The Jewish world has less to be hopeful about after this news item from Syrian President Bashar Assad's trip to Iran earlier this month. On greeting Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Teheran, Assad said that he was happy that the meeting was taking place at a time when "we are witnessing great achievements on the part of the Islamic resistance group [Hizbullah] in Lebanon and the strengthening of Hamas in Palestine, while witnessing the weakening of our enemies more than ever before." If Assad is correct, what effect do these "great achievements" have on world Jewry and Israel?

Unfortunately, it appears that young American Jews aren't bothered too much by what Israel's foes have in mind. The recent study, "Beyond Distancing: Young Adult American Jews and their Alienation from Israel," by Steven Cohen and Ari Kelman, makes me wonder whether younger American Jews are stupid or just ignorant. The study shows that only 48 percent of respondents under 35 agree that "Israel's destruction would be a personal tragedy," compared to 78 percent of those 65 and older. In addition, just slightly more than half are "comfortable with the idea of a Jewish State." That is, less than half of younger American Jews would read about Israel's destruction online, be sorry but not surprised that it didn't work out, and click to the next news item. One caveat - the opinions of the Orthodox community, which represents roughly 10 percent of American's Jews and is strongly committed to Israel, weren't included in the study.

If one factors in the Orthodox community, one would assume that about half of American Jewish young adults are concerned about Israel while the other half aren't. Those who are indifferent must be ignorant of the fact that the enemies of Israel consider Diaspora Jews in the same category as Israelis, whether they know it or not. As nearly every educated person knows, the Jews in Germany in the first half of the 20th-century thought of themselves as Germans first and Jews second. The problem was that the Nazi leaders and most of the German gentiles had a different opinion. To them, German Jews were unwanted aliens and the cause of Germany's post-WWI misery, without whom the country would be better off. In fact, the Germans considered all Jews to be vermin, which had to be cleansed from Europe (at the very least). It would seem to be impossible for many young, educated American Jews to be ignorant of the Holocaust and its implications for Jews, yet they are. Or, if they're not ignorant, then they're foolish.

Jews outside of Israel, especially Americans, are somewhat indifferent to Israel's fate for two reasons. First, most of them (about 60 percent) haven't been to Israel and therefore have little affinity for it. Second, Israel is 5,000 miles from America, far enough away to be out of sight and out of mind. These two reasons account for the literal distancing between young American Jews and Israel, along with the fact that most young Jewish adults have many other things to think about besides their religious affiliation and what it implies.

The fact that Jewish youth in America, Israel's strongest ally, are not united in a movement to support Israel is one thing. Just as troubling are the attitudes of Western leaders, who are following a pattern of inaction on two fronts that confront Israel. Iran is in the headlines daily, mostly for proclaiming that it will never give up its nuclear program, which by the way doesn't include nuclear weapons - they say. At the same time, various Iranian leaders proclaim the imminent destruction of Israel, the "Zionist entity," which will disappear from the map - not that it's on Muslim maps to begin with.

While the United Nations Security Council, plus Germany, dithers with Iran over whether it will accept Western incentives, Iran steadfastly carries on, never even pretending that it will accept the West's attempts to appease it. As for the so-called sanctions, Iran laughs them off as they continue to do business with Russia, Germany, Italy and others who are supposedly putting pressure on them. In spite of this lack of urgency to apply stringent sanctions against Iran, Israel is expected to sit quietly on the sidelines. In reality, Israel must be ready to protect itself, given the fact that it's being backed into a corner by Iranian threats and the timid Western response.

A more recent threat, in even closer proximity to Israel, is the acquiescence of the West to the Iranian proxy Hizbullah's takeover of the Lebanese government, abetted by Syria. Lebanon, whose government has always said that it would be the "last" to make peace with Israel, continues to flout UN Resolution 1701, which Israel unwisely accepted at the end of the ill-conceived Second Lebanese War in 2006. That resolution, which ordered the return of the two Israeli captives, prohibited the rearming of Hizbullah, and forbids Hizbullah's presence near Israel's border, has been almost a total failure. In the meantime, weaponry and other aid given to Lebanon make it the largest per capita recipient of American aid after Israel. Even following the recognized terrorist group Hizbullah's insurgency in Lebanon, the United States hasn't abandoned the "pro-Western" government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. This is another case where Israel is being told by the West to sit quietly and do nothing.

Now that the end of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's leadership is hopefully just months away, one hopes that Israel will abandon initiatives such as the "peace" negotiations that have rehabilitated Bashar Assad and brought legitimacy to Syria, when a more appropriate policy would be to enlighten Assad to the probability of further isolation if Syria doesn't constrain Hizbullah and expel Hamas leaders from Damascus. Ditto for the West in relation to Iran, which is making its adversaries look foolish as they vacillate over exactly when Iran will acquire an atomic weapon, which will give it the power to call the shots in the world's biggest oil patch.

Israel's policies of the last several years have reduced its deterrent power to the point that its enemies believe it's a paper tiger which they can defeat. Since we know that Israel possesses the weaponry to overcome any of these adversaries, and we also know that the West will "fight to the last Israeli," it is becoming obvious that the West will continue to dither, expecting Israel to do the dirty work if appeasement fails to work. If this analysis is correct, then Israel must act before it's too late.

Both American Jews and Western leaders have failed to appreciate the role Israel plays in the fight against jihadist ambitions. Young Americans have lost sight of the centrality of Israel to Judaism as well as the Israeli role as the ultimate watchdog against anti-Semitism. The West has taken Israel for granted. It's more upset over the probability of a surge in gas prices were Israel to preemptively attack its enemies, than the possibility that Israel could be attacked simultaneously from Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. The greatest task for a new Israeli leadership (Netanyahu?) will be to impress both Jews and the Western public with the importance of a strong Israel in the protracted cultural and military battle against Islamic countries that threaten Israel.

Stephen Kramer resided and worked in the Atlantic City area until 1991, when he moved to Israel with his wife, Michal Langweiler, and two sons. His book "Meandering Through Israel" can be purchased by calling the Jewish Times at 407-0909. He can be reached at Sjk1@jhu.edu.