The opinion piece argues that Israel’s Generation Z, which grew up seeing the country as strong, prosperous and secure, was forced to confront its fragility on October 7. The writer says these young Israelis were raised in a state marked not only by high-tech success and military strength, but also by repeated fighting, political crises, polarization, mistrust and unresolved questions about borders, the Palestinians, religion and state, and shared citizenship.
According to the article, October 7 was not only a national disaster but a shattering moment for this generation. The attack destroyed the assumption that the state is always in control, the army is always prepared or always right, and the government protects all citizens. Young people watched peers murdered, kidnapped and abandoned, while seeing the atrocities unfold live on their phones.
The writer says the aftermath is pulling young Israelis in different directions. Some are turning toward sharper nationalism, religious radicalization and even fascist ideas, while others are searching for meaning, community and faith that crosses the old divide between religious and secular Jews. Many are also asking harder questions than their parents did about whether stable life, security and economic future are still possible in Israel.
The central challenge, the author says, is not just assigning blame or winning the next war, but rebuilding trust in the state, its institutions, society and the future itself. She writes that this will require remembering the victims and the lessons, but also not letting trauma become identity. In her view, young Israelis are more curious and open to different views than they are often portrayed, and if there is to be recovery and a future not built only on fear, it will come from them. The article is signed by Prof. Noa Lavi, dean of the School of Government and Society at the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo.
