It was a scene that’s played out countless times over the past year and a half: A panel featuring experts and practitioners focused on the challenges and successes of American Jewry in general and in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terror attacks in particular. They discussed antisemitism, Israel-Diaspora relations, “The Surge,” the functioning of large Jewish institutions, the role of parents in Jewish education — all fascinating and important, but also standard fare for these types of conversations. What set the event apart was this: The discussion was conducted entirely in Hebrew and the speakers were all Israeli, as was the audience (some dual nationals notwithstanding).

The panel was held last night at Anu: Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, following the premiere screening of “The New Jew: Days of War,” a documentary about American Jewish life in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks, following up on a documentary series of the same name that was aired in Israel in 2021, which sought to explain American Jewry to an Israeli audience. Both the original and the new documentary are hosted by Israeli comedian Guri Alfi. An expanded version of the new documentary was broadcast in Israel late last year as a two-part series; it was condensed and updated for the new film version, which will now be shown in the United States.

The documentary examines the myriad ways that the Oct. 7 attacks and ensuing rise in global antisemitism have affected American Jewry. Alfi speaks with Jewish students from Ivy League schools about antisemitism on campus and with the parents of American-Israeli hostage Omer Neutra about the American Jewish community’s efforts on behalf of Israeli captives (the original interviews were conducted before the Israeli military determined that Neutra had been killed in the Oct. 7 attacks; the new information was added to the updated film). He also attends a Shabbat dinner in Atlanta organized through OneTable to discuss increased Jewish engagement and the rising number of conversions taking place post-Oct. 7, with one of the attendees discussing her upcoming conversion. 

Following the film, Moshe Samuels, CEO of the nonprofit Shazur and creator of “The New Jew,” moderated the panel discussion, which featured Alfi; philanthropist Shira Ruderman, whose foundation helped fund the production; World Zionist Organization President Tova Dorfman, whose organization also supported the series; and Na’ama Klar, director of the Koret International School for Jewish Peoplehood at Anu.

Ruderman and Dorfman — the two American-Israeli dual nationals on the panel — offered more critical views of American Jewry before and after Oct. 7, 2023. “I maintain that the ‘Golden Age’ [of American Jewry] has been in decline for years, in serious decline. But when things are good, you don’t want to look in the mirror” Ruderman said. “I think that Oct. 7 did not wake up American Jews enough, despite their thinking that it did.”

Ruderman said that while she believes that American Jews and Israeli Jews will survive their current struggles, she is disappointed that a sense of Jewish peoplehood has not emerged from the crises. “We are not really functioning as a people but rather as communities, as groups. There was a moment [immediately after the attacks] when we could have grabbed that feeling of peoplehood but it is dissolving,” she said. 

Dorfman, who moved to Israel from the U.S. at age 27, identified with the feeling that there was a “Golden Age” of American Jewry that she lived through, and which is now over. Referring to a remark made by one of the young Jews in the documentary that criticism of Israel can lead to being ostracized from the Jewish community, Dorfman said that this was a serious issue and that the Jewish community needs to find a way of acknowledging that someone can be critical of Israel and also love Israel. “We’ll have a real problem if we don’t do deep, strategic work on changing this situation,” she said. 

Alfi turned his attention not to what American Jews should do but to what Israelis should do with regards to American Jews. “[Israelis] are always asking and demanding. Where does the dissonance with American Jews come from? We are demanding their sympathy, demanding their empathy, demanding that they stand behind us and with no criticism, no nothing. That’s not what families do. That requires trust, and that trust can start with us,” he said. “How can it be that we don’t extend a hand to all our brothers and all our sisters in the Diaspora and say to them, ‘We’re here for you. We’re not superior to you, we’re not telling you to be Israel. Be you. What you are doing is great. What you are doing is important. The places, the things that you’ve build — it’s amazing. All of the genres of Judaism that you have created — it’s a wonderful thing. And we’re not judging you. How could we judge you when we haven’t been in your shoes?” 

To which Dorfman quipped in response: “That won’t come from the Diaspora Affairs Ministry” — a reference to the government office’s at-times tense relationship with Diaspora Jewry and American Jewry in particular.

Turning back to American Jewry, Ruderman said that despite “The Surge” in Jewish engagement post-Oct. 7, “the majority is still not showing up.” Dorfman lamented the limited participation in specifically Zionist youth movements, such as Young Judaea and Habonim Dror.

Klar, however, reframed “The Surge” not in terms of a sudden rise in American Jews participating in Jewish institutions’ programs but as a rise “in demand in the hearts of people” for Jewish engagement. “It’s possible that in 50 years, we will have to ask that most annoying question, ‘Who is a Jew?’ and the answer will be: Whoever for whom Oct. 7 was felt in their heart. And if it didn’t for someone, maybe they need to do some introspection and think why do they not feel connected to the collective and where will they be with us in the future if at all,” she said. 

Klar added that, in her mind, the responsibility for creating that feeling of connection falls on Jewish parents. “Every mother and father — and grandfather and grandmother — has to be there for their child and grandchild to explain, what does it mean that you are Jews and that you are part of this mishpucha [family in Yiddish], this collective at this moment. No one can do that for them, and any parent that doesn’t have a good answer is leaving their child exposed,” she said.