What happens when a relationship once defined by unwavering solidarity begins to fray? Across North America, shifting public opinion is reshaping support for Israel, a change that may prove more consequential than any single war or election.

There is an old joke in Israel about Moses stuttering at a key moment when he is talking to God and thereby changing the fate of the Jews forever.  The punchline involves a play on the Hebrew word “Canaan”—the Promised Land.  According to the joke, God asks Moses where he wants to lead the people of Israel.  Moses tries to say “Canada,” but he stutters and it comes out as “Ca, ca, ca…”  God interrupts him, assuming he means Canaan, and sends the Israelites off to the Middle East. The joke usually ends with the Jewish people telling Moses, “You idiot, we could have had vast spaces and no conflicts!”

But today, the idea of North America as a Jewish homeland has become not far off the truth.  Outside of Israel, the overwhelming majority of the world’s Jews live in North America.  Indeed, when taken together, the United States and Canada have almost as many Jewish citizens—just shy of 7 million—as does Israel itself.  Israel and North America, taken together, account for over 85% of the global total of Jews.  The rest of the world’s Jews live in small, scattered groups.