of Being a Jew. Amery, a survivor of Auschwitz, was not a Jew according to the Halacha. I couldn’t care less., He is one of the greatest Jewish writers of the last century."
Very powerful, Daniel. And sad. A community so torn apart at the time of its greatest threat.
Can those who refuse to fight for their tribe be said to belong to it? Then what of pacifists? Does the tribe have a responsibility to those who refuse to bear arms- conscientious objectors? These questions have challenged my own ideas about war and non-violence.
Thanks Ashok. You raise some interesting questions. I'm not sure that this is a case of "conscientious objection" though --- more like complete disengagement from the struggles of what is meant to be their own people.
I hear you, Daniel. But that raises the question- where is this disengagement coming from? Is it ideological, is it moral, is it out of self-absorption or is it even some weird form of self-interest?
This is an anonymous comment from a reader who is also a Rabbi:
"Daniel, excellent!
I wanted to give you an example of the non-Zionist Chief Rabbinate of Israel: A Jew who immigrated from Russia was murdered by Palestinians in the Second Intifada. His mother was not a Jew. The Rabbanut HaRasheet, at first, refused to have him buried in a Jewish cemetery. This Jew who left his birthplace, fought to defend the Jewish State, and died for it--he was "the Other"--as are 250,000 Jews in Israel from the FSU. Eventually, the Orthodox establishment gave in. Their institution is disgusting and they, and their Haredi buddies, demand conversion of Russian Jews accepted by the Law of Return to perform all 613 mitzvot. No discussion that they are part of "Klal Yisrael" and have done more than the 60,000 Torah mediocrities evading the draft.I have written about this and will include it in the book.
I studied with Religious Zionists who saw service in the IDF as a halakhic obligation. The Haredim are holding Israel hostage.They have threatened to leave Israel if drafted. I only wish.Netanyahu should only know that Jabotinsky would be the first to reject the PM's endorsing draft dodgers while Israelis die on the battlefield.
I am with you on this. Matrilineal descent is 2000-years-old, Rabbinic in origin, and is not found in the Torah.I guess Joseph's sons, whose mother was the daughter of the Priest of On in Heliopolis, were "goyim"--yes, the great Efraim and Menashe, tribes of Israel. But the Midrash comes up, as usual, with a convoluted explanation that Joseph's mate was an Israelite before he met her. But who cares about the truth?"
The charedim are a shanda. You consistently read stories how a solder killed in battle, whose Jewishness is in question, is forbidden burial in the Jewish military cemetery by those too cowardly to fight. They bury them off to the side.
No we Jews are never going to be the same again. We aren't going to be ruled by those too spineless to join the IDF.
Patrilineal descent has been part of the US Jewish landscape for a very long time now. There are plenty of us who arent ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous. Growing up my sisters and I experienced this tension because we had a gentile father. I consider everyone who identifies as a Jew to be a Jew, even more so if they're a zionist. We need to support each other. Ironically, it will be our gentile relatives who can help us the most during this, and future, times.
I totally agree with you Michael. At least in this internet age we finally have the opportunity to speak freely on this issue and find kindred spirits.
If you call a large portion of your people “genocide” perpetrators without any evidence whatsoever of actual genocide, to the extent that you have to rewrite the definition to make it fit their action in the course of a defensive war — then no, you probably don’t identify with them in any meaningful way.
For sure, I shared it. Its valuable for anti-Zionist Jews to understand that they need not be Jewish if they do not support the genocide in Gaza, and that there are probably lots of Jews who would rather they not identify as Jews. There is a huge fairly popular misconception that a Jew is determined by ancestry rather than choice, among Jews and non-Jews, which is the foundation of anti-Semitism. I think your article does a good job of expressing the primacy of a particular tribal allegiance in the identity of Jews, rather than biological ancestry. Very important for combatting racism toward people who were raised Jewish or who have ancestors who were Jewish.
How right you are, Daniel! Matrilineal descent is such a ridiculous idea! If you have at least one Jewish parent of whatever sex you are Jewish! That’s also the case with converts. They are all part of Am Yisrael! I’m not saying they still can’t live in a traditional way, but they must treat women as equals, end gender segregation, ultra-orthodox men need to be working, and they must do universal military service in the IDF just like everyone else. Their protests and resistance to the draft is disgusting! They are not being loyal to their country! This excludes ultra-orthodox who do serve in the IDF and genuinely gifted Talmudic scholars who that is their calling in life. The ultra-orthodox must reform their faith to an extent and make pragmatic adjustments to living in the 21st Century. There is no reason women shouldn’t be able to pray at the Walling Wall, boys can’t be taught by female teachers, ultra-orthodox men can’t do national service in some form, ultra-orthodox men can learn a trade or run a businesses, or that the Haredi can’t contribute more to Israeli society. The ultra-orthodox authorities also need to stop policing who can and can’t be Jewish.
I am pro-Israel but I sure ain’t pro-Israeli government. Benjamin Netanyahu and the current governing coalition in Israel are terrible! They are authoritarian, illiberal, racist, Islamophobic, and oppose peace with the Palestinians. Itamar Ben-Gvir who is Defense Minister, is a loon who is totally unhinged and genocidal, thus why he isn’t allowed to join the IDF. Bezalel Smotrich is also a racist just more well-spoken and politer. Bibi and his merry gang of thugs have no respect for Israel’s long-standing Democratic institutions or independent judiciary. They are too be sure, to be condemned. But that doesn’t mean condemning Israel as a whole as the ultra-orthodox have done. Jews living outside Israel like Daniel, Francisco J. Bernal, Nacham Kaplan, and others have done more for Israel than they have. Enough with all this religious and ethic gatekeeping by the ultra-orthodox authorities! Folks who aren’t matrilineal Jews shouldn’t be considered in the “other” category.
Anyone who describes Israel's response to a war the Gazans started "genocidal" is not someone I trust. The word is incorrectly applied. But that application is deliberate for propaganda purposes.
And I'm also impatient with claims about islamophobia. Why should I be concerned with the feelings of people who openly say they want to kill me and my family?
Well, peace definitely won't be within reach if there are powerful political factions, such as the active government, that consciously sabotages efforts for peace. And what word would you prefer other than genocidal to describe Ben Gvir, who is on video telling his constituents to chant "death to terrorists" rather than "death to arabs" because it is legal?
If a muslim were to chant "death to Jews" would that be "unhinged" or genocidal? I don't think adjectives to describe a person should be changed simply because of the religion of that person.
I don't see why any Palestinian should forego the "right of return" demand, assuming their parents or grandparents were violently coerced from their property in 1948. And certainly not Palestinians who are still alive today that were violently coerced.
Personally, as an American citizen, I think there should be a one state solution, at least if the U.S. is to back any political faction in Israel/Palestine. And the name of the state should be Palestine. Current Israelis stay, Palestinians stay, and they all have the same rights. And an international coalition creates a constitution and administers the territory until Jews and Muslims stop ritually killing and torturing each other for what they erroneously believe to be their "holy land."
Daniel, this is a fierce and necessary essay, and it lands because it names what too many have tip-toed around since October 7: that Jewish identity, stripped of responsibility, courage, and solidarity, is an empty credential. And that the moral center of the Jewish world has shifted, not toward lineage or ritual gatekeeping, but toward action. One of the quiet revolutions of the past two years is that some of Israel’s clearest moral defenders are not Jewish at all. Douglas Murray, standing in the rubble and refusing the lie that Israel is uniquely evil. John Spencer, dismantling the fake lawfare around “proportionality.” Hillel Neuer at UN Watch, exposing the UN’s farce with receipts. Konstantin Kisin, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Bari Weiss, Niall Ferguson—none of them halachic Jews, all of them showing more moral clarity than entire rabbinical conferences. They saw barbarism, named it, and chose a side. History remembers that.
Which brings us to your central, uncomfortable truth: Jewish peoplehood has always been renewed at moments of existential danger, not preserved by bureaucrats of identity. Ruth was an outsider. Zipporah was an outsider. King David would fail half the modern Jewish litmus tests before breakfast. October 7 didn’t just expose the bankruptcy of our external institutions; it exposed the internal ones too. Those who would not fight, speak, write, or stand—whether wrapped in keffiyehs or black hats—removed themselves from the story. Meanwhile, the “Others,” Jews and non-Jews alike, picked up the pen, the rifle, the argument, and the burden. That doesn’t abolish Judaism; it restores it. Because a people is not defined by who guards the gates—but by who shows up when the gates are under attack. And on that test, you’re right: the roll call has changed.
“General Gallant would prefer to write for Guerre and Shalom than Hamodia because it was us that stood up against the barbarians. We held firm at the gates when those with a Jewish mother let them in.”
If your work were a video, I'd be glued to my screen. I take it in short bites because I'm in grad school.
Wanting to make aliyah next year, I was drawn into the paragraph about the Law of Return. My grandfather (now passed) told my siblings that we are Jewish. I decided to convert because I can't find information on my grandmother. It's as if she never existed. I have all the information I need on my great-grandparents, who are buried in a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia, PA.
I don't mind some of the hoops, but I think that the fear of not being accepted because of some religious men is disturbing. I'm 68, and I want to live the rest of my life in Israel. They could take my dream out of my hands...that's disturbing.
Thanks for all of your hard work in this platform.
Thank-you to Elena Gomel for this comment:
"Post-October 7, it is time to redefine Jewishness. We are a people, not a religion. Our culture is not a bagel. Our history is not The Fiddler on the Roof. I have more in common with a Druze soldier who fights for Israel than with an anti-Zionist American “liberal” whose rabbi campaigns for Mamdani. This essay deserves to be placed on the same bookshelf as Jean Amery’s On the Necessity and Impossibility of Being a Jew. Amery, a survivor of Auschwitz, was not a Jew according to the Halacha. I couldn’t care less., He is one of the greatest Jewish writers of the last century."
Very powerful, Daniel. And sad. A community so torn apart at the time of its greatest threat.
Can those who refuse to fight for their tribe be said to belong to it? Then what of pacifists? Does the tribe have a responsibility to those who refuse to bear arms- conscientious objectors? These questions have challenged my own ideas about war and non-violence.
Thanks Ashok. You raise some interesting questions. I'm not sure that this is a case of "conscientious objection" though --- more like complete disengagement from the struggles of what is meant to be their own people.
I hear you, Daniel. But that raises the question- where is this disengagement coming from? Is it ideological, is it moral, is it out of self-absorption or is it even some weird form of self-interest?
The great riddle of history:
What is the difference between a Pacifist and a Coward?
Or the Pacifist and the man who lacks all conviction?
The Pacifist, and the man who lets his family be murdered while he watches?
Like art, I guess I know when I see it.
But I take your point, far too many hide between the more respectable facade.
This is an anonymous comment from a reader who is also a Rabbi:
"Daniel, excellent!
I wanted to give you an example of the non-Zionist Chief Rabbinate of Israel: A Jew who immigrated from Russia was murdered by Palestinians in the Second Intifada. His mother was not a Jew. The Rabbanut HaRasheet, at first, refused to have him buried in a Jewish cemetery. This Jew who left his birthplace, fought to defend the Jewish State, and died for it--he was "the Other"--as are 250,000 Jews in Israel from the FSU. Eventually, the Orthodox establishment gave in. Their institution is disgusting and they, and their Haredi buddies, demand conversion of Russian Jews accepted by the Law of Return to perform all 613 mitzvot. No discussion that they are part of "Klal Yisrael" and have done more than the 60,000 Torah mediocrities evading the draft.I have written about this and will include it in the book.
I studied with Religious Zionists who saw service in the IDF as a halakhic obligation. The Haredim are holding Israel hostage.They have threatened to leave Israel if drafted. I only wish.Netanyahu should only know that Jabotinsky would be the first to reject the PM's endorsing draft dodgers while Israelis die on the battlefield.
I am with you on this. Matrilineal descent is 2000-years-old, Rabbinic in origin, and is not found in the Torah.I guess Joseph's sons, whose mother was the daughter of the Priest of On in Heliopolis, were "goyim"--yes, the great Efraim and Menashe, tribes of Israel. But the Midrash comes up, as usual, with a convoluted explanation that Joseph's mate was an Israelite before he met her. But who cares about the truth?"
The charedim are a shanda. You consistently read stories how a solder killed in battle, whose Jewishness is in question, is forbidden burial in the Jewish military cemetery by those too cowardly to fight. They bury them off to the side.
No we Jews are never going to be the same again. We aren't going to be ruled by those too spineless to join the IDF.
Patrilineal descent has been part of the US Jewish landscape for a very long time now. There are plenty of us who arent ridiculous.
Thanks EKB for your support with this this. I share your passion. We Jews are not going to be the same again.
Absolutely ridiculous. Growing up my sisters and I experienced this tension because we had a gentile father. I consider everyone who identifies as a Jew to be a Jew, even more so if they're a zionist. We need to support each other. Ironically, it will be our gentile relatives who can help us the most during this, and future, times.
I totally agree with you Michael. At least in this internet age we finally have the opportunity to speak freely on this issue and find kindred spirits.
Beautiful 💙 🇮🇱 💙
Thanks so much Ruth. Please share the article!
What you hear is the sound of me applauding your post. Well said.
Thanks Ian. I really appreciate your support.
If you call a large portion of your people “genocide” perpetrators without any evidence whatsoever of actual genocide, to the extent that you have to rewrite the definition to make it fit their action in the course of a defensive war — then no, you probably don’t identify with them in any meaningful way.
I totally agree. How can genocider libellers call themselves members of our people?
A truly heart warming article. You have expressed what many of us feel so eloquently
My pleasure Nurit and thank-you. Please share the article if you can.
Agreed. We need to accept Jews who are a part of the Jewish people, no matter their mother's religion.
Also, please post that Amery essay, if you have access to it. I'm searching for it online.
If you find it Judy please ley me know.
More people should read this. It is good for people to believe and know that being Jewish is a choice.
You are very kind Jeffrey. The best way for more people to read this is for you to share the article (if you haven't already).
For sure, I shared it. Its valuable for anti-Zionist Jews to understand that they need not be Jewish if they do not support the genocide in Gaza, and that there are probably lots of Jews who would rather they not identify as Jews. There is a huge fairly popular misconception that a Jew is determined by ancestry rather than choice, among Jews and non-Jews, which is the foundation of anti-Semitism. I think your article does a good job of expressing the primacy of a particular tribal allegiance in the identity of Jews, rather than biological ancestry. Very important for combatting racism toward people who were raised Jewish or who have ancestors who were Jewish.
How right you are, Daniel! Matrilineal descent is such a ridiculous idea! If you have at least one Jewish parent of whatever sex you are Jewish! That’s also the case with converts. They are all part of Am Yisrael! I’m not saying they still can’t live in a traditional way, but they must treat women as equals, end gender segregation, ultra-orthodox men need to be working, and they must do universal military service in the IDF just like everyone else. Their protests and resistance to the draft is disgusting! They are not being loyal to their country! This excludes ultra-orthodox who do serve in the IDF and genuinely gifted Talmudic scholars who that is their calling in life. The ultra-orthodox must reform their faith to an extent and make pragmatic adjustments to living in the 21st Century. There is no reason women shouldn’t be able to pray at the Walling Wall, boys can’t be taught by female teachers, ultra-orthodox men can’t do national service in some form, ultra-orthodox men can learn a trade or run a businesses, or that the Haredi can’t contribute more to Israeli society. The ultra-orthodox authorities also need to stop policing who can and can’t be Jewish.
I am pro-Israel but I sure ain’t pro-Israeli government. Benjamin Netanyahu and the current governing coalition in Israel are terrible! They are authoritarian, illiberal, racist, Islamophobic, and oppose peace with the Palestinians. Itamar Ben-Gvir who is Defense Minister, is a loon who is totally unhinged and genocidal, thus why he isn’t allowed to join the IDF. Bezalel Smotrich is also a racist just more well-spoken and politer. Bibi and his merry gang of thugs have no respect for Israel’s long-standing Democratic institutions or independent judiciary. They are too be sure, to be condemned. But that doesn’t mean condemning Israel as a whole as the ultra-orthodox have done. Jews living outside Israel like Daniel, Francisco J. Bernal, Nacham Kaplan, and others have done more for Israel than they have. Enough with all this religious and ethic gatekeeping by the ultra-orthodox authorities! Folks who aren’t matrilineal Jews shouldn’t be considered in the “other” category.
Thanks for your support Noah as always!
Sent this to my two Jewish sons who are married to gentiles. These young women are totally down with the cause.
Thanks for that Jeffrey. Not that aquainted with US slang. "Totally down with" is a positive?!
Anyone who describes Israel's response to a war the Gazans started "genocidal" is not someone I trust. The word is incorrectly applied. But that application is deliberate for propaganda purposes.
And I'm also impatient with claims about islamophobia. Why should I be concerned with the feelings of people who openly say they want to kill me and my family?
Well, peace definitely won't be within reach if there are powerful political factions, such as the active government, that consciously sabotages efforts for peace. And what word would you prefer other than genocidal to describe Ben Gvir, who is on video telling his constituents to chant "death to terrorists" rather than "death to arabs" because it is legal?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_TKII7xOvw&t=81s
"unhinged" isn't as accurate as "genocidal."
If a muslim were to chant "death to Jews" would that be "unhinged" or genocidal? I don't think adjectives to describe a person should be changed simply because of the religion of that person.
I don't see why any Palestinian should forego the "right of return" demand, assuming their parents or grandparents were violently coerced from their property in 1948. And certainly not Palestinians who are still alive today that were violently coerced.
Personally, as an American citizen, I think there should be a one state solution, at least if the U.S. is to back any political faction in Israel/Palestine. And the name of the state should be Palestine. Current Israelis stay, Palestinians stay, and they all have the same rights. And an international coalition creates a constitution and administers the territory until Jews and Muslims stop ritually killing and torturing each other for what they erroneously believe to be their "holy land."
Daniel, this is a fierce and necessary essay, and it lands because it names what too many have tip-toed around since October 7: that Jewish identity, stripped of responsibility, courage, and solidarity, is an empty credential. And that the moral center of the Jewish world has shifted, not toward lineage or ritual gatekeeping, but toward action. One of the quiet revolutions of the past two years is that some of Israel’s clearest moral defenders are not Jewish at all. Douglas Murray, standing in the rubble and refusing the lie that Israel is uniquely evil. John Spencer, dismantling the fake lawfare around “proportionality.” Hillel Neuer at UN Watch, exposing the UN’s farce with receipts. Konstantin Kisin, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Bari Weiss, Niall Ferguson—none of them halachic Jews, all of them showing more moral clarity than entire rabbinical conferences. They saw barbarism, named it, and chose a side. History remembers that.
Which brings us to your central, uncomfortable truth: Jewish peoplehood has always been renewed at moments of existential danger, not preserved by bureaucrats of identity. Ruth was an outsider. Zipporah was an outsider. King David would fail half the modern Jewish litmus tests before breakfast. October 7 didn’t just expose the bankruptcy of our external institutions; it exposed the internal ones too. Those who would not fight, speak, write, or stand—whether wrapped in keffiyehs or black hats—removed themselves from the story. Meanwhile, the “Others,” Jews and non-Jews alike, picked up the pen, the rifle, the argument, and the burden. That doesn’t abolish Judaism; it restores it. Because a people is not defined by who guards the gates—but by who shows up when the gates are under attack. And on that test, you’re right: the roll call has changed.
A beautiful and powerful response to my essay Brad.
“General Gallant would prefer to write for Guerre and Shalom than Hamodia because it was us that stood up against the barbarians. We held firm at the gates when those with a Jewish mother let them in.”
Hear, hear!
Thanks for picking put that quote Emerald. That last line is perhaps the highlight of the essay.
Probably one of the strongest essays I have read this year. Spot on.
Thank-you for your kindness.
Daniel,
If your work were a video, I'd be glued to my screen. I take it in short bites because I'm in grad school.
Wanting to make aliyah next year, I was drawn into the paragraph about the Law of Return. My grandfather (now passed) told my siblings that we are Jewish. I decided to convert because I can't find information on my grandmother. It's as if she never existed. I have all the information I need on my great-grandparents, who are buried in a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia, PA.
I don't mind some of the hoops, but I think that the fear of not being accepted because of some religious men is disturbing. I'm 68, and I want to live the rest of my life in Israel. They could take my dream out of my hands...that's disturbing.
Thanks for all of your hard work in this platform.
Thank-you so much for your kind words and sharing your story Miller.