At this pivotal moment in Jewish history, Israel does not need a cautious bureaucrat or a diplomatic placeholder as its next consul general in New York. It needs a fighter, a truth-teller, and a leader capable of confronting uncomfortable realities with clarity and courage. Caroline Glick is uniquely qualified for that role.
For decades, the relationship between Israel and American Jewry rested on a widely accepted assumption: American Jews would strengthen and sustain Israel politically, financially, and culturally. In the twentieth century, that assumption was largely true. At Israel’s founding in 1948, there were approximately 650,000 Jews in Israel and nearly six million Jews in America. Israel was fragile, poor, isolated, and dependent on outside support.
Today, the reality has dramatically reversed.
Israel has emerged as one of the great success stories of modern history. With a population exceeding ten million people, including over seven million Jews, Israel is now the largest Jewish community in the world, by far. Its economy is thriving. Its currency is stronger than it has been in decades.
Israeli society remains among the happiest in the world according to international rankings. Jewish culture, Hebrew language, Torah scholarship, technological innovation, and national confidence are flourishing on a scale unimaginable to earlier generations.
Even after the horrors of October 7, Israel demonstrated astonishing resilience. Rather than collapse under genocidal assault, Israeli society mobilized with unity, strength, and determination that captured the admiration of much of the Western world.
Meanwhile, American Jewish life is confronting a deep and growing crisis.
Intermarriage prominent in US
Assimilation has devastated non-Orthodox American Jewry. Intermarriage rates among non-Orthodox Jews exceed 70 percent. Despite the doubling of the American population since 1948, the American Jewish population has stagnated or declined. The demographic trajectory is unmistakable.
But demographics tell only part of the story.
American Jews are also confronting the worst wave of antisemitism in modern American history. Jews are assaulted on college campuses, harassed openly in cities, intimidated in synagogues, and, in some tragic cases, murdered simply for being Jewish. Anti-Zionism has become the socially acceptable vehicle for the normalization of antisemitism across large segments of elite culture.
At the same time, support for Israel among American Jews is weakening dramatically. Recent Pew data revealed troubling trends, especially among younger Jews, many of whom increasingly view Israel negatively. Among Jews under 35, unfavorable attitudes toward Israel and its government now approach or exceed a majority.
The political implications are profound.
For the first time in modern American history, prominent political figures openly advocate positions that would effectively dismantle the Jewish state. In New York itself, a significant percentage of Jewish voters supported candidates aligned with movements deeply hostile to Zionism. Much of that activism is reinforced by progressive Jewish organizations that increasingly define Jewish identity through universalist politics rather than Jewish national survival.
This is precisely why Caroline Glick is the right person for the New York consul general position.
Predictably, her possible appointment has triggered opposition from progressive Jewish organizations, J Street activists, and spokespeople associated with the Reform movement. Their criticism is revealing. They object not because Glick lacks intelligence, eloquence, or knowledge, but because she refuses to conform to the failed assumptions that dominated Israeli and Diaspora thinking before October 7.
In Israel, there has been a broad rejection of what Israelis call the “conceptzia” – the illusion that genocidal enemies could be managed through accommodation, wishful thinking, and diplomatic euphemism. October 7 shattered that illusion forever.
Yet many progressive Jewish institutions in America remain trapped in precisely that mindset. Rather than recognizing the existential nature of the threats Israel faces, they continue to prioritize ideological conformity to fashionable progressive causes, even when those movements openly tolerate or encourage anti-Zionism.
Caroline Glick understands this danger clearly.
Glick will be honest about issues facing US Jews
More importantly, she possesses something many establishment Jewish leaders increasingly lack: the willingness to speak honestly to American Jews about the crisis confronting Jewish identity, Jewish continuity, and Jewish security.
The role of Israel’s consul general in New York should not merely involve attending banquets, cultivating donors, and repeating diplomatic clichés. At a moment of historic danger, the position requires intellectual seriousness, moral clarity, and the courage to challenge failing assumptions.
Some of Israel’s greatest diplomats and leaders came from precisely this American-Israeli tradition. Benjamin Netanyahu, Golda Meir, Ron Dermer, Michael Oren, and others combined deep familiarity with American culture with profound commitment to Zionism and aliyah. They understood both America and Israel – and they were unafraid to speak difficult truths.
Glick belongs in that tradition.
Critics point to some of her past criticisms of American Jewish institutions as disqualifying. In reality, such criticism has deep roots in Zionist history. David Ben-Gurion himself repeatedly warned about assimilation, declining Jewish identity, and the dangers of Diaspora complacency. He believed Jewish leaders sometimes needed to confront painful realities directly rather than offer comforting illusions.
History suggests he was correct.
The truth is that many American Jews increasingly feel alienated not from Israel itself, but from a Jewish leadership class that appears disconnected from the growing threats Jews now face in American society. They are searching for clarity, conviction, and leadership equal to the moment.
Caroline Glick can provide exactly that.
Moreover, Israel’s relationship with the United States remains one of its most vital strategic assets. Given the strong support Israel currently enjoys among large segments of the American political right – including many supporters of President Donald Trump – Israel would be ill-served by appointing a consul general hostile to those constituencies. Glick’s ability to communicate effectively with conservative Americans, while unapologetically defending Israel’s security needs, would strengthen rather than weaken the US-Israel alliance.
Her critics insist she is “divisive.” But clarity is often called divisive by those uncomfortable with reality. At moments of existential challenge, diplomacy cannot become an exercise in denial.
The Jewish people are living through one of the most consequential periods since the founding of the State of Israel. Antisemitism is resurging globally. Jewish identity in the Diaspora is under severe strain. Israel faces enemies openly committed to its destruction.
This is not the time for timid leadership.
It is the time for leaders willing to rally the Jewish people with confidence, honesty, and unapologetic Zionist conviction.
That is why Caroline Glick is not merely an acceptable choice for Israel’s next consul general in New York.
She is the right choice.
Phillip Jacobs, Ph.D., is an Israeli-American sociologist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who divides his time between Israel and the United States.
