A big point to recognize is that the American Jews of today aren't the same as, say, the American Jews of 1967. Those American Jews were much more traumatized by the (not so long before) Holocaust and Israel was their Jewish homeland. That was a long time ago, though, and a large percentage of American Jews today don't have that same commitment to Israel. They are much more assimilated, and all that really remains is a majority commitment to liberal Democratic politics.
Nachum, do you agree, disagree?
That is one way to put it. I believe that American Jews have been divided on Israel even years ago. The Reform movement refused to mention Israel in their prayer books. They ridiculed the day school movement and openly attacked observant Jews.
The state of Israel has been very close to perishing before, during those times you mention too. The ones who saved Israel weren't only Jews either. American Jews have been very divided in the past, both here and in Europe.
I think the Jewish Obama voters to whom you refer ARE committed to Israel - but it is an imaginary Israel, an Israel of the mind. The imaginary Israel has an imaginary "right to exist" granted by an imaginary "international community" and is protected by imaginary international "laws". These Jews are always rattling on about "Resolution 181", "Resolution 242", AS IF these entirely meaningless pieces of paper, scripted by an unsavory assembly of Chinamen, Hottentots, and barbarians have some sort of protective value for Israel.
In their imagination, Israel is a rechtsstaat, leading the way to a bright, new internationalist future.
The real, actually existing Israel, unfortunately, is a machtstaat, which exists only as long as it can produce Galil rifles and men who are willing to go into battle to kill her enemies. This real Israel is anathema to the internationalist American Jewish Obama voters, and, it now appears, they may be willing to see the real Israel destroyed because it does not measure up to their fantasies.