Young Americans of all political persuasions are marinating in anti-Israel propaganda on social media and on college campuses.
Given the opportunity to experience the country for themselves, rather than simply watching negative videos about it, young people can broaden their perspective and gain a deeper understanding of Israel’s people, culture, and history. This is the approach advocated by Passages, a nonprofit that takes young people on subsidized trips to the Jewish state.
“What we want students to do is to see Israel for themselves [and] be able to connect with their faith there,” Passages CEO Scott Phillips told National Review. “To see the real Israel versus what they hear in some of the mainstream media or what they may hear on campuses when they get back . . . Our hope is that their perspectives are changed both on their faith and on what’s happening in Israel.”
More than 250 college students and young adults from around the U.S. gathered in Washington, D.C., on Saturday for the annual Israel Impact Summit, hosted by Passages. Religious liberty advocates, policy analysts, and other speakers invited by Passages urged the young crowd to confront the rise of antisemitism among their peers.
Following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Passages’ mission shifted to include educational efforts — like its annual summit — to support the Jewish community.
Manhattan Institute polling from this summer shows that about a quarter of Republican voters under the age of 50 “believe that Jews receive too much favorable treatment.” Simultaneously, 54 percent of men and 39 percent of women under 50 said “the Holocaust was greatly exaggerated or did not happen as historians describe.”
Polling from Pew Research Center replicated the trend: 57 percent of 18- to 49-year-old Republicans had an unfavorable opinion of Israel — up seven percent from last year and up nearly 20 percent since 2022.
On the left, support for Israel and concern about antisemitism has similarly plunged. AP-NORC polling from this summer found that 58 percent of Democrats believe the U.S. is “too supportive” of Israelis — a 13 point increase from January 2024.
Antisemitism is not just a threat to Jewish Americans, Rebecca Heinrichs, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute focused on defense policy, pointed out in her remarks. If anti-Jewish bigotry is allowed to take root, it could “ruin this American experiment and self-government.”
Fighting back against this existential threat doesn’t necessarily require grand gestures, Heinrichs said. Instead each and every student can choose to “be the safe place for your Jewish peers.”
Senator Ted Cruz, who has repeatedly called out the rise of antisemitism on the political right, pointed out in a video address that the wave of antisemitism that’s currently sweeping through academia and American politics really began in the wake of the deadliest attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust.
“We all remember the horrific attack on October 7th, the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” he said. “It is a day none of us will ever forget. In the aftermath of the attack, and in the years that have followed, the support of the United States and organizations like Passages has helped Israel stand strong. But Israel and the Jewish people still face incredible threats, and among the most pervasive is antisemitism.”