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.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Jews around the world had a collective awakening. Many of us at the time, myself included, felt distanced from our Jewish identities (whether from religious traditions, holidays or Israel activism itself). While I had vaguely supportive feelings for Israel, it hardly entered my mind on a daily basis. While Hamas’ brutal attacks on Oct. 7 were certainly a wake-up call, it wasn’t until I saw how close to home hatred could hit that I realized I had to become involved.
For me, the turning point was the December 2023 congressional hearing with several university presidents following the immediate explosion of antisemitism on American college campuses. One university president was asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik if calling for the genocide of Jews violated university rules, and the witness replied, among other things, that she didn’t know.
While I was always painfully aware that terror groups like Hamas existed and had their supporters in the U.S., I had a strongly held, perhaps naive, view that these ideas were not in the mainstream. But the person who just told Congress that she didn’t know if calling for Jewish genocide constituted a violation of university policy wasn’t an irrelevant internet commenter. She was, in fact, a well-respected official within prestigious academia. This was someone not only in the mainstream, but someone who defines it.
The word “fear” doesn’t begin to describe what was instilled in me that day. While turning to my friends for support, I realized I had made no effort previously to build Jewish community. The response from my existing support structure was uneducated apathy at best, or the revealing of vile hatred at worst, which occurred with several close friends.
But this revelation also sparked an internal revolution. I learned everything I could about Israel, solidifying my view that Israel’s existence is necessary for Jewish safety and peace. And then I connected for the first time in my life with Jewish institutions, like Hillel, where I found so much warmth.
To be a pro-Israel college student in this time is to be surrounded by ignorance and hostility over beliefs you know to be true and just, while also, conversely, to feel a sense of connection with your Zionist peers so strong, so deep and so joyful — more than you ever thought possible. To see Israel’s flag and feel pride. To feel how the light of Shabbat can dispel darkness. To wake up every day frustrated with our growing challenges, but somehow with an undeniable gratitude for being Jewish.