Marty Levine
August 28, 2026
Can it be that reality has no meaning? Can we really live in the world we wish existed and ignore reality? Have we totally gone down the rabbit hole with Alice into a world of choose-your-own facts?
It more and more seems so. And this is scaring me.
Last week I came across this warning about antisemitism from the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, Eric Fingerhut (as reported by YNET). His concern is that New York City Mayor Mamdani is a harsh critic of Israeli policy and action. Fingerhut stated:
There is no question that his statements and behavior contribute to the increase in violence. His statements and actions have incited and contributed to incitement to violence.
His descriptions of Israel, the prime minister of Israel and Zionism hurt the Jewish community, which is Zionist. Ninety percent of American Jews are Zionists and support Israel, and he attacks it and incites people when he accuses Israel of responsibility for terrible things.
It incites people and causes them to attack Jews in response. And that is what is happening in New York. People are walking down the street and being attacked. He is responsible for that through his incitement.
People feel they are being attacked by Mamdani.
What struck me first was his blithe claim that 90% of American Jews are Zionists.
He somehow “forgets” that his organization’s own survey data, released in February of this year, found that just over 1/3 of American Jews describe themselves as Zionists!
What Fingerhut has done is create his own reality, he has jumped down into his own rabbitt-hole. Fingerhut substitutes his fantasy version of Israel and ignores its reality. The Israel he speaks for is an exemplar of Democracy and Equality for all living under its governance; the reality has been recognized as one of apartheid rule privileging its Jewish residents at the expense of Palestinians.
He also has created an alternate vision of the American Jewish Community he says he speaks for. Yes, as their survey found, “Jews of all ages continue to feel deeply connected to Israel and to Israelis. In fact, emotional connection to Israel across all age groups has increased since 2020.” This statement ignores the deep divisions in the American Jewish Community as the last three years have forced many to come to grips with Israel’s history; the Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic) refers to the violent expulsion of approximately three-quarters of all Palestinians from their homes and homeland between 1947 and 1949), and the Gaza genocide.
I, as critical as I am, as desirous of a different Israel/Palestine as I am, still would tell the surveyor that I have a strong emotional connection to the Land. In Fingerhut’s reality, I and the many, many like me, do not exist.
And in his “reality” that blots out a reality too painful to face, he sees Mamdani and perhaps my criticisms of Israel as why there is fear in New York and why antisemitism is on the rise.
In this reality, it is not Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who is the threat. Not even when he says on behalf of the Israeli government that it “should be doing 30 to 40 targeted assassinations per night. Not just those who pose an immediate threat. There are people there who don’t deserve to live … They are not even people.” Not even when he “posted a gloating video of the construction of a gallows complex where Palestinians convicted of terror offences – but not Jewish extremists accused of similar crimes – will be hanged.”
The AJC (American Jewish Committee) shares his alternate universe. In response to Ben-Givr’s clear statement of what Israel stands for, they posted on X this:
Ben-Gvir’s statements do not reflect the policy of the State of Israel and should be condemned by all who care about Israel’s future.
If a senior minister does not speak for his/her nation, who does?
This phenomenon of creating a fantasy world allows people who consider themselves upholders of human rights and fairness to not deal with the troubling reality that would force them to have to change beliefs that are important to them is not new and it is not just about Israel/Palestine.
After the end of the Civil War, as the southern states again became just another part of one nation, a fantasy about the reality of chattel slavery became a way to ignore its ugly truths and to not have to grapple with personal responsibility. Here’s a view of that process in practice from The Equal Justice Initiative:
The effort to reduce American slavery to a benign, romantic institution is a deeply rooted tradition. After the Civil War, Southern whites used power reacquired through violence and discrimination to construct a false narrative about slavery. They dominated public memory by erecting tax-funded monuments that glorify the Confederacy. By this retelling, the Confederate cause was noble, the war was not about slavery, and enslaved people were happy, loyal, and should be remembered for their faithfulness to slaveholders.
No need to grapple with personal responsibility for the violence and exploitation of Slavery. No need to grapple with any personal benefit that might have been derived from chattel slavery. Just create a fantasy reality and live in it.
It seems that when you live on the privileged side of reality, it is too much to ask you to stare reality in the face because it will require giving up that privilege.
Ethics, values, and personal morality too often are overwhelmed by the cost of facing reality without filters and blinders.
But to do otherwise locks us in a never-ending struggle that we can only win by ratcheting the force we are ready to use to keep reality at bay. We must, to protect this fantasy status quo, be ready to accept the human casualties from those who are challenging our fantasy.
That is what we are seeing in Israel/Palestine if we just open our eyes. That is what we are seeing in our own country if we just open our eyes.
Reality or fantasy, your choice. For me, I’ve chosen reality. And, as Alice said, “I wish I hadn’t gone down that rabbit-hole…”
W
