Sad, scared, proud, alone: How US Jewish teens are feeling amid the Israel-Hamas war

BY LYDIA ETTINGER, TY FAULKNER BRANUM, AMI GELMAN, ZOE KLEVENS, ELIZA LAMPERT, OLIVER MASON AND ABIGAIL RUBINSTEIN

(JTA) — Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7 was thousands of miles away for Jewish teens in the United States — yet they have found themselves caught in a crossfire of opinions, misinformation and anger about the situation ever since.

JTA Teen Journalism Fellows interviewed their peers about what they have been hearing and feeling over the last three weeks. Our reporters discovered that many high schoolers were afraid to go on the record, saying they feared aggravating tensions or didn’t want to get “canceled” within their community. The ones that did agree to talk, however, say they are doing their best to stay strong and feel united, not divided.

Some of the teens interviewed expressed their concerns about antisemitism while others offered insight into what’s happening in their social media circles. From Jewish day school students in the West to public school kids in the South, here’s what American Jewish teens have to say about the war between Israel and Hamas.

I'm trying my best to show my pride at being Jewish.  Just trying to wear my Star of David to school and in public and anywhere I go.  

Being an American teen Jew, if there was one thing I wish adults would know about [us is that] sometimes it can be really hard.  For me, I'm fortunate, being surrounded by a strong Jewish community at my school and at my temple, so may community is really supportive.  But some of my friends go to schools with small Jewish populations and feel very isolated.  People have to keep that in mind.  Judaism - you can't always see it from the outside, unless someone is wearing a form of identification like a necklace or a kippah.  You can't always see it and a lot of Jewish teens are going through a lot of different emotions right now.

 I'm hearing from adults that Israel is trying to do good thinks to help citizens and destroy Hamas.  [Teens] aren't taking it as seriously as adults, they think it's more of a joke than how serious it really is.  Some of the jokes are that Hamas isn't killing innocent people because no Israelis are innocent.  It makes me sad that students make jokes about something so serious and sad.  

It’s hard to understand the complexity of the situation on social media. Saying it’s retaliation is kind of like justifying Hamas. Hamas is antisemitic. Their goal is to kill people and Jews. I deleted Instagram because it was a lot to see.

I haven’t personally experienced any antisemitism from this situation but I know people who have. It’s sad and it’s scary because I love being Jewish. I’m so happy to be Jewish, but right now I’m so scared to be Jewish. Right now, I’m lighting Shabbat candles with my family every Friday night which makes me feel better and makes me feel more connected to the community.

For many adults, Zionism is a partisan issue. It falls along the lines of Republican or Democrats; depends whether you are pro-Israel or pro-Palestine and your thoughts on Zionism. With teens I don’t see that as much. That might be because we don’t vote the same way our parents do. Our ties to Zionism aren’t driven by political parties. It comes from a personal belief or friends that are Jewish, our background. It makes the conversation a little bit different.

Most people around me are not discussing the war, which feels really lonely. I understand that it is a difficult topic to talk about, but it has to be discussed, and ignoring it makes my Jewish peers and me feel alone.  I have never felt bad about being outwardly Jewish in the past, especially considering I attended a Jewish school up until high school. However, in recent weeks, I have felt uncomfortable displaying my identity, and uncomfortable talking about the situation with those who are openly against my entire religion and people. I feel afraid to walk around wearing my Star of David necklace and I feel awkward being one of few Jewish people in my small school.

I’m hearing a lot of fear from fellow Jewish teens. I think I’m also kind of feeling a little bit that some people are indifferent to what is going on and just generally don’t care very much. The people that care are scared and the people that don’t care, don’t. A lot of people are scared for family and friends that they might have in the region. There’s also fear of rising antisemitism in America, on college campuses. That definitely also plays a role.

There is this tendency to view [the attacks] as just happening to Israel and not to us, but people need to understand that Israel is just a manifestation of the Jewish people and I believe that an attack on Israel is an attack on the Jewish people. When people are indifferent to Israel, it makes me feel that they’re indifferent about being Jewish.

From my Jewish friends, everyone’s really informed, and they all know about it, and everyone discusses how they’re disgusted by it. The main topic of discussion is just how there’s a lot of propaganda and how [other] people are really misinformed about what’s going on in Israel and the truth. We talk together, support each other and give each other a little pick-me-up to let each other know it’s going to be okay. It really makes me feel comforted, and it gives me hope.

My non-Jewish friends have made jokes about it; they just don’t understand the significance and seriousness of the situation. When I hear jokes from non-Jewish people, actually, it really upsets me. If you don’t know about it, don’t joke about it, don’t say anything about it. You  need to educate yourself before you speak up on a sensitive subject.

 When talking about the whole situation in Israel with my peers, there has been a lot of frustration and sadness.  Everyone is worried, really worried.  We are  making sure we are praying and donating to the IDF.  It's a very difficult situation.  It puts a strain on everything.  Making sure we are contributing and praying - it's pretty much all we can do.  

WITH YOUNG ADULTS OFF TO WAR, ISRAELI TEENS ARE STEPPING UP IN THEIR COMMUNITIES

TEENS PLAY WITH CHILDREN IN JERUSALEM DURING THE WEEKS AFTER HAMAS' OCT. 7, 2023 ATTACK ON ISRAEL.  (ODELIA KAYE)

By Daniela Gribetz

This story was produced as part of the JTA Teen Journalism Fellowship program.

(JTA) — After her husband left abruptly to join his army unit, Meytal Blumenthal Gordon realized she still hadn’t disassembled her sukkah, the temporary structure the family put up during the Sukkot holiday at their home in Jerusalem. She wasn’t physically capable of doing so alone.

“Two sweet boys, teenagers, came and they took down the sukkah and helped me organize it,” Blumenthal Gordon said. “We actually had a siren in the middle. We all ran to the shelter, and then they continued helping.”

It wasn’t the only time that neighborhood teens have stopped by to help Blumenthal Gordon in the weeks since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel plunged the country into war. They have also brought her boxes of food and helped her with her two children, a 5-year-old boy and a newborn daughter.

It’s all part of an abrupt and notable shift in a country that uniquely refers to school-aged teens as being in “the stupid age.” In ordinary circumstances, Israeli teens are not assigned many responsibilities before they graduate from high school, in a nod to the fact that most will enter compulsory military service soon after turning 18, cutting short the extended adolescence that many of their peers in other countries enjoy.

But since war began earlier this month, most young Israeli men and some women have been drafted into military service. With schools closed until recently, teens have been uniquely positioned to step into the gap.

Thousands of teens have been organizing independently and through youth groups to volunteer to babysit, dismantle sukkahs, prepare food for soldiers and stock refrigerators. Some have even been digging graves.

Youth group buildings have become shelters for those displaced from the south, near Gaza, and groups of teens have been organizing donations of food and other essentials.

“It brings the whole nation together, especially in times like these,” said Hallel Heller, a ninth-grader from Jerusalem who spent the first week of the war packaging meals for soldiers.

Other teens, like Shefer Zimran, 14, who hails from the West Bank city of Efrat, are helping younger children affected by the war. Together with friends from her neighborhood, Zimran handed out bags of candy and art supplies to children who are home from school in her community. Zimran later sent videos of art projects to keep the children busy. Zimran knew that mothers whose husbands had been drafted had trouble keeping their small children occupied.

“It is important, now more than ever, to help people in need,” Zimran said. “And we have free time and the ability to help.”

Odelia Kaye, 16, from Jerusalem, has been offering practical and emotional support for mothers who are now caring for young children on their own. “Sometimes they’re alone and it’s really difficult to take care of kids by yourself,” she said.

In addition to playing with children, washing dishes, cleaning up and folding laundry for mothers on their own, Kaye has found that what is sometimes most appreciated is the company.

“I feel like the more I’ve done it, the more I’ve learned about how difficult it is for some of these moms who have really small children, including young babies, a couple of months old,” said Kaye. “These moms need emotional support. It’s easy to feel alone and it’s important for me to make sure that these people know that they’re not alone and that I’m there to help.”

Blumenthal Gordon said she is accustomed to being alone because her husband, a physician, is often away for extended periods, so it’s not just the loneliness that local teens help her battle.

“Emotionally, it’s very different,” she said. “I’m so worried about my husband, we’re constantly running to a shelter, and the energy is really low. Having the teenagers over gives good vibes.”