American Jewry should beware, for the outlawed Jewish Defense League, which was in 2001 classified by the FBI as a terrorist organization, may be making a comeback in a slightly more palatable version.
The JDL, under the leadership of racist rabbi Meir Kahane, came into existence in 1967 to respond to a wave of anti-Semitism from the world's progressive left after the Six-Day War.
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An anti-Israel demonstration in New York during the May 2021 fighting in Gaza
(Photo: AFP)
This anti-Semitism reached its peak in the Polish Communist Party's attack on Jewish Holocaust survivors in Poland, using the pretext of anti-Zionist protests.
The signs carried at the party's mass demonstrations branded Zionists as colonialists and capitalists, and were not too different to the signs used in anti-Israeli protests today by those who refuse to admit their anti-Jewish sentiments.
Similar waves, though perhaps not as vicious, were seen in the Soviet Union, where Jews were barred from immigrating to Israel.
The JDL began a campaign of terror, planting bombs and plotting revenge against Soviet institutions in the U.S. and against visiting Soviet dignitaries.
Its activists claimed U.S. Jews were in as much danger within American borders as their Soviet brethren, given the anti-Semitism disguised as anti-Zionism that abounded in certain circles.
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Meir Kahane stands in the center of a Jewish Defense League protest in Washington, March 1977
(Photo: AP)
The members of the JDL appointed themselves the saviors of Jews, planning to fight back against these threats by targeting the American Arab community.
It was a criminal organization seeking to terrorize and promote violence and will not return in the same form.
But American Jewish friends are wrong to believe that since Zionism is now being equated with apartheid, the younger members of their families will turn their backs on Israel entirely. Instead, we may actually see them turn the other way.
The stronger the anti-Israeli public opinion, the more young Jews are likely to adopt an opposing view and stand up for Israel as the homeland of Jewish people.
They will likely not support the government of Israel but will defend its existence, not by violence but as a proud minority that perceives itself under threat.
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An anti-Israel demonstration in Florida during the May 2021 fighting between Israel and the Gaza terror groups
(Photo: AFP)
According to a Pew study published last year, America's Jewish population grew by 12% in the previous seven years, to stand at 7.5 million.
Their religious affiliation varies according to age with the older among them, some 70% who are over the age of 50, describing themselves as reform or conservative Jews. only 34% of those between the ages of 18 and 28 describe themselves in the same way.
Nearly one in two Jews, the study found, feels a kinship to Israel and describes its importance as vital. This is less than the older generation, where 63% expressed similar views, but still an impressive number given the anti-Israel campaign of organizations such as the Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement.
Adult American Jews who echo anti-Israel sentiments do so in order out of the belief that by voicing anti-Zionist positions they are protecting their families and ensuring their children and grandchildren a brighter future in American society.
It is not my place to dissuade them of that notion, but I can remind them that historically, Jews were not spared from anti-Semitism when they supported anti-Jewish rhetoric and action.
In fact, those Jews were usually the first to become the victims.