Like many people, my Jewish experience, as I know it, completely changed after the October 7th attacks. Online and at school, the anti-semitism towards my Jewish peers and me has dramatically increased. My family has moved a few times, so I stopped regularly attending Sunday school at around nine. Because of this, before October 7th, most of my knowledge about Israel came from occasional anecdotes from my family and, most influentially, heavy BBYO involvement. 

I went on both CLTC 1 in 2023 and ILTC in 2024. My CLTC took place in a pre-October 7th world. We had several programs where we openly discussed both the positives and negatives of Israel. Our Israeli counselors gave us a talk about their experiences and held a Q&A. My fellow campers held a wide range of viewpoints, and throughout the program, I had productive, complex conversations about the current state of Israel. At this time, I wasn’t very educated on Zionism, so I found this type of open discussion and programming extremely beneficial. After the program, I made an active effort to educate myself more about the history and complexities behind Zionism and Israel. I was able to form a nuanced opinion, creating a connection that I had not previously felt along the way. 

In this regard, my ILTC experience felt a lot different. About seven months after the attacks, when the subject came up, the general conversation was a lot less tolerant towards other perspectives. There were several instances where I overheard unapologetic Islamophobia and a couple of times where I heard peers mocking Palestinian suffering. Conversations about Israel at ILTC held considerably less nuance than those that my CLTC conversations carried; I didn’t feel nearly as comfortable asking questions and speaking up as I did at CLTC, and I’ve felt this on a regional level as well. I shared this concern with my friends, and they felt the same way. I understand why this shift occurred. Protests surrounding the continuing conflict in Gaza create unsafe environments for Jewish students. Queer and liberal spaces, which many Jews (including me) belong to, are unfalteringly hostile towards Zionism. Every Jewish person I have talked to agrees that they have physically felt an uptick in anti-Semitic sentiment. The global Jewish community is hurting, and it’s completely understandable to be more defensive and absolute in Israel-related beliefs.

With this said, if we want to make a difference, we must take the high ground and embody the leadership values BBYO was founded on. In the Code of Conduct, BBYO commits to creating communities that “ are supportive, open-minded, kind, understanding, celebrate diversity, and respectful of all… are a community of active leaders…question respectfully, value differing opinions, and always support each other.” It is these values that foster compassionate, powerful Jewish leaders. If we want to sustain the culture and values that BBYO is built on, we need to reflect and do better. When we hear inappropriate comments made regarding the conflict in Gaza, both in and outside of BBYO, we have to speak up. When people call us out, we must be open to constructive criticism. It’s an incredibly emotional issue, and the only way we can make progress is through having some uncomfortable, empathetic conversations. I’m not saying you have to let people step all over you and listen to everything everyone has to say; I’m suggesting that wherever you stand on the topic of Zionism and Israel, you try to be more open-minded in future conversations. Jewish communities have always prioritized learning and growing. There is a reason for this: knowledge is power. The more education, information, and perspectives we seek out, the stronger we are.