For much of her life, Lily Greenberg Call was a model Zionist. She grew up in Jewish day schools, attended an AIPAC-affiliated synagogue, and learned to lobby Congress for Israel. “I thought I was going to join the IDF for most of my life,” she admits. But a multi-year journey of unlearning would lead her to a radically different place: resigning from the Biden administration in solidarity with Palestinians.
Greenberg Call’s upbringing is a powerful example of what the documentary Israelism calls the systematic indoctrination of young American Jews. Israel was presented as the ultimate expression of Jewish identity and the only real answer to antisemitism. “I was raised with this sense of pride in Israel, especially in this idea of rising from the ashes of the Shoah,” she explains. This narrative was reinforced by a close-knit community and a genuine fear of the non-Jewish world.
But this bubble began to burst when she arrived at UC Berkeley in 2015. For the first time, she met Palestinians as peers, friends, and professors—not as abstract threats. “I had been to Israel, Palestine. I had been to the West Bank, but I didn’t even know it,” she says. “I had met Palestinians, but I had never had the opportunity to meet people with their own perspective and their own story.”
Greenberg Call’s story is a microcosm of a massive generational shift happening in the American Jewish community. While older generations remain staunchly supportive of Israel, younger Jews are increasingly critical. According to a 2025 poll, younger Jews are more than twice as likely to identify as anti-Zionist than the overall Jewish population [1]. Another poll found that only 16% of adults under 30 favor US military aid to Israel, compared to 56% of those 65 and older [2].
This shift is driven by a generation that has grown up with the internet, social media, and direct access to Palestinian voices. They are less willing to accept the narratives handed down to them and more inclined to see the occupation for what it is, and be critical of Israeli violations towards Palestinians [3] including nearly four in 10 Jews saying Israel has committed genocide in Gaza [4]. As Greenberg Call’s own journey shows, personal relationships and direct exposure to Palestinian humanity are powerful catalysts for change.
For Greenberg Call, unlearning Zionism was not a rejection of her Jewishness, but a reclamation of it. She realized that the Jewish values she cherished—tikkun olam (repairing the world), justice, and standing with the oppressed—were not being fulfilled by Zionism, but by standing in solidarity with Palestinians. “It allowed me to actually be more in integrity with my Jewishness,” she says.
This journey has not been easy. It has meant losing community, mentors, and the sense of belonging that defined her youth. But it has also brought a new kind of safety—not one based on military might or political alliances, but on mutual care and solidarity. “The anti-war movement in the U.S. is being led by Palestinians and Jews,” she notes. “That is such a threat to the status quo.”
Her story is a powerful reminder that identities are not fixed, and that the painful process of unlearning can lead to a more authentic and just way of being in the world.
[1] Forward. (2025, November 21). Jewish leaders know young Jews are abandoning Israel.
https://forward.com/news/785155/jfna-israel-education-generational-divide/
[2] Pew Research Center. (2024, April 2 ). In views of Israel-Hamas war, younger Americans stand out.
[3] The Washington Post. (2025, October 6 ). Many American Jews sharply critical of Israel on Gaza.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/06/jewish-americans-israel-poll-gaza/
[4] Times of Israel. (2025, October 5 ). Poll: Nearly four in 10 US Jews say Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
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