Young American Jews Growing Distant From Israel, Survey Finds Amid Political and Religious Concern

A growing emotional distance between young American Jews and Israel is causing concern among political and religious circles in the United States, according to a recent AP-NORC survey. The survey found that younger generations place far less importance on support for Israel as part of their identity compared to older generations.
Within Israel’s Reform movement, there is rising concern that ties with young American Jews are weakening. Itai Nickson, head of the immigration department at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “This is of the utmost importance to us — we are not just the state of Israelis, but the state of the entire Jewish nation.”
Leslie Sachs, head of Israel’s Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism and a critic of the current Israeli administration, described close engagement with Jews abroad as a “strategic asset” for both Israel and the global Jewish population. She expressed deep concern that Jews outside Israel are losing the sense that Israel serves as a refuge, particularly as rising antisemitism affects them regardless of their political or religious beliefs.
Speaking at her synagogue in Tel Aviv, Sachs said: “It was always so important that everyone around the world, especially after the Holocaust, knew there was a country that would always take them in. Now several generations have passed, and it’s less prominent in their DNA. I think it’s really a failure of both Israel and world Jewry that we haven’t managed to keep that alive.”
Since 2000, Israel has provided free 10-day trips to the country for one million young Jewish adults from the U.S. and other countries. According to the program’s chief executive, Gidi Mark, demonstrating that a personal connection to Israel exists above contentious political debates has become more essential than ever. He explained: “It really raises the stakes of my job — to show people what it is they’re walking away from. We hold up a mirror to them.”
Although Israel and the United States share a historic alliance, President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington earlier this week to discuss the conflict with Iran that both countries launched five months ago. Yet cracks in the relationship between the two nations are becoming increasingly visible.