One of the clearest lessons of the AI revolution is that the market waits for no one. Some companies recognize that technology has changed the rules and adapt quickly. Others are still trying to fit the new world into an old business model, and they are paying the price.
Israel is at a similar turning point, but the cost of failing to adapt is far greater than losing market share. Today's young people are tomorrow's decision-makers and opinion leaders. If their support for Israel is eroding now, within less than a decade that decline will translate into diminished political, economic and strategic support.
Nearly three years after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, we are still talking about "returning" to the way things were. When will tourists, investors and young people around the world go back to seeing Israel as they once did? But Israel is in a different position today. Its stock is plunging: Trust has eroded, public sentiment has shifted, and support can no longer be taken for granted. We can argue about whether this is justified, but anyone who runs a business knows that arguing with the market is not a strategy. The relevant question is where we should invest our efforts now.
We tend to see the world in binary terms: Who is for us and who is against us? As a result, most of our efforts are directed at the two extremes. We keep talking to those who already love us and constantly battling those who oppose us. Yet the future lies precisely with those who have not made up their minds.
A recent study of young Jews found that 21% feel connected to Israel, while 23% are strongly opposed to it. The largest group, 56%, falls somewhere in the middle, with mixed or unformed views. This group represents our greatest opportunity, but also our greatest risk. We cannot assume that those in the middle today will still be there tomorrow.
For years, we have known that visiting Israel strengthens people's connection to the country, including over the long term. The latest studies underscore another important point: Those who do not come to Israel do not simply remain where they are. They continue to drift further away.
Messages alone are not enough
Israel invests heavily in improving its messaging, and that matters. But relationships cannot be built on messaging alone. I know this from my experience at Taglit-Birthright Israel. Over 26 years, we have seen the gap between the Israel people know from afar and the country they encounter when they actually visit.
The answer is not to pressure people, lecture them or explain things to them. It is to invite them. We need to bring precisely those who are undecided to Israel, give them the opportunity to meet Israelis, engage in debate and form their own opinions based on firsthand experience.
If we fail to act now, a young person who is undecided today will be further removed from Israel a year from now. In less than a decade, that same person will already be shaping opinion, managing organizations and making decisions. If we establish that connection now, time will become an asset.
We have not yet lost a generation, but we do not have the luxury of waiting for it to come around. Israel must fight today to win over those who have yet to make up their minds and open its doors to those in the middle.
Time will keep moving, one way or another. The question is whether we allow it to work against us or make it work in our favor.
Gidi Mark is the CEO of Taglit-Birthright Israel.
