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For American Jews, the year was about
MICHAEL J. JORDAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
New York City
wo years ago, American Jewry buzzed
with talk of Jewish "continuity" and "ren-
aissance," .and fretted over intermarriage
. and assimilation.
Last year — already a year into the Palestinian
intifada (uprising) — the community wondered
whether solidarity visits, street rallies or good old-fash-
ioned fund-raising was the best way to support Israel.
It all seems so long ago.
"Off the top of my head, I would say the main
story today is terrorism, terrorism and, oh yeah, ter-
rorism," said Stephen Hoffman, the president and
T
9/ 6
2002
42
CEO of United Jewish Communities, the umbrella
organization of North American Jewish federations.
"We'd been watching its poison spreading through-
out the Middle East; then when it came to our
shores, it was hard to lift your eyes from it."
Following the most lethal terrorist attack ever on
U.S. soil last Sept. 11, a broad Jewish communal agen-
da — spanning the political and religious spectrums
— was shoved to the back burner. The attention of lay
members and leadership turned almost exclusively to
international affairs: the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, America's "war on terrorism," the upsurge in
global anti-Semitism, even Argentine Jewry's plight
amid the country's economic meltdown.
First and foremost, the events of Sept. 11 pro-
duced greater American appreciation for Israel's
predicament — to which many Israelis said, "Now
you know what it feels like."
"There is a level of anxiety about the very survival
of Israel as a viable, modern society, as the wave of
suicide murders literally undermine civil society," said
Mortimer Zuckerman, chairman of the Conference of
Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
"You can't live with that kind of insecurity, and peo-
ple here now understand it even more."
Added Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union
of American Hebrew Congregations, the umbrella of
the Reform movement: "We began to see Israel not
as a local conflict but in more global terms, as a
struggle between democratic countries everywhere
and fanatic Islam and religious fundamentalism
throughout the world."