A Soviet Jew’s Warning About Propaganda

This weekend, an IDF soldier named Eli Winninger visited Northwestern University. The idea was simple…have dialogue.

For decades, universities have been the birthplace of intellectual movements and political activism. From Vietnam to civil rights to anti apartheid movements, college campuses have served as places where ideas are challenged, debated, and refined, and manifested. What better place to have difficult conversations?

Eli arrived prepared to answer questions. Friends accompanied him, including Ashley, a passionate Christian Zionist and advocate for Israel, and Anna a local activist and fierce Soviet Jewish Bubbie. The goal was not to convince everyone to agree. The goal was to create an opportunity for students who had never met an Israeli soldier to engage with a real human being one-on-one.

Instead, what they often encountered were insults, hostility, and in some cases, threats. But what struck me most was not the anger. It was the repetition.

After reviewing footage from the event, I noticed the same phrases appearing again and again. The same accusations. The same talking points. Many students seemed convinced they understood the conflict, yet when pressed, they often repeated slogans rather than facts.

As a Soviet-born Jew, this felt deeply familiar.

I grew up understanding the difference between media and propaganda. Media reports facts. For example: A building burned down on Main Street. 10 people were inside. Everyone escaped safely.

Propaganda tells you what conclusion to reach. A building burned down because of a certain group. The neighborhood is changing. Certain people are responsible. Certain people are victims. Certain people are villains.

The facts become secondary to the narrative. Propaganda is not designed to inform. It is designed to persuade. And increasingly, many young people are consuming information that blurs the line between the two.

One student asked Eli, “Why are you killing babies?” The question itself reveals something important.

Whatever one’s views of the war, no Israeli soldier is instructed to enter Gaza with the mission of killing children.

The stated mission of the Israel Defense Forces is to rescue hostages, protect Israeli civilians, and dismantle Hamas, the terrorist organization responsible for the October 7 massacre.

Reasonable people can debate military strategy. They can debate policy decisions. They can debate governments and leaders. But when entire populations begin accepting slogans as facts, dialogue becomes nearly impossible.

The challenge facing America is larger than Israel. How do we return to a culture where truth matters? How do we distinguish reporting from activism, journalism from advocacy, facts from narratives and options?

How do we teach an entire generation to question what they are consuming rather than simply repeating it?

I believe the answer is surprisingly simple. We talk to each other. Not only on college campuses. In coffee shops. In houses of worship. At community centers. At neighborhood events. Around dinner tables.

We meet people whose lives are different from our own. We listen to their stories. We ask questions. We allow ourselves to be challenged. We rediscover the humanity that social media algorithms and political tribes have slowly stripped away.

Dialogue does not guarantee agreement, but it creates understanding. And understanding is the first step back toward truth. The antidote to propaganda has always been human connection.

That is why I believe we must continue showing up. Continue asking questions. Continue listening. Continue engaging, ESPECIALLY with people we disagree with.

Not because we will always change minds, but because we preserve something far more important: our shared humanity.

In a world increasingly driven by outrage, algorithms, and ideological silos, genuine conversation may be one of the most RADICAL acts left.

So let’s keep talking. Let’s keep listening. Let’s keep building bridges. Let’s start having This Convo…let’s be a little radical.