opinions & letters
How to Repair Israel’s Relationship
With the Younger Generation
BY DAN SCHNUR
W hen I wrote last week about alarming poll
results that show a continuing drop in
support for Israel among Democrats and young
people, I promised to follow it up with ideas on how
to confront this growing problem.

Recent polling showed that majorities of these
two groups now hold unfavorable opinions
towards Israel, and the numbers are steadily
worsening. Several advocacy organizations, led by AIPAC’s
new super PAC, the Democratic Majority for Israel,
the Jewish Democratic Council of America, the
Zioness Coalition and the Urban Empowerment
Action PAC, have been waging a highly effec-
tive fight against the growing antipathy toward
Israel among progressive voters. They deserve
immense credit for their work. But the fact that so
much time, energy and money must be expended
to persuade Democratic voters to support a
Jewish state should be taken as a warning sign
rather than a cause for celebration.

As I’ve written before, the antisemitism that
emanates from the extreme right is just as per-
nicious as the anti-Zionism infecting the far-left.

But the Democratic Party has been the historic
home of the majority of American Jews, so the
loss of support among young people and liberals
requires a more serious response than simply
changing the subject to nationalistic ultra-con-
servatism. We will never win over the blood-and-
soil bigots and racists — nor should we try. But
bringing back the young and the left-leaning is a
necessary goal to pursue.

First, we must recognize that we do not see
ourselves the way most others do. By definition,
progressives are invested in helping the dispos-
sessed overcome adversity. After several millen-
nia of oppression, most Jews see ourselves and
the Jewish state as having earned that underdog
status. But our academic, economic and political
successes mean we are now regarded by many
of our detractors not as the oppressed but as the
oppressors. We think of ourselves as David. They see us as
Goliath. Until we begin to rebuild our relationship
with other underrepresented communities, and
help them better understand our history — as we
make a better effort to learn about theirs — that
fundamental misperception will prevent the politi-
cal left from being comfortable with Jews or Israel.

The challenge is particularly acute in minority
communities, as the once-vital relationship
between Jewish and Black advocates has largely
withered and nascent connections with other
groups have yet to fully take root. But we should
be just as concerned with the precipitous drop
in support for Israel among young voters as they
move into more influential positions of civic and
political leadership.

Especially worrisome are the markedly less
favorable feelings that young American Jews
have for Israel. Millennial and Generation Z Jews
It’s not difficult to see
how younger Jews have
developed such different
feelings about Israel than
previous generations.

tend to be much more ambivalent about Israel
than their parents and grandparents, which will
make it much harder to shift opinions among vot-
ers of their age groups in the years ahead.

It’s not difficult to see how younger Jews have
developed such different feelings about Israel
than previous generations. Their attitudes were
shaped not by independence or the Yom Kippur
War, but by more recent news from the Middle
East that is overwhelmingly focused on settle-
ments in Judea and Samaria and wars in Gaza.

But us older Jews still assume that these young
people will think like we do even while growing
up in a dramatically different information environ-
ment. Because Middle Eastern politics can be so
divisive, many Jewish institutions have stepped
back from the difficult but necessary challenge of
teaching our young people about the challenges
and successes of modern-day Israel.

So Jewish students read about biblical Israel
but much less about the modern-day country.

They learn about Abraham and Moses, and
maybe occasionally Ben-Gurion and Meir, but
certainly not Lapid and Netanyahu. The resulting
information vacuum is then filled by other, less
sympathetic sources.

These conversations can be controversial and
sometimes unpleasant. But we must be willing to
have these conversations — both within and out-
side the Jewish community. But rather than keep-
ing our next generation of young leaders safe
from uncomfortable debate, perhaps it would be
better to prepare them for the future challenges
they will inevitably face. JE
Dan Schnur is a professor at the University of
California Berkeley, USC and Pepperdine. This
article was originally published by the Jewish
Journal. letters
Rightward Lean Disturbing
I was horrified by multiple opinion pieces in the
Aug. 4 paper.

First, an unsigned editorial addressed AIPAC’s
investment in the MD-4 primary (“Realpolitik in
the MD-4 Primary”) but ignored AIPAC’s other
involvements in this year’s elections. In the MI-11
primary, AIPAC attacked Jewish Rep. Andy Levin
as anti-Israel because of his support for a two-
state solution. In addition, AIPAC has endorsed
multiple Republicans who voted on Jan. 6 to over-
turn the results of the 2020 election, including
several who were part of the insurrection.

Next, Yishai Fleisher’s column (“Ben Shapiro
and Binary ‘Aliyah’”) referred to Shapiro as a
thoughtful individual, ignoring his history of rac-
ism and sexism and his support for the Jan. 6
insurrectionists. Finally, Jonathan Tobin rightly condemned Doug
Mastriano for failing to quickly and completely dis-
avow Gab and Andrew Torba (“Mastriano Shows
How Not to Defuse an Antisemitism Controversy”).

But Tobin used the column to bash Democrats and
the left for insisting that racism, sexism, homopho-
bia and xenophobia have no place in America.

He fails to discuss that Mastriano is a Christian
nationalist whose goal is to replace democracy in
Pennsylvania with Christian theocracy.

Overall, this set of columns give the impression
that the Exponent leans far right and is unaware
that most Jewish Americans lean left. Very disap-
pointing. JE
Tamar E. Granor, Elkins Park
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