Many American Jews rally around Sharon
Though often liberal, they unite behind Israel and its hawkish leader in latest crisis.
With his prayer shawl draped around his shoulders, Assistant Rabbi Fred Hyman is giving the Saturday sermon at the Park East Synagogue, an old temple frequented by influential Jews.
"Dayenu," he says, repeating the Hebrew phrase for "It is enough."
But in this case, the phrase, normally used during the joyous celebration of Passover, is meant in the context of the escalating violence in the Middle East. "It is enough!" he intones.
Similar expressions of exasperation are echoing across the country. From the modern synagogues of Los Angeles to the more traditional congregations in New York, American Jews are despairing and, in many cases, losing confidence in prospects for peace. They are questioning how to get to two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side.
Many believe that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has to go. Although their views often cover a wide political spectrum, many Jews who consider themselves liberals now find themselves supporting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a conservative.
"What is happening is the American Jewish community is moving more and more to the right," says Rabbi Mordecai Finley, the leader of the Ohr ha Torah, Light of the Torah, congregation in Los Angeles.
The views of many have hardened with the latest cycle of violence. More than three dozen Israelis have died in four Palestinian suicide attacks in the past week. A suicide bomber killed himself and 14 others when he blew up a restaurant in Haifa yesterday.
Sanford Gutman, a professor at the State University of New York College at Cortland, says he sees a coalescing around Israel in synagogues, among Jewish academics, and on Internet sites. "Basically, they blame the terrorists for the collapse of the peace process," he says.
The move in Jewish opinion may ultimately color the way both Congress and the Bush administration view the situation. Already, many Jews are writing to Congress asking that it end any funding of Mr. Arafat's organization. The powerful American Jewish Committee (AJC), with a membership of 40,000, is encouraging its members to write to the White House in support of a tough policy by the United States toward the Palestinians.
"We speak to congressmen and senators and encourage them to vote in favor of legislation that tells the Palestinians that unless they end the suicide missions, there will be a price to pay," says Jack Rosen, president of the American Jewish Committee in New York.
Americans overall are increasingly concerned about the violence, but show no major shift in sympathies. A Gallup Poll released last week found that Americans believe both sides are to blame for the current violence, with the Palestinians getting slightly more of the fault (82 percent versus 72 percent for the Israelis).
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