“I think every Israeli is post-traumatic in some way. We are all impact-ready,” said Nadav Heipert about the effect of the terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 7 that killed three people. Two of them were students at Tel Aviv University (TAU), where Heipart is also enrolled. This was one of a series of attacks that have killed 19 Israelis since March 22 in what Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has referred to as a “new wave of terror” facing Israel.
As an American student studying at TAU this past semester during this increase in terrorism, I was struck by the difference in the mettle of Israeli college students compared with their American counterparts. Some of my fellow students shared stories of coddled undergrads at their colleges back in the U.S. that highlighted the distinction.
Just a few weeks before the terrorism in Israel began, for example, students at Amherst College in Massachusetts objected to working out in the campus fitness center alongside the school’s athletes. Why? Because it made them feel uncomfortable. Unsurprisingly, the Amherst administration catered to these students’ feelings of discomfort, announcing that the school would put exercise equipment in the Nicholls Biondi studio to accommodate “students who need or prefer greater privacy than the Wolff Fitness Center affords.” However, this move has caused further controversy, as this particular studio is frequently used by the campuses major dance clubs. So the move has been put on hold.
Things can be quite different in Israel. That could be, in part, because Israeli college students are older on average than American college students, which may account for their greater maturity. Kristina Reznikov, a TAU student studying biology, said, “I think that we mature quite fast because of the terrorism and because at the age of 18 we go to the army and deal with it. It’s not something you see in other countries.” There is a mandatory minimum 24 months of service in the Israel Defense Forces for women after high school and 32 months of service for men. (Some Israelis are exempt from serving.) After that, many Israeli young adults attend college or university for three or four years, depending upon the field of study.
At the same time, Israeli universities are not immune from the woke ideology that has become firmly entrenched in American campuses. TAU is openly one of the most liberal universities in Israel. In 2021, it formed an Equality and Diversity Commission, demonstrating that even an Israeli university can get sucked into pursuing the diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda. Yet this push toward wokeism does not seem homegrown; rather, it appears to be directly adopted from U.S. universities. Furthermore, given Israel’s “anti-P.C.” culture, it is unlikely that this recent leftward lurch will gain traction among Israeli students. After all, they have far bigger issues to deal with.
Reznikov said that, immediately following the terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, which took place at a bar on Dizengoff Street (a popular thoroughfare for young people), she was reluctant to go out for two weeks. But three weeks after the attack, it seemed to me like things were back to normal in Tel Aviv.
As we were tragically reminded this week, students in this country are forced to reckon with the reality of threats and danger in their lives as well. But American college students are increasingly inclined to treat minor perceived slights or obstacles as traumatic or potentially traumatic incidents. They could use some perspective.