What happens when I wear my IDF jacket?

I have two IDF jackets, both green with shoulder straps and a zipper, no hood. One I stole from my mother because I needed a second layer in a cold NYC winter. The other I bought on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem. They are old, worn, and indistinguishable from other knock-off army-navy surplus wear except for the yellow IDF insignia, “Israel Defense Forces,” in English and Hebrew. One has a broken shoulder strap now held in place by a safety pin. The other one’s zipper failed long ago. They are nothing fancy. (Even my limited Hebrew can identify “100% polyester” on the label.)

I wear them all the time. It turns out they are a barometer of Jewish life in America.

In Confluence, Pennsylvania, where my wife and I went to bike on the beautiful Allegheny Gap Trail, an older man saw the jacket and insignia and recounted his experience as a GI who liberated the death camp at Dachau. A work colleague in Pittsburgh noticed the insignia and envied my connection to Israel.

The insignia is not prominent, and I am always surprised when people notice it, especially in the US, where camo military fatigues and hunting gear are everywhere. These comments come from non-Jews. I can honestly say I have never had a bad word or nasty look from this public display of support for Israel.

The jackets are different from the “Stronger Than Hate” t-shirt I also wear. That one is a response to the Tree of Life synagogue murders in Pittsburgh in 2018. It includes a Star of David (along with Pittsburgh Steeler star motif and black and gold football background). To its credit, the University of Pittsburgh distributed these shirts widely to the university community following the attack as part of its commemoration and support of the Jewish community.

That shirt’s half-life is apparently short, and it is rare to see them now. In my experience, the shirt never elicited much of a response. It is easier to be against antisemitic hate than to support Israel and Jewish self-determination.

The response to the IDF jackets changed after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. I expected hostility given the rise of antisemitism and an increasingly effective anti-Zionist media campaign in the US. Once we moved to Chicago, my kids cautioned me against wearing the gear in liberal circles or in certain neighborhoods. They were also worried about the response it might bring amid the anti-MAGA protests we attended, which always include well-organized groups of loud anti-Israel marchers.

In fact, I got a completely different response. Wherever I wear the jackets, whatever the event, they get noticed. Not from antisemites or the pro-Hamas crowd, but from Jews.

At the Chicago independent book festival, a bookseller noticed the jacket, thanked me for wearing it, and took 30 minutes to describe her upcoming biography of the young Golda Meir and her youth in Milwaukee. (I hope she succeeds in finding a publisher for the book. A published author, she has been gaslighted by publishing houses that find the book “no longer aligned” with their interests.)

At the Wicker Park farmer’s market, shoppers give me a knowing smile and thank me, praising some kind of bravery. I have had this response on multiple occasions. It comes from people young and old, with beards or without, who push baby strollers or walk dogs (or both), and who cultivate the usual urban hipster elan. One reported her “relief” to see a public display of support for Israel.

In a supermarket, thumbs up.

Always, “I like your jacket.”

The jackets uncovered a deep wellspring of support for Israel. Were our opponents too busy to notice the jacket? I wonder. I’d like to think they were cowed from voicing the usual drivel about apartheid and genocide to my face. After all, this is the IDF, the real thing. But I am hardly the exemplar of military muscle or youth. More likely, the public display of support for Israel and the IDF was enough to make clear that not everyone supports the destruction of Israel: Here is someone committed enough to say so in public. The best response to chants of “from the river to the sea” may simply be an IDF jacket worn proudly in the public square.

How do we tap this wellspring? While I suspect there are many non-Jews happy to see public support for Israel, I would start with Jews. How about providing this apparel easily and at low cost as a complement to the messaging our many organizations provide? Wearing a jacket is an easy and powerful way to support Zionism. It may garner more support than we think. On my next trip to Jerusalem, I’ll bring home a few extra to seed the movement.