This piece is part of a series of brief essays by Northern California high school and college students who describe themselves as pro-Israel. As Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel’s independence day) approaches, J. asked them to write about their experiences since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel that started the ongoing war.
The term “pro-Israel” should not exist. No one says “pro-humanity” or “pro-equality,” because those are seen as basic human rights — they’re automatic. According to the United Nations, “The right to self-determination [is] an integral element of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms.” My question, then, is why do Israelis and Jews have to fight for a basic human right? Why is it a controversial opinion that we deserve the same fundamental freedoms given to literally every other group of people?
Right now, the Israel Defense Forces are fighting a war against terrorism, and b’ezrat HaShem (God willing), the war ends soon. While they’re fighting for their lives, many other Jews around the world are fighting for their freedoms, their right to exist. It is worrisome that the majority of the world, and many people on college campuses, cannot seem to agree that Jews deserve these basic human rights. It is a case of history repeating itself, but with a different name.
People are boycotting Jewish and Israeli businesses for supporting “genocide” or “apartheid,” while genuine human rights catastrophes are right under their noses. The worst part about these boycotts, these protests, is that they have become normalized. Before seeing the Magen David around my neck, classmates have discussed “the genocide” with me as if I were of the same belief. I’ve had ex-friends claim that my Judaism gives me a “different perspective” of the war. They’ve even blocked me for my belief that I deserve the right to exist in my native homeland.
What has become mainstream is not the support of human rights but the demonization of the Jewish state. Anyone in support of Israel’s existence, beyond its government and actions, is shamed, harassed or ostracized.
I am pro-Israel, but I shouldn’t have to be. I shouldn’t have to fight for my right to exist. I shouldn’t have to fight for my history to be remembered. I shouldn’t have to fight for information to be factual. Yet, I do.