American Jews feel solidarity about Israel — for the moment

Just a few weeks ago, before a huge Rosh Hashanah audience, Rabbi Rachel Timoner thundered from the pulpit of her large Brooklyn synagogue against the government in Israel.

The Jewish state’s current leaders, she said, were welcoming violent racists and trying to dismantle democracy and pluralism. American Jewry’s liberal majority, she said, must fight back. “Two coalitions. Two versions of Judaism. Two visions for the Jewish people, in direct conflict,” she said, prompting applause and eventually a standing ovation — both rare sights in synagogue.