‘Lost Tribe:’ Engaging Jewish Teens Through Online Games, Social Media
A non-profit based on fostering Jewish identity and community aims to stave off mounting assimilation.
A recent home page of the Lost Tribe website: Putting a Jewish spin on pop culture and gaming.
This week thousands of Jewish teens from around the world are marking the holiday of Chanukah by participating online in live-streamed games and entertainment, including candle lighting and blessings each night, sponsored by an organization dedicated to countering the dramatic decline in affiliation among Jewish youth.
Lost Tribe, a three-year-old nonprofit that describes itself as “the Jewish community for Esports, music, gaming, culture and entertainment,” seeks to leverage new media favored by teens “to build a safe space online where Jewish teens connect with each other, with Israeli peers, and to their Jewish identity,” according to Lenny Silberman, CEO and founder of Lost Tribe.
A seasoned Jewish professional who has worked for four decades to engage teens through camps, JCCs, the Maccabiah movement and other Jewish organizations, he compared the Lost Tribe staff, including a number of teen programmers, to the Maccabees of old in fighting a prevailing culture of assimilation.
According to the group’s survey, in its first two Lost Tribe Chanukah events, in 2020 and 2021, more than 7,400 teens participated and shared tens of thousands of chat messages throughout the eight days of events, and posted hundreds of photos and videos of their families celebrating the holiday. More than 10 percent of the participants said they would not have lit Chanukah candles at home if not for Lost Tribe’s programming.
“Let’s face it. Our kids have one foot out the door, if not both,” Silberman told me over a series of Zoom interviews, citing data that indicates 80 percent of Jewish teens today have no affiliation with Jewish life. “We’re raising the flag and shouting, ‘Fire, fire,’“ he said, noting that his career has been “all about finding the lost tribe. We need to reach Gen-Z or we’ll have lost another generation.”
Citing stats that show a dramatic increase of teen participation in each of the last three years, Silberman said Lost Tribe is “turning the tide of decades of Jewish teen disengagement by meeting kids where they are.”
And where they are is on their mobile devices, playing games, following pop culture social media influencers and texting and sharing photos and videos with friends, like millions of other teens. The goal of Lost Tribe is to use new media – including Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch and FaceBook – to reach a new generation, speaking their language by creating and hosting a variety of online platforms, including those that feature news on pop stars, film reviews, fashion hints and more. In addition to those that are socially oriented, some streaming platforms are competitive by presenting gaming contests – “and then adding ‘Jewish,’” explained Peter Shevenell, chief operations officer of Lost Tribe.
The trick is to introduce young people to aspects of Jewish life and an interest in Israel – though not too heavy-handedly so as to scare them off – while building an affinity community. “If you push too hard” [with Jewish content], kids will say ‘I’m done,” explained Ethan Karlin, 20, a third-year marketing student at San Diego State College who interned for two years with Lost Tribe. During that time he worked with groups of 8-13-year-olds who played Minecraft games that were counselor-led and provided Jewish content through virtual Israel travel and activities like building a sukkah or visiting the Western Wall.
Such activities are designed to serve as a gateway for youngsters to stay connected with their peers throughout their teen years as they become more involved with gaming and social media.
Trying to find the right balance: Ethan Karlin, 20, said military-style shooteer video games like Call of Duty have proved so popular with teens that Lost Tribe, after initial resistance, included it on its platform.
Karlin said he did not have a bar mitzvah and had no involvement in Jewish life before taking part in BBYO, a national Jewish teen movement. He learned of Lost Tribe at a BBYO convention and found its combination of Jewish connection and gaming (playing games on a device) to be “a perfect fit.” He said that through Lost Tribe, young people like himself “learn more about who you are and what your Jewish identity means to you. You don’t have to be a Torah scholar. It’s about shared experiences.”
Bringing two worlds together: Jack Anderson, 18, says Lost Tribe sponsors gaming and promotes Judaism, an ideal combination for him.
Jack Anderson, 18, a high school senior at The Weber School, a Jewish community high school in Atlanta, was active in Esports – competitive online sports games – as a youngster. On entering ninth grade, he helped convince Weber’s principal to include Esports as a team sport. That made a big difference to him because playing games as an individual, he didn’t feel comfortable mentioning his religion to strangers he competed with online. As part of the Weber team, though, “I felt that Lost Tribe brought my two worlds together. It made me feel proud to be Jewish, and Judaism has definitely become a huge part of my life.”
While gaming is mostly associated with boys – especially militaristic “shooter”-type games – a growing number of girls are avid players as well. Sara Levenson, 17, a junior in high school in Maine, said she enjoys “playing the same games that boys do” and appreciates that Lost Tribe creates “a safe space and community,” which was especially important to her during the isolation of Covid. As an intern for two years, starting at 15, Sara said she has made a lot of friends through Lost Tribe’s Rocket League, which has about 4,000 members. It offers prize money and valuable gifts, like laptop computers, in its competitive tournaments.
“For me, what I like about Lost Tribe is the mix of playing the games and feeling a part of Jewish culture and identity.”
Sara Levenson, 17, likes “playing the same games that boys do.”
Noa Solomon, a senior at the University of Wisconsin who grew up in New York City, also found solace during Covid by making friends online through Lost Tribe after her campus life came to a sharp halt at the outbreak of the pandemic. Her internship there has focused on marketing and entertainment, with Noa, who had some acting experience as a child, gaining 50,000 followers on her Lost Tribe-related TikTok platform. “I love being able to connect with other Jews my age,” she said.
Noting the alarming increase in anti-Semitism of late, including incidents on her campus this year, she said her connection to Lost Tribe “keeps me strong and takes me forward.”
Noa Solomon, 20, has 50,000 followers on her Lost Tribe-related TikTok platform.
Anti-Semitism is on the rise online as well. A recent ADL survey found that 15 percent of young people (ages 10-17) reported “exposure to discussions of white supremacist ideologies in online games.” A popular Lost Tribe platform called Discord operates as a kind of global teen lounge. In addition to serving as a popular place for teens to socialize by chatting, texting and sharing videos, it offers moderated discussions dealing with difficult issues like hate, harassment and anti-Israel messages.
Online counselors in their late teens or early 20s are effective in relating to their fellow Gen Z’ers, encouraging them to share concerns and questions. And a growing number of Israelis are participating on Lost Tribe, creating an opportunity for diaspora and Israeli teens to learn about each other’s culture and politics and to build friendships.
These elements make Lost Tribe increasingly appealing to Jewish funders, who are always looking for ways to engage a new generation with great Jewish potential but precious little chance of being reached. Adina Poupko, CEO of Natan, a non-profit supporting cutting- edge initiatives in Israel and the diaspora, is on board with Lost Tribe, recognizing that “children play interactive and social video games anyway, so we might as well offer Jewish content and Israel connection. Once you have the technology,” she said, “the opportunities for Jewish education are endless.”
Sarah Eisenman, chief community and Jewish life officer for the Jewish Federations of North America, said JFNA is making federations around the country aware of Lost Tribe’s impressive work. “Most compelling,” she said, “is that they are building Jewish community for teens in their own homes” without the need for them to travel distances to institutions like JCCs and synagogues for live events.
“One of the best things we can facilitate is Jewish friendships,” Eisenman said.
Lenny Silberman agrees, and insists that timing is critical, especially with anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment on the rise. His message to the community is simple and blunt: “We must act,” he says, “before we lose the next Jewish generation.”