Israel is a beacon for young Jews - opinion

Imagine you’re a Jewish college student. Your professor asks a lecture hall full of your peers whether they support Hamas, an Islamist terrorist organization dedicated to eliminating Jews, or Israel, the Middle East’s only democracy. Half your classmates raise their hands for Hamas. How safe do you feel?

This is not merely hypothetical, as a recent Harvard CAPS-Harris poll revealed. Nearly half (43%) of 18 to 24-year-olds support Hamas over Israel. Of the same group, 46% believe that Hamas’ murders, rapes, and kidnappings were justified by Palestinian grievances. More than half believe they should be free to call for the genocide of Jews on campus.

Contrast those results with another recent poll from the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) that only surveyed Jews. The results flip, with 60% of young Jews supporting Israel’s right to self-defense.

The poll numbers are hard to read. Young adults in that age range have been Birthright’s core constituency since our founding, and I’ve listened to their stories firsthand. Compared with ICC’s findings, this polling data correlates with what we’ve been hearing since October 7. Young Jews feel isolated amid a sea of antisemitism, surrounded by peers who vocally support antisemitic terrorism or even genocide.

Social media discourse churns out anti-Israel messaging, especially on TikTok, which is dominated by people under the age of 30. College campuses have become hotbeds of antisemitic incidents and rhetoric, and too few administrators have unequivocally stood up for their Jewish students. 

When I talk to young American Jews, I frequently sense their disquiet – an uncomfortable restlessness born of watching our brethren be slaughtered for the world to see and not being able to help. In such an environment, where can young Jewish adults take inspiration? The answer is: From Israel.

Israel and the Diaspora need each other, make each other stronger

I RECENTLY returned from Israel, where I visited the sites of some of Hamas’s most heinous atrocities. Confronting the brutal, chaotic violence of October 7 was an excruciating ordeal. By the time I left, however, I was more hopeful than I was fearful. Israeli efforts to heal and rebuild showcase their unique blend of resilient, optimistic determination – qualities that Jewish young adults need now more than ever.

This tragedy has exposed the most foundational truth about the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora: We need each other, and we make each other stronger. 

During my visit, I saw the tenacity and determination of the Israeli people uplift and inspire Jewish young adults who were there volunteering through Birthright Israel’s Onward program. Over 1,000 Jewish young adults have participated in this novel program, with thousands more on their way in the weeks and months ahead. 

Many of our volunteers are going outside their comfort zone and doing things they’ve never done before – picking grapefruit on an agricultural farm, packing supplies for IDF soldiers risking their lives for the future of the Jewish people, and working in logistic centers across Israel. They were pushed, and they responded with strength.

And I saw the looks in the eyes of Israelis who needed to see a friendly face, even one they had never met, who traveled across the world to be there with them.

This symbiotic bond is our people’s future if we make it so: American Jews strong and secure in their Jewish identity, bolstered by the strength and conviction of the Israeli people – a shared responsibility and connection with each other. 

Earlier this month, Birthright’s hallmark 10-day trips have resumed, and the itineraries reflect our new post-October 7 reality. Every trip includes a volunteer component so that all our participants can benefit from the restorative power of active restoration. Our participants will meet with hostage families to hear not only the chilling truth of October 7 but the agonizing reality of every day since. Registration for this summer opened earlier this month and thousands of young Jewish adults have already applied.

These trips will empower young adults with the resilience and hope they need to live proudly Jewish lives as they fight Jew-hatred in North America while instilling the love and connection so essential for our shared future. A large Birthright Israel waiting list demonstrates the instinct our young adults have to be in Israel and their need for connection with each other and their homeland. 

Through these life-changing trips, my hope is that our children and grandchildren find their voice and place as part of a people with thousands of years of resilience and pride. I believe this is not only possible, but already happening, and Birthright Israel is enabling just that.  

The writer is Birthright Israel Foundation’s newly-appointed president and CEO.\