Explaining the lifestyles and religious practices of American Jews to Israelis (and vice versa) has its challenges. While many in the United States still seem to think of it as a 51st state, or, in recent years—thanks to the election victories of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the popularity of former President Donald Trump there—as a “red state,” Israel is nothing of the kind.
There are shared values and a strong affinity between the two nations based on history and faith that make them natural allies. Events in Tel Aviv during Yom Kippur this year, however, demonstrated that the gap between these countries and their people when it comes to understanding faith and rights can seem as wide as the Atlantic Ocean.
