Read an excerpt below from the timely new book The Case for Dual Loyalty by Z3 Adjunct Fellow, Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz. He synthesizes the post-Oct. 7 turning point in Jewish history with lessons from the past—arguing that it is a moral imperative to radically change the way we engage with both Israel and the United States.

This timely book hit #1 on Amazon’s new releases under multiple Jewish categories!

”It is time to reorient American Judaism. Our defining American Jewish mission must be to cultivate our sense of peoplehood.

Jews in America and across the diaspora now have to make a choice to summon a stronger connection to the Jewish people—and, by extension, to Israel. We must choose to define ourselves as no less loyal to our people than to our host nations. Loyal to both. Such a dual loyalty is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, our collective Jewish soul depends on it.

We possess incredible strength through our peoplehood. So how do we harness it moving forward? As the world turns increasingly intolerant of Israel and Jews, how do we rely on one another to create a more hopeful tomorrow? Well, for the Jewish people, no matter where you live, no matter how devout your practice, no matter whether you belong to a synagogue, there already exists a document intended to guide you. We call it the Hebrew Bible.

Whether dealing with terrorists based in Gaza or their supporters burrowing on American campuses, we must battle them so they do not inflict their corrosive worldview on our way of life. We must not compromise our ideals. Israel must remain a core element of our modern Jewish identity. Any political figure that begins to separate Jews from Israel is destructive. Any political figure that offers sanctuary to those who seek to harm Jews is reckless.

Dual loyalty is a notion that our loyalty cannot and should not be contained within national boundaries. Our Jewish tradition and our sense of peoplehood demand more of us. Dual loyalty rejects Napoleon’s questions and the French Sanhedrin’s mission. Jews should be accepted, not within a French framework, or within an American framework. We should simply be accepted.

As a people, we cannot fear dual loyalty because of its most extreme bastardization. To shy away from good ideas because of the rotten apples of the bunch feels like a concession that the entire batch is to be judged according to our worst examples.

Our ability to dream has always been a Jewish superpower. Dreaming is the only path out of permanent diaspora.

Jews share an unbreakable bond that sometimes strains but never severs. Younger generations of Israelis seemingly learned this important lesson in the wake of the October 7 massacre. I believe that younger generations of American Jews learned that the bond of Judaism ties us together more strongly than any other layer of identity. When Israelis are attacked, we feel their pain. When they react, we suffer backlash as well. Jews are always connected with one another.

The American Jewish community is not a monolith. We sit as a spectrum between the two strong poles of Jacob’s ladder, the revolving double helix. We have always existed on this dynamic range. Following the trauma of October 7 and its aftermath in this country, it is clear that to strengthen our Jewish identity to withstand the next chapter of our diasporic existence, we will need to pull more American Jews into the middle. Our souls will have to draw strength from America and from Israel. Our souls will have to support America and support Israel. American Jews will have to see ourselves as part of this shifting, vital energy bonding together the strands of the DNA.”

About the Author:

Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz serves as the senior rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California, and sits on the Executive Board of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition. Following the events of October 7 and its aftermath, he penned his first book "The Case for Dual Loyalty," expected to be published in early 2025. The book challenges one of the oldest taboos in American Jewish life. He argues that proudly declaring Jewish loyalty forges a new path forward imbued with pride of peoplehood and collective destiny.