Gen Z vs Reality: Israel in the Age of Lies

Is it just me, or has Generation Z lost all ability for critical, factual thinking especially when it comes to Israel and the Jewish people?

I grew up in a world that respected facts, history, and logic. In the 1970s and early ‘80s, Israel was admired globally. It was seen as a symbol of resilience, innovation, and peace. The Israelis made the deserts bloom. They built high-tech cities, protected nature reserves, and pursued peace with multiple hostile neighbors. Back then, supporting Israel wasn’t “controversial”, it was obvious.

So, what changed?

Two major forces disrupted this reality: mass Muslim immigration into Europe and the explosive growth of social media.

While Israel continued to innovate, pioneering cancer treatments, developing the Iron Dome, inventing drip irrigation, improving navigation systems, and yes, even creating the cherry tomatoes, its enemies focused on something else: narrative warfare. A concept born in propaganda but fueled by modern tech.

The Arab world, unable to defeat Israel militarily, invented a concept that didn’t exist before 1967: a so-called “Palestinian state.” With billions poured into marketing and online campaigns, they created slick, emotional videos and memes. These narratives rewrote history and painted Israel as a villain. Facts didn’t matter anymore, feelings did.

Then came October 7, 2023. The world witnessed horrors we thought were buried in the past. The worst crimes against Jews since the Holocaust, committed on Israeli soil by Hamas. Women raped. Children burned. Families slaughtered. It was a moment that should have united the world in outrage.

Instead, the tide turned against Israel.

And here’s the most painful part: the hate is spreading fastest among the young. Generation Z, supposedly the most educated generation, has become the most misled. On campuses, in schools, and across TikTok and Instagram, they parrot slogans they don’t understand. They’ve traded facts for feelings, books for hashtags, and history for manipulated 15-second clips.

They claim to stand with the “oppressed,” but ignore the truth:

• Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.
• It protects minority rights, including LGBTQ+ rights.
• It has Arab judges, Arab doctors, and Arab parliament members.
• It treats injured Syrians, Palestinians, and anyone in need.
• It has offered peace countless times, only to be met with rockets.

Definition: Critical Thinking

The objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.

This is what’s missing. Generation Z has not been trained to question what they see. They’re trained to react, not reflect.

Today, the pain hit home. As someone who lived in both Syria and Israel, who studied the Torah, Quran, and Bible, who taught my children the history, the reality, and the spirit of Israel, I found myself in a discussion with my own children. And they were against Israel. Against the truth. Against everything I thought I had passed on.

It broke me.

What happened to reading before speaking? To checking facts before judging? Why is it so easy for this generation to shout “Free Palestine” without asking what Hamas is, or what would happen to women, Christians, and gays in a Hamas-run state?

I’m not against youth. I’m against ignorance disguised as morality.

To Gen Z: you are being played. You are not rebelling against oppression. You are aligning with an ideology that thrives on lies, violence, and victimhood. You are abandoning the only country in the region that reflects your values: freedom, equality, human rights.

And while you chase viral trends, Israelis continue to protect your values with blood, innovation, and courage.

In the end, truth will prevail. It always does.

But today, I mourn.

Not just for Israel, but for a generation that forgot how to think.