The past decade has seen a resurgence of some of the many problems—including crime, homelessness, and drug use—that have often afflicted American cities. To Joel Kotkin and Anthony Lemus, faith-based organizations are often those doing the most to help:

At a time when big-city public schools are emptying, the Brilla Public Charter Schools offer Bronx parents an option that structures education along the lines of classical Catholic education—a model increasingly in demand these days. . . . Since 2019, Brilla’s four nonunionized Bronx-based schools, with a student body roughly 70-percent Latino and 30-percent black, have doubled enrollments, even as public-school enrollment has declined by 23 percent. Two more Brilla schools are planned. “We have a totally different approach,” explains Denise McCrummen, principal of Brilla College Prep Elementary. “We have a code of conduct that wants something better from the kids and parents.”

Kotkin and Lemus also point to the Jewish institutions that are also doing their part:

As was the case in the European ghettos and on New York’s Lower East Side, [Jewish] religious organizations often augment sketchy public provisions for security and emergency services. “You have to be careful in the mean streets that are taking over L.A.,” suggests Simcha Mandelbaum, who directs Hatzolah, a community-funded emergency-services provider for people speaking Farsi, Russian, Yiddish, and Hebrew. “People are comfortable with people they know and who can respond quickly.”

Most L.A. synagogues engage in some form of philanthropic activity, but Orthodox philanthropies increasingly lead the way. They operate an extensive food and clothing operation and deliver meals to struggling families. . . . These services help 635 families, most with one adult, or sometimes two adults, in the workforce but struggling to pay private-school bills, the high cost of kosher food, and L.A. rents.

Watching 150 volunteers, mostly young people, packing boxes of supplies for the Sabbath while listening to Israeli music, one can sense the connectiveness that has helped Jews worldwide survive through much harder times.

To Kotkin and Lemus, “the power of religious communities lies not in sounding like a politically correct Disney character but in their focus on timeless virtues and ethical principles—and their devotion to building a better life for families.”

If there’s one lesson to be learned from the history of the Israel-Arab conflict, it’s never to be confident that an end is in sight. Ehud Yaari nevertheless—and with all due caution—points to some noteworthy developments:

The absolute primacy of “armed struggle” in Palestinian discourse has discouraged any serious attempt to discuss or plan for a future Palestinian state. Palestinian political literature is devoid of any substantial debate over what kind of a state they aspire to create. What would be its economic, foreign, and social policies?

One significant exception was a seminar held by Hamas in Gaza—under the auspices of the late Yahya Sinwar—prior to October 7, 2023. The main focus of what was described as a brainstorming session was the question of how to deal with the Jews in the land to be liberated. A broad consensus between the participants was reached that most Israeli Jews should be eradicated or expelled while those contributing to Israel’s success in high tech and other critical domains would be forced to serve the new Palestinian authorities.

Yet, the ongoing aftershocks from the ongoing war in Gaza are posing questions among Palestinians concerning the viability of armed struggle. So far this trend is reflected mainly in stormy exchanges on social-media platforms and internal controversies within Hamas. There is mounting criticism leveled at the late Mohammad Deif and Yahya Sinwar for embarking upon an uncoordinated offensive that is resulting in a “Second Nakba”—a repeat of the defeat and mass displacement caused by launching the war in 1948.

To be sure, “armed struggle” is still being preached daily to the Palestinian communities by Iran and Iranian proxies, and at least half the Palestinian public—according to various polls—believe it remains indispensable. But doubts are being heard. We may be reaching a point where the Palestinians will feel compelled to make a choice between the road which led to past failures and an attempt to chart a new route. It will certainly require time and is bound to cause fractures and divisions, perhaps even a violent split, among the Palestinians.