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🇮🇱 Israel /Culture & Society

As America turns 250, Jews shouldn’t mistake it for just another exile

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Opinion Sources not specified Context piece
  • Rabbi Ethan Tucker reflects on the unique place of American Jews, who historically viewed the U.S. as a promised land rather than another exile.
  • He notes that rising antisemitism and political division have left American Jews feeling vulnerable, prompting a re-evaluation of their place in the country.
  • Tucker argues that America's founding ideals of equality fundamentally altered the traditional Jewish understanding of their history and future.

Rabbi Ethan Tucker reflects on the unique position of American Jews, who have historically seen the United States not as another temporary exile, but as a true promised land. This perspective, he notes, was deeply ingrained, with many American Jews not considering themselves as Jews who happened to live in America, but as both Jews and Americans simultaneously.

For American Jews, the United States was the promised land. Not just another exile to endure, but a different end to Jewish history.

— Rabbi Ethan TuckerReflecting on the historical perception of America among Jewish immigrants.

However, as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, Tucker observes a profound shift. Rising antisemitism, distinct from anti-Israel activism, and a polarized political landscape have created a sense of unexpected vulnerability among American Jews. This has led to a critical question: Is Jewish life in the U.S. simply another chapter in a long history of persecution?

As we arrive at the United States semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the nation, American Jews have been upended.

— Rabbi Ethan TuckerDescribing the current state of vulnerability among American Jews.

To address this, Tucker suggests understanding how America has reshaped Jewish thought. For millennia, Jews viewed their history through a framework of four exiles following periods of sovereignty. Even the European Enlightenment demanded assimilation, requiring Jews to renounce their distinct identity to gain equal citizenship. The Holocaust represented the devastating culmination of this old world order.

You do not seem to understand that immigrants came to America to escape from mean, wicked people. … The Pilgrims were thankful and I think that we should be too.

— Rivka (from a children's book)Illustrating the early immigrant perspective of finding refuge and gratitude in America.

America, however, presented a different paradigm. The founders' belief that "all men are created equal" offered a new reality. This was exemplified in 1790 when Moses Seixas welcomed George Washington, noting how Jews, previously deprived of rights, now lived under a government that "to bigotry gives no sanction." This foundational difference, Tucker implies, is now being tested by contemporary challenges.

This new reality was captured in 1790, when Moses Seixas, a synagogue sexton, welcomed George Washington to the Newport Synagogue. Seixas noted how Jews had long been deprived of the rights of free citizens, but now enjoyed a government “which to bigotry gives no sanction, to p

— Rabbi Ethan TuckerHighlighting a historical moment that symbolized America's unique promise for Jews.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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