Israel’s greatest threat is time: Gen Z is increasingly unsympathetic toward its cause

Anti-Israel boycotts continue to gain momentum in the U.S. amid a fresh wave of targeted Israel Defense Forces assassinations, further stoking tensions in the Middle East and renewed attacks from Iranian proxies.

There is a concerning trend among younger Americans, who are increasingly unsympathetic to the Israeli cause. This includes a population that has shown little regard for facts, history or realistic solutions that both protect civilian life and ensure peaceful coexistence. 

There are arguably no more elusive obstacles to Israel’s future than the specter of time. This includes reviving the fading lessons of the Holocaust to future American generations who, knowingly or unknowingly, will play a critical role in determining Israel’s fate.

Shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks, a Pew Research Center survey revealed that more than one-third of 21-30 years old Americans condoned Hamas’ attack against Israelis. Citizens 65 years or older were four times more supportive of U.S. weapons assistance of Israeli operations in Gaza than the aforementioned younger generation.

These trends correlate strongly with generational disparities of Holocaust memory and historical context. Recent NPR polling indicated that 66 percent of millennials did not know what Auschwitz was, much less its historical relevance. 

Undeniably, U.S. public perception of Israel is also a byproduct of its figurative and literal proximity to other interwoven political issues, fundamentally different today than from the time of Jerusalem’s founding.

During its infancy, support for Israel solidified across the political spectrum. Cold War congressional hawks understood Israel’s strategic significance while left-leaning circles perceived the fledgling state as an underdog surrounded by Goliaths.

Today, however, Israel resides in unrecognizable political waters. Younger Americans appear to view Israel through a social justice lens, primarily an overly broad oppressed-oppressor framework.

These perceptions are aided by media outlets who perpetuate that false narrative by reporting unsubstantiated casualty estimates or attribution of deadly attacks provided by Hamas as fact. Unfortunately, journalist corrections tend to be collectively muted (civilian casualties going from 18,000 to 9,000 or “hospital explosions” resulting from misfired Hamas rockets instead of Israeli targeting).

It is hard to also dispute social media’s role in stoking anti-Israel sentiment among younger, more impressionable Americans.

TikTok’s 200:1 skew of anti-Israel posts reflects this bias.

Unsurprisingly, we’re seeing the manifestation of this bias and historical rot on university campuses, in cities and at the highest levels of U.S. political leadership. Calls for “intifada” on campuses are underpinned by antisemitic tropes which, according to 2022 ADL studies, have doubled, since 2019.

One-fifth of 18-29 years-old Americans believe the Holocaust was a myth (ten times higher than previous generations). A shocking 10 percent of Gen Z believe Jews started the Holocaust.

While the outlook of reversing these generational trends appear grim, action can and should be taken. In a charged environment where school curriculum is heavily politicized, reviving historical, fact-driven Holocaust education is widely popular and continues to receive bipartisan support.

This includes reauthorization of the Never Again Education Act, bipartisan legislation that provides $10 million in grant funding for Holocaust education at schools, which must be passed and expanded. Only 19 states currently mandate Holocaust education. Given recent spikes in anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism, a robust federal mandate is needed.

The Israeli government is also not blameless in losing the war on U.S. public opinion. Jerusalem must be far more proactive in pushing back against distorted or incomplete commentary. 

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, U.S. politicians and thought leaders must exhibit the courage and integrity to denounce new, normalized forms of Jew-hatred.

Reviving historical lessons of the Holocaust is not just about the protection of Jews, of Israel or preserving the ugliest and most poignant lessons of humanity. Jerusalem’s response and policy position can and should be respectfully critiqued, as should any other country’s behavior or any issue of global consequence.

As an American Jew, descendant of Holocaust victims, and student of history, we must fiercely protect and equally apply facts, reason and truth. A durable, democratic, and well-informed populace cannot concede to collective impulse, sensationalism or intimidation. Without fiercely protecting these core tenets, Israeli and American sovereignty, for that matter, remain in peril. 

Adam Stahl served as the Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans. He has also worked on national security and global energy issues at both the Senate Commerce Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee.