Jews are more united than ever this Yom Kippur

The narrative that Jews in Israel and the Diaspora are deeply divided is just another weaponized lie designed to weaken the Jewish state. It will fail.

It is Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement and the most sacred in the Jewish calendar. More than a day of personal expiation, it is a day of unity, when Jews of all political and religious persuasions partake in the same rituals. This is another kind of at-one-ment.

The idea that Israel is a divided society and that Diaspora Jews are split over how Israel should defeat its genocidal neighbors has considerable currency right now, but it is wrong.

The Islamic Republic of Iran and its evil acolytes Hamas and Hezbollah, which have brought every part of the Middle East they have stepped foot in to ruin, have been propagandizing the narrative that “the Zionist entity” of Israel is weak, divided, and near collapse.

The mullahs in Tehran, however, have made the mistake of believing their own propaganda. Their terror-supporting sympathizers in the West have lapped it up with their usual lack of insight and critical thinking.

Underlying this misconception are two myths - that Israel is a recent fragile colonialist entity with shallow roots that will crumble under pressure, and the unsophisticated notion that disagreement equals disunity.

Israel is so strong because far from being a fugacious colonial entity, it is an ancient nation. It is the only country that has the same name, speaks the same language, and whose people hold the same belief system as it did 3,000 years ago.

Given such deep roots, it is absurd to claim that transient issues such as disagreements over military strategy or constitutional arrangements mean the country is dangerously divided.

People having different ideas in a liberal democracy is not a sign of minacious division. It is the opposite - it is a functioning open society thrashing out and brainstorming competing ideas. It is sign of Jewish cultural and intellectual health.

In fact, the lack of violence between Jewish groups and factions, despite fundamental religious and political differences, shows Israeli’s high degree of unity.