MAY 19 • 2022 | 101

W

alking through the halls of 
my inclusive and diverse 
college campus, it is easy to 
feel a sense of belonging and acceptance 
no matter where you go. Students 
proudly express their own identities 
and individualism freely, knowing they 
are protected and safe to do so in a 
generation that is continuously pushing 
for tolerance. However, I began to 
realize that a part of my identity that I so 
confidently displayed was not only greatly 
misunderstood, but also put down by my 
fellow peers. This part of my identity was 
being a proud Zionist.
I expressed this part of my identity by 
wearing my favorite hoodie almost every 
week. It was jet black with an Israeli flag 
on the back and a gold Star of David 
embroidered on the right shoulder. I 
began to notice the uncomfortable stares 
and negative attention this gathered as 
I walked past crowds of students on my 
way to class. I thought nothing much of 
the looks, until the glances and staring 
turned to odd comments and questions 
from near strangers. One student waiting 
in the same line as me in the cafeteria 
caught me off guard, “How could you 
support something so hateful?” he asked. 
Others commented throughout the day, 
“Israel is not a legitimate country” and 
“Israelis are oppressors.” Others seemed 
to just shy away as these comments were 
announced, with not a single student 

coming to the defense of Israel. 
Strange and misled opinions such as 
these took me to question: Does the 
younger generation truly understand 
what it means to be a Zionist? What 
relation, if any, do they have to the Israel-
Palestine conflict that provides them with 
such a mindset?
In an effort to understand, I inter-
viewed 90 students from three local 
colleges (30 at each campus). Students 
were asked if they were familiar with the 
term Zionism and if they could provide a 
definition of the concept, as well as their 
thoughts toward the State of Israel if any. 
An overwhelming majority of students, 
78 total, were unfamiliar with the term 
Zionism and did not understand what 
it meant to be a Zionist. However, these 
same students who were unfamiliar with 
the concept of Zionism were quick to 
answer the second question. Forty nine of 
the 78 students expressed negative opin-
ions toward the State of Israel. 
With further inquiry as to why they 
felt the way they did, many students 
spoke of influence they have had from 
the BDS movement and other anti-Israeli 
sentiments. Forty of these students were 
unable to provide the correct acronym for 
BDS or a precise reasoning for their sup-
port of the movement. As for the students 
who were familiar with Zionism, eight 
replied with intense opposition of the 
State of Israel, three responded with sup-

port and the remaining student expressed 
indifference. 
Upon viewing these results and wit-
nessing the attitudes expressed during the 
interviews, a realization was made that 
many students hold anti-Israel sentiment 
views without understanding the conflict 
or history of the State itself. Many stu-
dents are not exposed to the other end of 
the argument in the Israel-Palestine con-
flict as well. 
At the end of each interview, I 
informed the individual student that I 
myself was a Zionist and asked what their 
opinion was of me in regards to now 
knowing this. The majority of students 
responded politely and/or indifferently. 
Four students responded surprised with 
the statement “But you seem so nice” or 
“I wouldn’t have guessed that about you.” 
However, most of the remaining stu-
dents responded quite negatively and left 
abruptly. This has enlightened me that 
representation of Zionist views is near 
absent on college campuses and among 
the younger generation. For progress to 
be made, and for our younger generation 
to have a solid base for their beliefs, rep-
resentation of pro-Israeli views should be 
brought to light and to the attention of 
our youth. @

Caitlin Baird is a third-year linguistics student at 

Oakland University. She recently completed Hillel of 

Metro Detroit’s Israel Fellowship program.

Caitlin Baird and others in the Hillel of Metro Detroit Israel Fellowship program.
Caitlin Bairdl } jewish@eduwriter

Gen

and 
Zionism

