8 | AUGUST 31 • 2023 

I

srael is in a challenging and 
pivotal moment in its relative-
ly young history. It would be 
easy — and under-
standable — for U.S. 
college students, 
and even many 
adults, to give up 
trying to under-
stand the country’s 
ever-changing land-
scape and current 
protests, especially when the lived 
experience that Jewish college stu-
dents face on American campuses 
is complicated in its own way.
But students are not walking 
away. They are not giving up on 
understanding Israel after five 
national elections in 42 months, 
or eight months of protests over a 
judicial reform bill thousands of 
miles from their campuses. Instead, 
Jewish college students are more 
curious than ever: they are seeking 
information about the internal 
workings of Israel — a country 
many love and want to better 
understand.
For decades, Jewish educators 
and Israel engagement experts have 
been key conduits to helping young 
American Jews discover 
meaningful connections to Israel. 

For years, they struggled to broad-
en conversations about Israel 
beyond the conflict narrative. And 
more recently, we recognized that 
Jewish students were sidestepping 
more complex topics and seeking 
narratives about Israel relevant to 
cultural hot topics in the U.S. by 
inviting guest speakers who were 
vegan chefs, climate activists, and 
LGBTQ+ advocates. 
Now, all of this has changed.
In recent months, I have had the 
privilege of observing first-hand a 
renaissance of student curiosity and 
a deep desire to understand and 
unpack the details of Israel’s domes-
tic politics and governing structures 
at colleges and universities across 
the country.
Jewish college students are inter-
ested in the ongoing and proposed 
legislative changes, as well as the 
Israeli protest movement that has 
risen in response. They also want 
to understand what’s motivating 
hundreds of thousands of Israelis 
marching in the streets with Israeli 
flags for the vision of the country 
that they believe in. A friend partic-
ipated in a protest and later shared 
with me that she felt proud of her 
Zionism while standing alongside 
Israeli protestors who all believed 

they were doing something to 
make Israel better and stronger. 
Students are recognizing that 
patriotic drive on all sides of Israel’s 
political spectrum, and they want 
to further explore it.
As the vice president of Hillel 
International’s Israel Action and 
Addressing Antisemitism Program 
(IAP), we are meeting this moment 
by providing the educational 
and experiential opportunities 
that are the hallmark of Hillel’s 
work. Events that bring together 
expert speakers, including Dennis 
Ross, David Makovsky, Gaith 
al-Omari and Amanda Berman 
are now frequently happening and 
well-attended on campuses across 
the United States. They are asking 
thoughtful questions and learning 
about the Israeli system of gover-
nance and the social divisions that 
have contributed to this challenging 
moment. Our students listen to 
regional experts, consume expert 
analysis, and then explain the com-
plexities of this moment in Israel to 
their own peer networks.
Traditionally, Hillel’s high-level 
speakers about Israel have focused 
on prospects for peace between 
Israel and its neighbors. Now, 
foreign policy experts and former 
diplomats who have been speaking 
to Hillel audiences for years are piv-
oting from their usual topics and 
developing lectures about the Israeli 
judiciary and Israel’s democracy. 
More so than ever before, students 
want to explore the internal gov-
ernment structure of Israel rather 
than Israel’s foreign relations.

Critically, Israelis from all back-
grounds and walks of life are help-
ing our students understand this 
moment on our campuses. The 75 
Jewish Agency for Israel Fellows 
at 100 North American Hillels are 
an essential point of connection, 
helping students understand real 
Israelis and the complexities of 
Israeli life. This cohort of Israel 
Fellows represents some of the 
diversity within Israel itself, as 
Fellows’ families come from 29 
countries across five continents. In 
recent months, these young Israeli 
educators have been wrestling with 
their own feelings about what’s 
happening in their home country 
while translating the experience 
for American students wishing to 
understand this moment in Israel’s 
history that will define the future 
character of the Jewish state.
As an educator, I see Jewish 
college students engaging in Israel-
discourse in a way I’ve never seen 
before in over a decade in this field. 
They want to understand it, to 
grapple with it, and to be part of it. 
The future leaders of the American 
Jewish community are deepening 
sparks of connection and growing 
deep roots of authentic relation-
ships with Israel, and with Israelis. 
I am proud to bear witness to this 
welcome deepening of understand-
ing and connection between the 
next generation of Jewish leaders 
and Israel. 

Jon Falk is the vice president of 

Hillel International’s Israel Action and 

Addressing Antisemitism Program. Jon 

oversees the teams that support campus 

Jon Falk
Times of 
Israel

PURELY COMMENTARY

“Start-Up Nation.
” 
Oppenheimer and Golda should 
remind American Jews that we 
must work together to keep Jews 
safe in America, in Israel and 
around the world, not only by 
lamenting our own vulnerabili-
ties and victimhood but also by 
explaining to our gentile neigh-
bors the strategic overlap between 
broader American interests and 

Jewish survival. 
Second, Jews must expand our 
investment in the success and secu-
rity of synagogues, Jewish schools 
and Jewish communal organiza-
tions, as well as support the pro-Is-
rael lobby. We must also nurture 
our own Jewish charitable efforts 
because no one else will. “If I am 
not for myself, who will be for me?” 
(Pirkei Avot 1:14).
At the same time, the story 
of Barbie reminds us that we 

American Jews must recognize our 
successes and therefore continue 
to lead the fight to achieve justice, 
equality and democracy for all. “If 
I am for myself alone, what am I?” 
(Pirkei Avot 1:14).
As we conduct our introspec-
tions at the close of this Jewish year 
in anticipation of a New Y
ear, let 
us resist self-identifying as entirely 
vulnerable and let us reject others 
who identify us as completely pow-
erful. Rather, let us as American 

Jews work like Oppenheimer and 
Kissinger to mitigate the vulnerabil-
ities of Jews in America, Israel and 
around the world, and inspired by 
Barbie, let us also use our strength 
to fight for the cause of human 
rights, too. “If not now, when?” 
(Pirkei Avot 1:14). 

Rabbi Aaron Starr is a spiritual lead-

er of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in 

Southfield, and a senior rabbinic fellow of 

the Shalom Hartman Institute. This is the 

second of a three-part monthly series.

OPPENHEIMER continued from page 6

column
This Moment in Israel: 
An Educator’s Perspective

