“The gap is real between American and Israeli Jews, with the exception of small pockets of like-minded communities…”

The gap is real between American and Israeli Jews, with the exception of small pockets of like-minded communities, and it has been expanding even after decades of bar mitzvah tours, Birthright trips, intense investment in Israel education, and the growth of the pro-Israel advocacy agenda. I’ve spent intense time here in Israel over the past month with Israeli colleagues in the education system, the rabbinate, and the NGO sectors, and have discovered that the problem is not merely in “the street.’ Even those individuals positively disposed towards remedying the gap between Israeli and American Jews often see these communities operating by totally different rules, and fail to understand the logic animating the value-systems of the other.

Yehuda Kurtzer, “Minding the Gap: A Primer for Jewish Professionals and Philanthropy”, eJewish Philanthropy (18 July 2017) [http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/minding-the-gap-a-primer-for-jewish-professionals-and-philanthropy/]