ONE FOR RELIGION; ONE FOR RACE:

I've been saying for some time that we need to recalibrate the relationship between Israel and what is known as the Diaspora -- a term I increasingly dislike. The very language of Israel and Diaspora, hub and spoke, center and periphery, homeland and exile no longer speaks to the lived reality of the majority of Jews who reside outside Zion, and likely always will.

The consolidation of politically right wing, religiously conservative power in Israel accelerates the process. It is not my place to tell Israelis how to vote; nor is it their place to shape my political values and behaviors as an American. For many decades, I didn't have to choose, because those values and behaviors were generally compatible. Increasingly now, it seems, they are moving in opposite directions.

Responsibility for this growing divide lies with American Jews as much as with Israeli politicians. In the short term, I don't see how it can be reversed.

Netanyahu's re-election, while not surprising, is revealing. It tells us that many Israeli Jews see the world as he does: so hostile externally that allies can be forged with anyone, regardless of their autocratic and fascist tendencies; so hostile domestically that democratic norms can be disparaged and destroyed; so devoid of Palestinians that their suffering can be ignored.

Even a coalition of centrist former military men in macho black leather jackets couldn't galvanize enough of the voting public to deny Netanyahu another term.

As American Jews, we have to respect that democratic choice -- while decrying the attempts to suppress Arab voters -- and seek to understand it. But it should not change who we are. [...]

I'm not sure that these American trends would be much different had the Blue and White coalition won enough votes to form the next government, as their policies were roughly similar to Netanyahu's, even if their rhetoric was notably more civil and inclusive.

The prime minister has embodied Israel's rightward lurch, encouraged and enabled it, but like all political trends, it is driven by a combination of sociological and demographic factors along with his leadership. Similarly, the trends among American Jews are propelled by a variety of factors, and some -- including rapid assimilation and intermarriage -- don't necessarily bode well for our sustainability, either.

And yet a distinctively American Jewish vernacular has begun to flourish in the last few years, and while it references Israel, it is not always rooted there. I predict that we will see more money, effort, creativity and intention focused on nourishing the Judaism here, while -- I fervently hope -- maintaining an engagement with Israel that transcends politics.

We are witnessing the establishment of two central "homes" for the Jewish people. Netanyahu firmly rules one. He does not rule the other.

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