(RNS) — There’s nothing unusual about the honorary doctorate the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College will grant at commencement next week to Hasia R. Diner — except one thing. Ever since she publicly renounced Zionism in an op-ed in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz 10 years ago, this leading historian of the American Jewish experience has been persona non grata in most institutional Jewish spheres. The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College insists the honor it will grant her on Sunday (May 17) has nothing to do with her views on Zionism. “Our criteria for this award is outstanding contributions in one’s field of expertise,” said Rabbi Deborah Waxman, the college’s president and CEO based in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia. Still, the honor is noteworthy for what it says about American Judaism at this moment. The consensus that made Zionism a centerpiece of Jewish identity has broken down. Younger Jews are increasingly alienated from an identity joined at the hip with unquestioning support for Israel. Anguished over Israel’s war on Gaza — one 2025 survey found that half of American Jews …