March 19, 2026—I deliberately chose today’s title because you can read it two ways. One way is pro and the other way is anti the idea of a Jewish state.

I think it’s very Jewish to be poised at the intersection of these two ideas. That’s where I am today. On the one hand, it’s this. On the other hand, it’s that. Say that with a kvetch and you’ve got it.

The kvetch is necessary because either way there is pain.

The thing that got me thinking about this was a more elaborate question: if other ethnic and religious groups have nation-states, why shouldn’t the Jews? It’s a fair question.

The answer is a very practical one. There aren’t very many of us and the measures needed to maintain a Jewish state seem to get nastier and nastier as time goes by. Maybe those other ethnic and religious groups better accommodate nastiness in their world views. Maybe there’s just a lot more of them (very likely). Whatever, lots of Jews have a hard time accommodating. I do.

It’s not pleasant to think that our few numbers disqualify us from having our own state. Some of those other ethnic and religious groups have been pretty nasty to Jews. It was nice when I thought, “at least there is one place that is a refuge for me.”

I like that idea. At least one place that I can call home.

But today, it’s not looking so much like home. At a time in American when I might need a refuge, there isn’t one.

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I’m not really proposing anything here. I’m just kvetching. There is a Jewish state, whether I’m happy with it or not, and they are not going anywhere. And the Jewish state has enemies, and they are not going anywhere either. Both sides have decided long ago that war is a fine idea. One more bomb will settle it—whatever “it” is. But I’ve been around for a long time and they’ve been at this for even longer. Nothing has been settled.

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A hundred years ago, there was a concept called Doikayt (דאָיִקייט meaning “hereness” in Yiddish) that emerged in the Jewish socialist Bund as a kind of contrast to Zionism. At that point, Zionism was also just a concept. There was no State of Israel at the time. But Jews had the same dilemma then that I have now: is the existence of a Jewish state the only way to secure rights for Jews or do Jews have a right to live and organize wherever they live.

Doikayt was eclipsed by Zionism (Dortkayt meaning “thereness”) in the wake of the holocaust. Jewish rights in Europe were destroyed and many places of refuge closed their doors to the refugees (including) America.

Today, Doikayt is reemerging. As with all Jewish movements, it has multiple flavors. Some are anti-Zionist and some are simply non-Zionist. This was true of Doikayt from the very beginning. But there is a new wrinkle: Israeli Doikayt. These folks say, “we’re here now, but let’s live without Zionism.”

Where does all this lead?

Do the people on either side benefit? I don’t think so. After so many decades there needs to be another approach.  

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