Podcast Summary: Bulwark Takes

Episode: Support for Israel Has Collapsed Among Young Americans
Date: March 18, 2026
Host: Sam Stein
Guest: Rachel Genfazza (Gen Z Researcher)

Overview

This episode of Bulwark Takes confronts a rapidly shifting reality: support for Israel among young Americans (Gen Z) has plummeted, with social and political implications. Host Sam Stein and Gen Z researcher Rachel Genfazza (referred to as the "Gen Z Whisperer") go beyond polling data to share insights from a recent focus group with young adults. They discuss the conflation of anti-Israel sentiment with antisemitism, desensitization to hate and violence, and how evolving cultural undercurrents are shaping young people's worldviews.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recent Poll Data: Sharp Erosion of Support for Israel

• NBC poll (Feb 27–Mar 3, 2026) finds:
  • Only 13% of voters age 18–34 now view Israel favorably (down from 26% in 2023).
  • 63% of this group view Israel negatively (up from 37%).
  • Even among 35–49 demographic, support is weak; only older cohorts sustain more balanced views.
  • [03:00] Sam Stein: “Young voters, their views on Israel have turned sharply, aggressively negative.”

2. Focus Group Insights: Antisemitism and Campus Climate

• Rachel conducted a listening session with Gen Z students shortly after an antisemitic attack in Michigan.
• Participants (mix of Jewish and non-Jewish students) report:
  • Clear rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment on campuses since October 7.
  • Worry among Jewish students about displaying signs of their identity (names, Judaica).
  • Growing fear of being targeted or misrepresented based on Jewish identity, regardless of individual political views on Israel.
    • [12:25] Rachel Genfazza: “We had one student who told me that she, for the first time, really after October 7th, had to think twice about wearing her Judaica… Another student said she openly disagrees with actions of the state of Israel, but worries about being perceived a certain way because she's Jewish.”

3. Conflation of Anti-Israel Sentiment and Antisemitism

• Students observe that anti-Israel stances are increasingly seen as “based” (edgy, iconoclastic) in their social groups, and this emboldens some to cross into open antisemitism.
  • [05:25] Rachel Genfazza quoting a participant: “It's now considered just kind of a based take… to be anti-Israel and therefore to then be anti-Jew.”
• Host and guest discuss a breakdown of norms and increased tolerance (or encouragement) of bigotry online and in person.

4. Gen Z Cultural Shift: From Progressivism to Counterculture

• Rachel distinguishes between “Gen Z 1.0” (older, progressive, post-Parkland, BLM, March for Our Lives) and “Gen Z 2.0” (younger, skeptical of activism, more countercultural).
  • Gen Z 2.0 increasingly disengaged or hostile toward traditional activism, more willing to embrace “edgy” (or outright bigoted) viewpoints as a rejection of what they perceive as failed wokeness.
    • [07:38] Rachel Genfazza: “Gen Z 1.0, you know, was peak woke and Gen Z 2.0 rejects that.”
• [09:36] Stein: “That gives me a little bit of hope that there's a backlash to the backlash coming.”

5. Influence of Public Figures and Algorithms

• High-profile voices (e.g., Candace Owens) play a large role in normalizing antisemitic and anti-minority rhetoric among Gen Z.
• Social media algorithms compound the problem, repeatedly exposing users to hate speech and violence.
  • [10:18] Rachel Genfazza: “People are well aware where this is coming from ... it's not just Jews… but anti-immigrant, anti-trans, and other minority rhetoric too—it feels like a tipping point.”
• The Trump era is viewed as a constant backdrop for these norms among this generation.
  • [11:35] Genfazza: “If you're in Gen Z, you've literally only known a political ecosystem dominated by President Trump … this type of … rhetoric has been the norm for the entire time that they've existed in politics in their life.”

6. Desensitization and Political Fatigue

• Students describe numbness and apathy in the face of recurring hate, violence, and lack of political action—particularly around gun violence and war.
• Desensitization leads to disengagement:
  • [17:28] [QUOTE, anonymous student]:

    “When I hear about kids dying, yes, it's sad, but for a lot of these things, like, I think it's sad, but then I kind of move on because if I got heartbroken over every single thing that happened, I wouldn't be able to live right.” (Read by Sam Stein [19:28])

• Rachel warns this “numbing” is dangerous for democracy, as youth turn away from engagement.

7. Role of US Policy and Messaging

• U.S. administration rhetoric (“America is just doing Israel’s bidding”) has further stoked conspiratorial thinking and contributed to conflating all Jews with the State of Israel, per students in the focus group.
  • [20:25] Rachel Genfazza: “Not only do you have people like Candace Owens who are saying that, but then you actually have the current administration saying that they got into this war because of Israel. And so it kind of justifies these conspiracies…”

8. Nuance Within the Jewish Student Experience

• Even students critical of Israel feel targeted due to their Jewish identity.
• The inability to separate Jewish people from the policies of the State of Israel is described as the very definition of antisemitism.
  • [21:14] Stein: “What I do think is obviously problematic is when people equate Jews everywhere with the state of Israel… that’s the definition from anti-Semitism: conflating all Jews with Israel.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On normalization of bigotry:
  • Rachel Genfazza [05:35]: “It's now considered just kind of a based take… to be anti-Israel and therefore to then be anti-Jew.”
• On generational divides:
  • Rachel Genfazza [07:38]: “Gen Z 1.0… was peak woke and Gen Z 2.0 rejects that.”
• On desensitization:
  • Anonymous student (read by Stein) [19:28]: “When I hear about kids dying, yes, it's sad, but for a lot of these things, like, I think it's sad, but then I kind of move on because if I got heartbroken over every single thing that happened, I wouldn't be able to live right.”
• On conflation of identity and policy:
  • Rachel Genfazza [12:25]: "She [student] worries that she will be perceived a certain way by her peers because she's Jewish. And the way that there is that conflation of the Jewish people and the state of Israel."
• On lasting Trump-era influence:
  • Rachel Genfazza [11:43]: "If you're in Gen Z, you've literally only known a political ecosystem dominated by President Trump."

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:00] – NBC Poll: Plummeting Israel support among young people
• [05:25] – Focus group: “Based” takes & antisemitism
• [07:38] – Rachel explains Gen Z 1.0 vs. Gen Z 2.0
• [12:25] – Jewish students’ fear and change in campus atmosphere post-October 7
• [17:28] – Students’ numbing to violence and hate (“I kind of move on because…”)
• [19:28] – Sam Stein reads a student quote on emotional desensitization
• [20:25] – US policy and messaging as a driver of conflation/conspiracy
• [21:14] – Drawing the crucial distinction: Israel criticism vs. antisemitism

Overall Tone & Reflections

Stein and Genfazza speak frankly, often expressing both dismay and urgency. They are sensitive to the emotional weight and complexity of the issues, making space for nuance without minimizing the troubling trends. The episode serves as an important window into generational and cultural shifts, urging deeper exploration and dialogue about how to counter rising antisemitism, renewed bigotry, and political disengagement among young people.

For listeners or readers, this episode is both a wake-up call and a nuanced primer on evolving attitudes within Gen Z regarding Israel, antisemitism, and identity politics in 2026 America.