Fighting the Zeitgeist

I recently spoke in the U.S. about the “red-green alliance” — the growing cooperation between Islamists in the West and the radical left, which has become a major driver of Israel’s delegitimization and rising antisemitism. I argued that its most damaging effect is the creation of an imagined anti-Israel majority, a perception that leaves many Jews feeling overwhelmed. Yet this sense of crisis rests on a fundamental misperception — one we urgently need to correct.

Mass media exposure and Gaza imagery have created intense, one-sided scrutiny of Israel. In our ADHD-driven world with no room for nuance, Israel was put alone on trial. Anti-Israel activists exploited the vulnerability of liberal democracies, turning Israel into a wedge issue in Western polarization. The result: Israel became victim to a global zeitgeist where ignorant celebrities publicly denounce it and rumors of genocide persist.

While many Jews feel that “the whole world is against us,” the anti-Israel camp believes it is “on the right side of history.” When these are the common perceptions, anti-Israel groups enjoy a cultural environment where notorious accusations become “common knowledge.” This zeitgeist could only exist based on the perception that it represents majority opinion. But it doesn’t.

The support for Israel is decreasing, especially among the young generation. But US polls consistently show that support for Israel still exceeds opposition. Recent Harvard-Harris polls (October 25) demonstrate that more Americans hold favorable views of Israel than those who hold unfavorable ones, that Israel is significantly more popular than Hamas or the PA, and that even among young Democrats—considered Israel’s most challenging demographic—the majority still supports Israel (55%). 

The data clearly shows the zeitgeist around Israel is based on an imagined majority. Since this data is publicly available and often quoted, why does this false perception persist?

Three major constructs explain this phenomenon. First is the hijacking of relevance: anti-Israel groups have reframed the conflict as a domestic American issue, recasting the Palestinian cause as part of local anti-racist struggles and turning anti-Zionism into a marker of “good progressive” identity. As a result, even though their base of actual supporters is relatively small, they convert a far higher share of that support into visible activism — giving the impression of a much larger movement.

Second, social media dynamics imprison us in echo chambers where radical voices are amplified and moderates self-censor, fearing social consequences for dissenting against what they wrongly perceive as consensus.

Third, there’s the silence of the Jewish majority. While Hillel and ADL’s data shows that most Jews (83%) have experienced or witnessed antisemitism on campus, the vast majority remain unengaged in meaningful Jewish communal frameworks. This “long tail” of the Jewish constituency stays silent, perpetuating the feeling that antisemites dominate the field.

Hate that is perceived as the majority opinion poses a far greater threat. It becomes more aggressive and self-assured, creating strange alliances between right-wing and left-wing antisemitism on social media. This perception erodes the Jewish community’s ability to respond while emboldening our adversaries.

Thus, if there is one strategic imperative that supersedes all others when fighting today’s antisemitism, it is exposing the falsehood of the imagined anti-Israel majority. This is the way to challenge the zeitgeist. We must dismantle the abovementioned three artificial mechanisms that frame antisemitism as the majority view. Community leaders and philanthropists must shift focus from abstract “pro-Israel” advocacy toward dismantling these false zeitgeist mechanisms.

There is more than one way to do it. We at Astarta (Atchalta), in partnership with The Gevura Fund and the Tina Snider Foundation, are going to launch our Dome Initiative—comprising Student Dome for higher education and Parent Dome for K-12—to directly address this challenge. Rather than creating another reporting mechanism, these AI-powered platforms empower the silent majority of Jewish students and parents with strategic clarity, personalized action plans, and the confidence to challenge antisemitism at scale. This a systematic approach to activating the majority of Jews who currently remain disengaged, transforming helplessness into strategic action and challenging the false narrative that antisemitism represents majority opinion.

The numbers are on our side. History is on our side. The only thing defeating us is the illusion that we have already lost.