We stand divided : the rift between American Jews and Israel / Daniel Gordis.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The rift. Introduction: "Why can't we all just get along?" ; A mistaken conventional wisdom ; A rift older than the state itself -- The causes. A particularist project in a universalist world ; Idealized Zion meets the messiness of history ; People or religion: who and what are the Jews? ; How naked a public square: a liberal or ethnic democracy -- The future. Charting a shared future: and why that matters -- Conclusion: "Forget your perfect offering."

"From National Jewish Book Award Winner and author of Israel, a bold reevaluation of the tensions between American and Israeli Jews that reinterprets the past and reimagines the future of Jewish life. Relations between the American Jewish community and Israel are at an all-time nadir. Since Israel's founding seventy years ago, particularly as memory of the Holocaust and of Israel's early vulnerability has receded, the divide has grown only wider. Most explanations pin the blame on Israel's handling of the conflict with the Palestinians, its attitude toward non-Orthodox Judaism, and the Jewish state's dismissive view of American Jews in general. In short, the cause for the rupture is not what Israel is; it's what Israel does. These explanations tell only half the story. We Stand Divided examines the history of the troubled relationship, showing that from the outset, the founders of what are now the world's two largest Jewish communities were responding to different threats and opportunities, and had very different ideas of how to guarantee a Jewish future. With an even hand, Daniel Gordis takes us beyond the headlines and explains how Israel and America have fundamentally different ideas about issues ranging from democracy and history to religion and identity. He argues that as a first step to healing the breach, the two communities must acknowledge and discuss their profoundly different purposes and moral commitments. Only then can they forge a path forward, together." -- Amazon.com