This article is part of a series expounding on key ideas raised at AJ2026, a series of conferences on the future of American Jewry organized by Reut USA. The previous conference was held in March in Miami, and the next conference will take place tomorrow in New York City.

Shutterstock

After decades of rising security and prosperity, American Jewry stands at an inflection point, facing a surge of antisemitism on the left and on the right, deep divides concerning Israel, and decreasing influence in Congress and across the American continent. Many conclude that “a golden era” is over, and that decline is inevitable. While such a defeatist mindset is spreading among leaders and members of our community, the incredible human, institutional and financial capital that American Jewry has created remains available to underwrite a future of security and prosperity in America. 

Let’s zoom out of fighting antisemitism

Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each year on fighting antisemitism in its different forms, and some 160 organizations and initiatives are dedicated to this effort, according to a Jewish Funders Network study published in 2025. Yet this whack-a-mole approach is frustrated by the mutating nature of the challenge, which Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks famously described as a societal virus.

This collective failure inspires two categories of responses. One is represented by New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, who recently called for defunding the entire ecosystem of organizations fighting antisemitism in order to invest those resources in forging stronger Jewish identity. Others, mostly funders and their organizations, are spending millions on “organizing the field” based on agreed priorities and a division of labor, assuming that the root of the problem is a lack of resources and coordination. Alas, neither approach is an attempt to drain the swamp that breeds antisemitism. 

If antisemitism is an existential threat to American Jewry, then our community must be strategic in its response. We need a national security framework to inspire and guide our allocation of resources. 

National security is different from safety and security. The former protects the community’s way of life, while the latter defends individuals and institutions. In other words, stronger “national security” usually means there is greater safety and security, but the opposite is not necessarily true. 

The concept of national security may not rhyme easily with American Jewry, which is neither a country nor a nation. Furthermore, its primary loyalty lies with the United States and its “safety and security” depends on federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. 

Nonetheless, the discipline of “national security” — or, to use U.S. Amb. Dennis Ross’ idea of “statecraft” — can be applied to American Jewry to create a coherent set of guiding principles for ensuring the long-term well-being of our community. American Jewry, though heterogeneous, has shared long-term interests that can guide a communal strategy, and these principles can be effectuated even by a diffuse leadership. 

Four foundations 

Any attempt to design a “national security” strategy for American Jewry must take into account its foundational strengths.  

1.) American federalism and democracy: In the United States, individual and communal rights and freedoms are enshrined in the constitution, which also ensures separation of religion and state. Furthermore, America’s meritocratic and law-based society integrates a free-market economy and a vibrant democracy in all levels of governance. Most importantly, the federalist system comprises 50 states that are competing with each other. Throughout history, Jews have responded to threats by emigrating, but in America, they can move within the country to another state and remain Americans. In America, the Jewish community has numerous tools for advocacy, legal action, civic mobilization and community relations to stand up for its rights.

2.) A resilient web of institutions: American Jewry has developed thousands of institutions, each with its lay leaders, professionals, assets and legacies, that make for a dynamic, adaptive and resilient structure. Within that institutional makeup, the federation system is the backbone of American Jewry because of its core responsibility to ensure the long-term resilience, well-being and security of our community. In addition, there are synagogues, schools, mikvahs, community centers, charity organizations, as well as local and national organizations that cover all aspects of Jewish life. The density and quality of our institutions is unprecedented in Jewish history and unparalleled in our time. 

3.) Fundamental societal alignment with America: American Jewry is organized within a web of decentralized, self-organized, entrepreneurial and self-funded communal institutions. Hence, our collective ethos of self-reliance aligns with America’s ethos and societal architecture. 

4.) Alignment of national security interests: During the Cold War, American Jewry was mobilized against the Soviet Union, and Israel fought Soviet allies Egypt and Syria. From the 1980s until recently, Israel has also also been generally aligned with America’s efforts to sustain its hegemony in the Middle East, and in recent years, both countries fought against radical Islamist actors. This alignment of strategic interests, as long as it lasts, is foundational for bipartisan support of strategic relations between Israel and the U.S.

Five concerns 

Jewish history, particularly as it relates to the rise and decline of past Great Diasporas, offers important and relevant insights regarding present-day threats to the longevity of American Jewry. These threats are:

1.) Becoming a wedge issue: When the status and stature of Jews becomes a flash point for their host society, the longevity of their community is at stake. The process of becoming a “wedge issue” often unfolds over decades due to domestic polarization or external threats. Therefore, a grave concern for American Jewry is that Israel is becoming a wedge issue in American politics, which directly affects the established Jewish community because of its intrinsic connection to Israel.   

2.) Polarization of society: When the political environment becomes toxic, extremists on both ends feel emboldened to act on their ideologies, often targeting the Jewish community.. 

3.) Weaponization of law enforcement: Throughout history, when the government directed the police against the Jewish community, calamity followed. America’s federalist structure renders such a scenario less likely than ever before: for instance, the New York Police Department, Miami Police Department and Los Angeles Police Department are separate organizations. Even federal law enforcement agencies are checked by state powers.

4.) Demography and geography: Less than 2% of Americans are Jewish, and they mostly live along the coasts and in big cities. Hence, there is a scarce presence of our community in key areas of America.  

5.) Radical Islam: The longevity and well-being of European Jewry has been compromised by the spread of radical Islam in Europe, while the relative safety and security of smaller Jewish communities in Morocco or the UAE emanate from these countries’ tough stance against the Islamic Brotherhood. The rise of radical Islam in the U.S. is an existential threat to American Jewry, comparable to that of far-right neo-Nazi ideologies.  

A 12-point framework for the national security of American Jewry

Against this backdrop, the following set of principles can represent, together, the national security approach of American Jewry: 

Structural principles

1.) Federalism offers the most important assurance for the long-term security and prosperity of American Jewry. According to this principle, protecting and enhancing the powers of states, while keeping a watchful eye on federal law-enforcement powers, is critically important for the longevity of American Jewry.  

2.) Centrism. The polarization and radicalization of American politics and society is an indirect yet existential threat to American Jewry (a point made at AJ2025 by Rosh Kehilah Mijal Bitton). We therefore have a collective interest in empowering centrist, pragmatic bipartisan politics by enhancing bipartisan political collaboration, as well as by advancing structural changes that strengthen centrist candidates and policies. Our community also has a direct interest in taming media and social media platforms that spread fake news and extremist tropes.

Strategic priorities

3.) Alliances. Support from non-Jewish Americans, aka “community relations,” is vital for the future of our community. Hence, the field of community relations, which specializes in engaging with non-Jewish communities and with elected and appointed officials, is vitally important and should receive significant attention and investment. 

4.) Small communities. Jewish Americans represent 1.8% of the American populations, but American Jewry and its network of institutions are unevenly distributed across American society and territory. We are concentrated along the coasts and in large cities, and thinly present in smaller communities and in Middle-America. For example, the Jewish communities in Oklahoma City, Okla., Wichita, Kan., and Montgomery, Ala., are smaller than 0.3% of their respective areas’ populations. Our communal strategy needs to compensate for this alignment, and smaller communities deserve continental support. 

5.) Hitting and hugging. Our community tends to “preach to the converted” and fight our enemies, but most Americans are in the “middle” without deep acquaintance with or strong views on Israel or American Jewry. Engaging the center of American society requires “hugging” strategies that are based on “soft power,” relationships and partnership. 

6.) National and hyper-local. For many years, our community emphasized national-level influence on the federal level. But our adversaries have focused on hyper-local politics e.g. city councils, labor unions and school boards. At this point, our community needs to realign its focus and beef-up its hyper-local political activities. 

National interests

7.) Radical Islam is a looming threat to American Jewry, as it has been to Europe’s Jews. Any tool of politics and law should be deployed to block and tackle its spread in America. 

8.) Alignment: The history of American Jewry demonstrates how its national influence depends on the alignment of its requests with the perceived interests of America’s national security. In other words, American Jewry must align with the zeitgeist and with hard interests of America. 

9.) Maintain Israel’s alignment with American values and interests: While support for the people of Israel is easy because it is rooted in the ideal of Jewish Peoplehood, support for the policies of the government of Israel depends on their alignment with American interests. Hence, American Jewry has a direct interest not only in America’s positions regarding Israel, but also in the Israeli positions that affect U.S. interests, particularly in the Middle East. 

Domestic priorities

10.) Robustness: Diaspora history teaches that strong institutions are essential for communal longevity. This point calls for investing in communal infrastructure such as federations and organizations of community relations, safety and security, or social impact platforms. 

11.) Pride: A positive and compelling Jewish identity. This point focuses on inspiring American Jews to be proud of their centuries-old legacy of ethical and societal contribution to humanity and to America by our community and many Jewish individuals.    

12.) Contribution: Since the early 20th century, American Jews made a significant and distinct contribution to American society, economy, academics and sciences. This contribution often reflected the unique characteristics of our community such as its international outreach, education or entrepreneurial spirit. It is the interest of American Jewry to continue to make such contributions to America.   

Leadership matters

In most cases, governments design a national security strategy for their nations and then implement it through their various agencies. But American Jewry does not have a centralized authority with the power to formulate policies and effectuate them.  

Therefore, the long-term wellbeing of American Jewry will be shaped by leaders who are openly confident about the resilience of our community and are willing to transcend organizational lines  in serving core goals such as federalism, centrism, robustness, pride and contribution. . In other words, we need a new generation of leaders, who are unapologetically proud of the legacy of American Jewry and determined to realize its destiny as the great diaspora of past, current and future generations.      

Gidi Grinstein is the founder and president of Reut USA, which is a research, strategy and leadership group that focuses on the future of American Jewry. Grinstein is the author of Flexigidity: The Secret of Jewish Adaptability and the founder of AJ2054, an initiative aiming to inspire a decade of renewal of American Jewry. He is also the founder and president of Tikkun Olam Makers, a Jewish-American and Israeli international humanitarian venture.