The bravest Jews in America are 15 years old — and they’re going back to school

Every August, American parents make back-to-school lists .

Notebooks.

Sneakers.

A new backpack.

For many Jewish parents, another set of questions has joined that list.

Should my daughter wear her Star of David, or tuck it inside her shirt? Should my son keep the Israeli flag sticker on his water bottle, or peel it off? When my kid asks for days off for Rosh Hashanah so early in the semester, how will the teacher respond? I lead Jewish Student Union, a national network of more than 515 clubs serving over 21,000 Jewish teens in public and community high schools across the United States and Canada.

Before Oct.

7, 2023, we estimate that we received roughly 15 to 20 requests a year from teens looking to start new JSU clubs.

Since then, 473 teens have sought us out through our national system to request a club at their school.

And that number captures only the teens who found us on their own.

It doesn’t include teens who already know a local JSU staff member through community programming or a summer experience or who hear about JSU from a friend at another school and reach out directly.

EXTREMISM THRIVES IN 'KEYBOARD COURTROOM' — AMERICA MUST THINK LIKE JURORS, NOT MOBS What those club requests tell me is that at a moment when being Jewish can feel complicated and even ostracizing, teens aren’t asking for less Judaism.

They’re asking for more opportunities to find one another, build the Jewish community, and take an active role in shaping it.

That desire for Jewish community is especially meaningful given the environment many of these teens are navigating.