By Tobias Siegal

A March Pew Research Center survey found that 60 % of American adults now hold an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 53 % last year. Among Americans aged 18 to 29, that number rises to 75 %.

A Gallup poll released in February showed that, for the first time, Americans sympathize more with Palestinians than Israelis. And according to Harvard’ s Youth Poll, 46 % of young Americans now see the US-Israel relationship as a“ burden,” compared to just 16 % who view it as a benefit.

The reality behind these numbers paints an even more concerning image- that of millions of young Americans forming opinions about a country they

have never visited, people they have never met, and a reality they are so quick to judge while only witnessing it through headlines and TikTok stories.

And then there is Annie De Bruyn.

My girlfriend, Annie, left her Los Angeles home and arrived in Israel in late April with no return ticket. She came here during a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran and an active conflict on Israel’ s northern border against the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.

The timing was not coincidental. It was not indifference to the war or the suffering it has created, or the complexity behind it. It was because of all of it. She came because she refused to let other people’ s certainty extinguish her curiosity.

“ I wanted to see for myself,” she told me.

When Annie first told friends in America that she had met someone special, their excitement often came with an immediate warning.“ When 99 % of people you tell immediately ask,‘ What are his views on Palestine?’‘ Is he a Zionist?’ It’ s jarring,” she said.“ If he were from any other country, he would

The Charlotte Jewish News- June- July 2026- Page 19

“ It got exhausting,” she said,“ telling people I may have just met the love of my life and feeling the judgment ooze through the phone like poison.” People reacted, she said,“ as if I had just told them I fell in love with the enemy.”

What troubled her most was not disagreement. It was the immediacy with which people who barely knew me felt so comfortable characterizing an entire society and anyone connected to it into moral categories.

“ It amazed me that my circle barely even knew one Jewish person, let alone an Israeli,” she said,“ and yet being pro-Palestine often translated into being anti-Israel, which I could not stand behind.”

Her parents, foreigners living

Tobias and Annie taking in the beauty of Israel

never be faced with this kind of blind judgment.”

I am that“ he”- an Israeli, a Jew, and apparently, a political litmus test.

For Annie, what started as a personal love story quickly became something bigger. She found herself explaining, defending, and sometimes hiding the very thing that should have been simple: that she had met someone she cared about. in America, were not hostile to the idea of her dating an Israeli. But the country terrified them. They essentially forbade her from coming.

“ All they see is a one-sided, potentially fabricated narrative of what’ s happening on the news,” Annie said, recognizing that they were speaking from a purely“ fear-based perspective.” Still, she came. Not recklessly, but with the core belief that

By Preston Colpitts

My Friendship Circle experience has been a roller coaster – but in the best way possible.

What first inspired me to join was my brother, who has special needs. Every time he talked about Friendship Circle, he never had a single negative thing to say. Seeing how much he loved it was all the motivation needed.

Before I began, I honestly thought it was going to be like a casual meet-and-greet where everyone just sits around and talks. I couldn’ t have been more wrong truth is something you have to encounter with your own eyes.“ It wasn’ t just about seeing him again,” she said.“ I really feel like it’ s a broader message of following the heart, shifting perspective, being bold, and having the courage to expand beyond what we’ re programmed to believe.”

In a time when so many young Americans are being taught to see Israel only through anger, Annie chose presence over programming. She came to see for herself.

And what she found, at least in those first days, was not the country fear had prepared her for.“ Since I’ ve arrived here, I’ ve felt a sense of calm and familiarity that I didn’ t expect,” she said.“ The greenery and beauty of Jerusalem have completely captivated me. People are outside enjoying life, sitting in parks, filling cafés, walking the streets late into the evening. It feels nothing like what I had been made to believe about this country.”

For Annie, the dissonance between headlines-Israel and the country unfolding in front of her has been striking.

She has walked through the city alone without feeling unsafe, she said, and has found herself comforted by the English she hears all around her, by the simple fact of people building lives here.“ There’ s a feeling of home I can’ t quite explain,” she told me.“ What I’ ve experienced here has been kindness. People offering help without being asked, patience with me as an English speaker, warmth from strangers, and a sense of community that feels very authentic.”

Maybe that is the point. Not that these times are any less challenging or complex, but that no country, and no people, can be understood only through fear, headlines, or other people’ s perceived certainty.“ Not everything is as black and white as we are taught to believe,” Annie said.“ Sometimes growth looks like stepping into the unfamiliar, releasing fear, and allowing yourself to see humanity before assumption.”

experience new things, and grow in ways we might not expect. Every connection feels meaningful.

I love everything Friendship Circle has to offer – from the thoughtfully planned activities, to the incredibly dedicated staff, to the friendships that form naturally along the way. If you’ re thinking about getting involved, don’ t hesitate. It truly is the best!