The recent terrorist attacks in Israel and the resulting increase in antisemitism, particularly on college campuses, has left many American Jews stunned and nervous. We decided to reach out to several teens to see what they are seeing and hearing. 

We talked with Rachel Murinson, a senior at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School and Lior Gamliel, a senior at the Park School, and asked them about current events and the impact on them as Jewish teens. The two high school leaders are part of 4Front’s Gesher Teen Board Members program, where they participate as active members of Beth Tfiloh’s and Chizuk Amuno’s boards respectively. 

What was your first response when you heard about the terrorist attacks? 

How have your friends responded, including your non-Jewish ones? 

Rachel: I’ve been talking a lot with my Jewish friends about what’s been going on. Some of my non-Jewish friends made an effort to reach out to me after everything happened. They wanted to see if my family was doing OK. It made me feel that people cared. 

Yet some of my non-Jewish friends never reached out. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they don’t know what to say. I don’t want to bring it up in case there are sensitivities that complicate our relationship. 

At the same time, I think my non-Jewish friends don’t understand what is going on, and I want to explain as best I can.  

Lior: I heard more from my Jewish friends. Almost all my Jewish friends know someone directly or indirectly affected. I have some Jewish friends who had close family or friends that went missing. 

Yet, I don’t think my non-Jewish friends understood the significance of what happened and what it meant to me. I am mostly disappointed by the silence.  

There has been a lot of talk about social media and the spread of misinformation. How are you dealing with it?  

Rachel: I’ve been told not to look on social media. But it’s a mixed bag. But so far, I’ve mostly seen posts that are in solidarity with Israel. 

Lior: I haven’t been on social media. I have been trying to keep my social media feeds as normal as possible, but it is somewhat jarring to see things like the video of people ripping down the posters of the hostages. 

What about antisemitism? 

Rachel: I haven’t encountered antisemitism but I have heard from some friends who have. One boy I know who was wearing a kippah was approached by someone who said something derogatory about Jews. 

Lior: So far, nothing has happened that has made me feel unsafe, but I have learned to be on high alert in case something ends up happening. 

Has this changed your perspective about college as you watch what is happening on many campuses? 

Rachel: I am going through the college process now. I have been on a few tours. On one tour I saw a blackboard that said Free Palestine over an erased message of Am Yisrael Chai.

I don’t want this to have an impact on where I go. However, I want to be able to say and feel proud to be Jewish at whatever college I attend. 

Lior: This has made me rethink some of my applications. I’ve started losing interest in schools that were at the top of my list a year ago because of the sheer number of antisemitic incidents that have occurred on those campuses. 

How has 4Front been a resource during this time? 

Rachel: In the beginning Sophia (Varon), the head of Gesher, checked in to see how everyone was doing. She held a workshop, and I heard different perspectives. It made me feel closer to everyone.  4Front also held a Teen Vigil which was a chance to come together and heal together. Although I wasn’t able to attend, I heard it was an amazing experience. 

In addition, I’m part of HaZamir (the international teen choir) and during the first rehearsal, Erika (our leader) had us sing together. It was healing. 

Lior: In our most recent Gesher workshop, we took some time to discuss how we were feeling after the attacks. Having a space to talk about this was extremely helpful, especially because I am not normally surrounded by people who care about this issue as much as I do.