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A thought-provoking argument that I read recently was that Israel's relationship with the diaspora has undergone a fundamental shift in the last 20 years, largely tracking with demographics: it's no longer the case that Jewish life is primarily diasporic in nature, and Israel's growing impatience (and sometimes open disdain) for the diaspora tracks with that demographic reality.

I think this is an underrepresented factor in why Israel feels unilaterally emboldened in this conflict: there's no longer a statistically more liberal, secular, identifiably Jewish majority outside of the country that serves as a check on its actions.



Yep, that's a big part of it: a disengaging, large diaspora of secular Jewish-ish people who are thoroughly Westernized, open society ordinary folks who are mostly shocked by what's happening but don't have any familial, social, political, or economic influence.

I've been listening to Norman Finkelstein, Gideon Levy, The Salukie, Hamzah Saadah, and Corey Gil-Shuster for perspectives on what's happening inside and around the region.


He wrote it before the current conflict, but I'd also recommend Tablets Shattered by Joshua Leifer[1]. His book is where I first heard diaspora relations framed as such.

[1]: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/704833/tablets-shat...




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