During my many trips to Israel I have become accustomed to hearing concern and even despair. But always there was a sense that when there is peace things will be better. To be sure, there are wars to be fought and crises to live through, but someday….

In this 20^th day of October I am writing from Jerusalem. I have met with several friends who have a good feel for the pulse of Israel and they report something very different from what I have experienced in the past. Thoughtful Israelis are asking if Israel has a future, if Israel as a state is going to survive. This is not just idle talk but, rather, an attempt to deal with the reality that despite all of Israel’s successes, many in the world are tired of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and are tired of dealing with Israel. Adding to the angst amongst older Israelis is the growing sense that young, middle class kids just don’t want to fight any more, especially against an enemy that doesn’t seem to want peace, nor against a world that doesn’t seem to understand the need for an Israel. We’ve tried the peaceful route, they say. We offered to give back most of the West Bank, and for what, they ask. We withdrew from Gaza to our secure, internationally recognized border, and what did that get us?

For many, the Goldstone report was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Nations with the worst human rights records, such as Libya and Sudan, used a Jew—Goldstone—to create legitimacy when they commissioned a report that would declare the entire Gaza war to be a crime, not just individual violations. That was the starting point for the report, not the end. There was no recognition of why Israel went to war in the first place and no acknowledgement that this war was not a conventional one with armies facing each other across a front. The report suggested that Israeli policy was the murder of the civilian population of Gaza and the deliberate destruction of the entire civilian infrastructure. It may have been true that individual soldiers acted irresponsibly, but it is a lie that Israeli policy was to kill all civilians. And, it is true that civilian infrastructure from which attacks were launched was attacked, but it is a lie to suggest that all infrastructure was targeted. Unfortunately, these distinctions were lost on those hell bent to declare Israel a criminal state.

Israel has been condemned before, so what makes the Goldstone report so damaging? First, there is the fear that no Israeli will be able to travel abroad without risking arrest. Second, there is the very serious concern that Israeli commanders and soldiers will be reluctant to do what is necessary on the battlefield lest they be declared war criminals. And, perhaps more important in the long term, many Israelis have come to understand that there can be no hope for peace, that to be a citizen of Israel is to accept the reality that any thought of peace is a fantasy. The Goldstone report made unilateral withdrawal impossible because if Israel was not safe after withdrawing from Gaza, perhaps it is better to remain in the territories with Israeli soldiers and Israeli control. That is, the Goldstone report has turned Israel into a permanent occupying power, with all the risks that come from that.

Part of the tremendous isolation that Israel feels comes from the sense that even some of her strongest supporters seem to be pulling away. The American Jewish community seems more unsure than ever about what it means to support Israel, as evidenced by strong (and some would say unjust) criticism from Jewish groups like J-Street and others. And, one can’t ignore the fact that in a recent poll, the Israeli approval rating of President Obama was just 4%, the equivalent of a statistical error. The reason? The failure of the Obama administration to draw a line in the sand concerning Iran and its desire to become a nuclear power.

This is a critical moment for Israel. Her enemies have discovered that the best way to damage Israel is not through costly, and thus far unwinnable, war, but, rather, by use of diplomacy and international courts. If there was ever a time when Israel needed friends it is now.   Vocal support from the American Jewish community is vital. And, there needs to be clear and strong outreach to American government officials urging them to use their good offices to prevent the diplomatic isolation of Israel.

Rabbi Robert Orkand, President