The American Israeli Post-October 7

NCSY’s Diaspora Israeli division has been helping Israeli teenagers in America strengthen their Jewish identity; seen here, American Israeli students connecting over pizza in Boston, Massachusetts.

Close to one million Israelis call America home, what are we doing for them?

It is no exaggeration to say that if you are reading these words, your existence can be defined in two very separate parts—life before October 7 and life after October 7. But as much as you and I have had to acclimate to a new reality after last year’s unfathomable terror attacks, that process has been significantly more challenging for one particular demographic—the close to one million Israelis who call the United States home.

American Israelis constitute more than 10 percent of the United States’ Jewish population, yet they are an entity unto themselves and in some public schools, such as those in Silicon Valley, an estimated 90 percent of the Jewish students are Israelis. And while Jews in the United States typically build connections and support systems through their local schools, community centers and shuls, American Israelis typically don’t because the concept of paying for services and institutions that were available to them for free in Israel just doesn’t resonate with them.

All those factors added up to a single reality when October 7 hit: American Israelis felt utterly alone, with few support systems to fall back on as traumatic events unfolded in their homeland. Devastated and depressed, America’s Israeli population stayed glued to their screens as they watched the latest developments at home. Even the relatively small percentage who normally went to shul were unable to summon the will to gather with others.

But as the weeks went by, a dramatic change evolved. American Israelis, many of whom have little or no family nearby, began turning out to shul in droves, inspired by an innate need for connection. Surrounded as they had been for weeks by fear, sorrow and the seemingly endless waves of antisemitism that were sweeping the world, they reveled in the opportunity to be with others who understood them.

“Some people said this was the first time they went to shul,” observed Rabbi Yehuda Kornfeld, co-founder of Mekusharim, an outreach organization serving North America’s Israeli population since 2021. “Families who were never connected to shuls suddenly found shul to be part of their home.”

NCSY hosting a painting event for Israeli American teens in Canada

That shift extended far beyond davening. Enthralled by Torah classes, an unprecedented number of American Israelis decided to pack their children off to Jewish camps last summer.

The younger generation needed to be inspired, to be able to do something good, even if they couldn’t be on the front lines fighting.

“Sleepaway camps started filling up with Israelis who had never sent their kids before, since it wasn’t part of the Israeli mentality,” explained Rabbi Kornfeld. “We saw people really starting to connect after October 7.”

But perhaps the biggest surprise was the number of American Israelis who switched their children to Jewish day schools, as parents were disturbed to see their children targeted by classmates and subjected to vicious antisemitism.

“Parents call me and say, ‘We don’t want our kids in public school,’” said Rabbi Kornfeld. “I hear it every day.”

Another organization devoting significant effort to helping Israelis in America strengthen their Jewish identity is NCSY, which created a Diaspora Israeli division two years ago when it became apparent that there were few outreach programs serving American Israeli teenagers. Having that supportive infrastructure in place when October 7 happened “was a godsend,” said Rabbi Moshe Freilich, director of NCSY’s Diaspora Israelis, with American Israeli kids flocking to NCSY’s public school clubs for Jewish kids known as Jewish Student Union (JSU). With the world in turmoil, JSU clubs were a safe haven, where students could feel secure and discuss their concerns with peers who understood not just their language, but also their culture. “It’s like Hashem was planting the seeds . . . the refuah lifnei hamakkah—the cure is prepared before the punishment,” said Rabbi Freilich.

When October 7 happened, “we already had programs in place,” he said.

“In a way, JSU clubs became a therapy session for them and they started bringing more kids, talking about what needs to be done, how to deal with things and whether they need to care more about antisemitism,” said Rabbi Freilich.

An American Israeli himself, Rabbi Freilich formerly served as a city director for Southern NCSY, which includes Florida. Florida has the third largest Israeli population in the States (New York has the first, California, the second). He noticed that American Israelis were being overlooked by Jewish outreach organizations. One reason was the culture gap. “Most Israelis,” he said, “do not send their kids to American Jewish youth groups—it’s not just that the language is different, the culture is different.” Once NCSY launched its Diaspora Israeli division, it took off. Currently, the division has a presence in ten locations including South Florida, Los Angeles, Toronto, Las Vegas, Houston, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Rockville and Silicon Valley.

Joining forces with different organizations has given NCSY the ability to reach a larger number of American Israeli communities. In addition to partnering with Mekusharim in the wake of the terror attacks, NCSY has also collaborated with other groups, including those that they had had differences with in the past. “Our goal is to keep Jews Jewish—even secular Israeli organizations share that goal. Before October 7 these organizations saw us as religious and they didn’t want to work with us, but this was the time to take the barriers down and figure things out together,” explained Rabbi Freilich. “There wasn’t one place where it didn’t work.”

“One of the challenges for American Israelis is that in the Diaspora one can grow up totally ignorant of all of the Jewish holidays,” said Rabbi Freilich. “Probably one of the most meaningful experiences is inviting NCSYers to partake in our family Seder, something that these kids never experienced. Often even their parents may join. Or inviting them to our Sukkah barbecue. In Israel, these holidays are an obvious part of Israeli culture,” said Rabbi Freilich.

Chesed projects have proven to be a powerful vehicle at NCSY since October 7, with teens feeling empowered by helping others. Whether they were visiting old age homes or going on relief missions, giving from the heart was a healing balm that soothed NCSYers’ frazzled nerves.

“The younger generation needed to be inspired, to be able to do something good, even if they couldn’t be on the front lines fighting,” noted Rabbi Freilich.

But as much as NCSY has been doing to help America’s Israeli communities since October 7, Rabbi Freilich continues to look for new ways to keep this demographic connected to each other and to their roots.

“We always feel that we need to do more and that what we’re doing isn’t enough,” noted Rabbi Freilich.

Sandy Eller is a freelance writer who writes for numerous websites, newspapers, magazines and private clients.