June 18, 2024 — Washington, D.C.
By Charlotte Krausz
In a recent article, Franklin Foer declared that the “Golden Age” of American Jewry is over. After my experience this month at AJC’s Global Forum 2024, I dissent.
Having not been raised in a strongly Jewish household, I came into the “Jewish world” only two and half years ago. Last fall, I began studying International Relations (IR) in college. Originally, admitted to study English literature, I switched my degree to IR after learning more about world affairs like the war in Ukraine and especially the situation in Israel including the judicial overhaul protests and escalating shadow war with Iran. A month into my education, the attacks of 10/7 happened and the unfolding war in Gaza created an uneasy environment on campus. Wanting to do my share of Jewish advocacy, I applied to AJC’s Washington D.C. summer internship. I love my position at AJC where I have felt a kinship with my own tribe. And most of all, I have met many other young Jews that share my passion for Jewish engagement and global Jewish advocacy.
Through my work with AJC, I attended AJC Global Forum 2024. AJC Global Forum brought together more than two thousand participants and Jewish leaders from around the world including AJC’s youth leadership programs like LFT (Leaders For Tomorrow), ACCESS, and the Jewish college students. At the plenaries, I heard from Noa Fay, a Barnard student who shared her experience fighting for Jewish rights on campus while losing friends to antisemitism and facing pro-Hamas professors. At one point in the plenary, the moderator asked for all Jewish students to stand up. My peers and I stood and received grand and encouraging applause from thousands of supporting adults. It was a remarkable contrast to my experiences on campus and it filled me with encouragement.
Over the course of the three action-packed days, I got to meet like-minded peers and many college students with similar experiences on campus. We were a diverse cohort with young Jews from not only America, but all around the globe. We had varying Jewish experiences growing up that only enhanced our commitment to the cause. I befriended a previous AJC intern who recently graduated from George Washington University and was about to begin a foreign policy fellowship on the Hill. I met another former intern who was working for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. I met two girls studying international affairs at Harvard and Cornell, who had become student activists. One said she would be starting to learn Arabic soon. I even spoke with a young man at American Not every young Jew I have met has been an involved member of the community or strongly pro-Israel. Many are understandably concerned about Israel’s future and the human toll of the war in Gaza. But I believe that the idea that the number of actual anti-Zionist Jewish youth is exaggerated. In my experience, it seems the voices of a select few anti-Israel Jews have been amplified by hostile media outlets.
Ultimately, rising antisemitism has been a call to action for Jewish youth including me. Legacy Jewish organizations like AJC and others are playing an essential role in fostering community advocacy and Jewish unity. I have found that my story this past year is far from unique. This year’s events have led to a reawakening of American Jewish identity full of Jewish pride and strength. The next generation of American Jewish leaders is already leading.
