By Steve Kramer in Kfar Saba, Israel
I’m sitting comfortably in my apartment in this city in central Israel despite the fact that Israel has been at war against its enemies since October 7, 2023. The resilience of Israelis is well known, and it is proven by the fact that our country still functions on a high level even in this period. The Israeli shekel is extremely strong, Israel’s stock market is outpacing the NYSE and Nasdaq, and innovative new companies continue to develop. While all this is happening, the toll on families, which include reservists in the IDF, are paying a high price, in deaths, injuries, and financial distress.
But what about the condition of American Jewry? Obviously, the decades in which I grew up, the ‘50s and ‘60s, are long gone. Also gone is the comfortable position which Jews enjoyed in those decades, nicknamed the “golden age” for American Jews. Many – but not all – in my generation didn’t observe or be affected by Jew-hatred. Jews had risen to prominence in almost every field, and the financial position of most Jews was far above the average for American families. Exclusion from top colleges was not even on the radar, at least in the 1960s. If anyone had even mentioned that phenomenon, I would have been shocked.
Today, the above average financial position of many Jews continues but other aspects of normal life in American are deteriorating. This fact may not affect those who live in gated communities, but what about their grandchildren? Will they want to attend Harvard, Columbia, or NYU? Will they want to live in New York, where a Jew-hating mayor is eroding the position of Jews and their businesses?
Of course, it’s not only in New York where Jewish life is being impacted. New York, California, and New Jersey are the states with the highest rates of antisemitic incidents in 2025, a report has found. These progressive states are increasingly not a good climate for Jewish life. Can you safely wear a t-shirt with “Israel” imprinted on it, wear a Jewish star necklace or a yarmulke, or have a mezuzah on your doorpost? There are locales in which one or all of the above are actually dangerous!
What’s my point? I’m not trying to convince those who reside in comfortable gated communities in Florida to move to Israel. Some might do so, but their numbers are not large. However, life in Israel for the grandchildren is something to be considered.
Michal and I know many people who have made Aliyah in the last few years to be near their children, where most of their grandchildren are growing up; sometimes it’s the children who initiate the move to Israel. You may know the old joke: a Zionist is one who supports someone else’s children moving to Israel. This might be the era when that joke loses its veracity.
Despite Israel’s bad neighborhood, it retains its “A” sovereign economic rating with a “Stable” outlook. The average age of Israelis is more than a decade lower than in the West. Longevity is among the world’s highest. The last generation’s problem of prejudice between the Ashkenazi and Sephardic populations is minimal in Israel’s younger generations. Skin color is mostly irrelevant. Because of Israel’s hopeful outlook, it is the only developed Western country that is optimistic enough to have a positive birth rate! The number of children in the average Israeli family is nearly three, the highest by far among Western countries. Think about that…
In this modern age of FaceTime, WhatsApp, and Zoom, families can still be connected even on different continents. That’s the position we’re in today, with our two sons residing in the US. Our hope is that the current tide against Jews, a global phenomenon, will recede. But if it does, or doesn’t, moving to the very vibrant land of Israel is a “definite possibility.”
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Steve Kramer is an American Israeli freelance writer based in Kfar Saba, Israel.