The Future of World Jewry

Elliot Abrams gazes into the crystal ball [below]

The Jewish Future - Elliot Abrams [pictured]

[T]o me the future seems bright. 

I do not believe the Islamic Republic will exist in 2065.  Even the superpower Soviet Union fell after three-quarters of a century, and the ayatollahs are now in year 36 of their revolution.  They are loathed by the people of Iran, and I believe popular resistance and contradictions among the clerics will eventually spell doom.  Of course we can make that more likely to happen, and sooner, by our own conduct toward Iran - reversing recent policy.  But they will not last 50 more years anyway, and a normal Iran will not be an enemy to Israel and the Jewish people. 

[B]oth the Arab world's chaos and its battles with Iran and jihadism point to improved relations with Israel.  We see this happening already, and over time it can expand.  The Palestinian issue is now page-10 news, not a headline and not something that much moves Arab governments. 

And I believe that the status of the Palestinian West Bank population will have changed in 50 years, from subjects of Israel to those of Jordan.  Israelis want to separate from the Palestinians but need security, and the long-term solution is the Jordanian army and police.  Once the Palestinian issue has a different diplomatic face, other Arab governments will be freer to do what Jordan and Egypt have done: make peace with Israel. 

Israel will probably have decent relations with Jordan, Lebanon, Kurdistan, and the independent Druze areas of what used to be Syria. 

So, 2065 will bring all sweetness and light?  No.  The American Jewish community will have declined as a percentage of the U.S. population, reducing its clout.  And the American left, in whatever party represents it, will be as anti-Israel as the parties of the European left.  Support for Israel will remain a divisive issue between left and right.  Hatred of Jews in the Muslim world will remain a dangerous virus.  Europe will be an increasingly hostile place for Jews, for political and demographic reasons.  European Jewish populations will be small, especially after the French Jewish community begins to leave in large numbers.  Israel and the United States will form the two poles of the world's Jewish population, with everyone else playing a very minor role. 

Even more in 2065 that in 2015, Jews will be thankful for the support of American Christians in sustaining the ranks of the pro-Israel community. 
Elliot Abrams is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of Tested by Zion, among other books.
[Commentary Magazine]