Capitol Hill Webinar: Bridging the Divide Between American and Israeli Jewry

There was a time when the vast majority of American Jews were united in their unconditional support for the state of Israel. Unfortunately, that seems like a distant memory. Several polls have documented the divide that exists between many American Jews and Israel. Many of these polls have demonstrated that the further one gets from traditional Judaism, the less important the existence of the State of Israel is. We are honored to have with us to examine the factors that have gone into this regrettable erosion of support among certain sects of Judaism and describe the divide that separates us and ways to bridge it, Jonathan S. Tobin.

Jonathan S. Tobin is Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish News Syndicate — JNS.org — an international wire service covering the Jewish world and Israel. He’s also a senior contributor for The Federalist and a columnist for Newsweek, the New York Post, Haaretz and Israel Hayom, as well as a regular contributor for other publications such as The Washington Examiner and Commentary magazine. He covers the American political scene, foreign policy, the U.S.-Israel relationship, Middle East diplomacy and the Jewish world.

Previous to becoming editor of JNS, Mr. Tobin was executive editor, senior online editor and chief political blogger for Commentary magazine. He also served as editor-in-chief of the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia and editor of the Connecticut Jewish Ledger.

Mr. Tobin has won more than 50 awards including Top Columnist for Jewish publications ten times, most recently in 2018 and 2019. He appears regularly on television commenting on politics in the United States and Israel, foreign policy and Jewish affairs, and lectures on college campuses and to Jewish communities.

Mr. Tobin was born in New York City, attended local schools and studied history at Columbia University.