Pushback Organizations: Cohesion and Division among Jews in the United States, France, and Canada

Abstract

This dissertation examines organized Jewish political advocacy which ‘pushes back’ against establishment Jewish and Israel-advocacy organizations in the United States, France, and Canada. Why have pushback organizations in the US flourished while similar organizations in France and Canada have not? Why have pushback organizations in France received even less support than comparable organizations in Canada? The study aims to identify the conditions that have led to different outcomes in ‘pushback political mobilization’ among the world’s three largest Jewish populations outside Israel. The study’s argument consists of three interweaving explanatory mechanisms centred on perceived security threats, perceived policy and diplomatic relations toward Israel, and ethnic lobbying. Broadly, conditions are conducive to the flourishing of pushback organizations where 1) a sense of ontological insecurity is more widespread than a sense of physical insecurity; 2) where liberal- minded Jews are more likely to perceive their government as unconstructively supportive of Israeli positions in relation to security and the Israel-Palestinian conflict and as able to coerce the Israeli government on related matters; and 3) where ethnic lobbying is normatively acceptable as well as feasible on matters related to foreign policy. The study claims that each condition builds up to an overall highly favourable context for pushback political mobilization. Conversely, conditions become less favourable as those factors are met to a lesser extent or not at all. The study uses a primarily process-tracing analysis of diaspora political mobilization among Jews in the US, France, and Canada in recent decades.