The world is more connected than ever before. With the rise of social media and international news sites, it is impossible to be oblivious to what is happening in the world around us. This connection is typically known to be efficient in spreading information, however, many negatives have been revealed about social media as a new source of information. One of the most prevalent examples of this is the Israel-Hamas war, where Antisemitism and Islamophobia have risen drastically due to a barrage of misinformation, which for high schoolers can be hard to navigate.
Eliana Lenzik, a freshman at North Atlanta has faced many new concerns in the reality of the Israel-Hamas war. Her mother is a Jew who grew up in the Soviet Union which meant she faced antisemitism on a daily basis. She moved her family to the United States in the hope of getting away from that hate, however, with a rise of hate on social media there is now a fear that her family may be constantly surrounded by antisemitism. Since the war, the antisemitism has gotten to the point where Lenzik had to tell her younger siblings to hide during the “Day of Rage” in the event that anything escalated after she had heard loud pounding on the doors from antisemites at various late hours of the night. Leznik is not alone in the feeling of being overwhelmed by antisemitism. Since the war, most Jews have been exposed to rising amounts of antisemitism with reports of antisemitism rising to a horrifying 300%, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). For Lenzik, even though it is hard and despite multiple antisemitic comments on social media, she has decided that now, more than ever, she needs to be proud of her Jewish heritage and not let antisemitism scare her away from being who she is. “Even if it’s scary, you have to fight anti-semitism by being yourself. We have to stand up because we are so small, but just because we’re small doesn’t mean we can’t be strong, in times like these, we need to be strong,” said Lenzik.
For Jewish students, social media is not the only place where they may face antisemitism. There has been an unfortunate trend of rising antisemitism on college campuses. With the recent attacks on Jews on college campuses around the country, it makes the college search even more challenging for high school students. For senior Blair Rubinger, the influx of antisemitic activity changed how she viewed applying to college. Watching students march across campuses that she wanted to be on with Nazi flags was a terrifying sight for her and she initially balked at the idea of attending those schools. However, she came to the realization that antisemitism is present at almost all schools, so she shifted her focus to looking for Jewish support clubs. “Before I apply to a school I look at the clubs list to see if there are any Jewish clubs that would keep me safe on campus,” she said.
The reality of being a Jewish high school student during times like these is a scary one but it is also one of resilience and is reflective of what the Jewish people have had to withstand for thousands of years. With misinformation spreading faster than ever and with the effects being violent, a new array of issues has been presented for Jewish teens in addition to the already challenging reality of being a high schooler during these times. What was already a difficult search to find the perfect college is now nearly impossible. What was already a scary time in life is now a terrifying one filled with horror. It is never easy being in the minority but since the war, for most Jewish teens, it has never been harder in their lives.
