March 7, 2025
The following column appeared on North Jersey.com and will appear in print Sunday in nine USA Today Network newspapers in New Jersey.
By Rabbi David C. Levy and Lisa Harris Glass
No one is born an antisemite. And nobody is born knowing how to combat antisemitism. To fight it effectively, we need partners.
That is especially true for a Hillel director taking the helm of one of the largest campuses for Jewish undergraduates in the U.S. and the regional director for a global advocacy organization for the Jewish people.
When we first met in July 2023 to discuss how the American Jewish Committee could be a partner in Rutgers Hillel’s efforts to support Jewish students, faculty and staff, neither of us could have imagined how important that partnership would become as we experienced a sharp rise in antisemitism on Rutgers’ campus in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre of Israelis.
What we are experiencing at Rutgers reflects what our colleagues are seeing on campuses across America. Sadly, our anecdotal evidence on the ground has been confirmed by the concrete evidence found in the numbers.
As part of AJC’s recently released State of Antisemitism in America 2024 Report, AJC and Hillel International partnered to survey Jewish students’ experiences over the last 12 months. The report’s findings affirmed that the hostile atmosphere we are seeing here in New Jersey is being experienced by Jewish students across the country.
The report found that more than one-third (35%) of American Jewish college students report experiencing antisemitism at least once during their time on campus. And half of the students who saw anti-Israel protests or demonstrations and/or pro-Palestinian encampments on campus after Oct. 7, 2023, said that these events made them feel unsafe on campus.
This fear has led to changes in behavior among Jewish students on campus. Forty-three percent reported avoiding expressing their views about Israel because of fears of antisemitism, 34% avoided wearing items that would identify them as Jewish and 32% felt uncomfortable at a campus event because of their Jewish identity.
Most disturbing of all, the report found antisemitism had made its way from the quad into the classroom. Thirty-two percent of the students surveyed said faculty promoted antisemitism or an unsafe learning environment for Jews, and 24% said the same in reference to class curricula.
This data and our experiences on the ground have only strengthened our dedication to supporting the needs and security of our students at Rutgers. Working together, along with other partners in the Jewish community, we have done much over the past year and a half, but there is still much to be done. We can’t do it alone and we shouldn’t have to.
Antisemitism is not just a problem for Jewish people — it harms society by undermining the fundamental principles that make democratic, pluralistic societies thrive. Combating it is an investment in a more just, peaceful and prosperous world for all.
When antisemitism is prevalent on campuses, in workplaces or in political discourse, it undermines the legitimacy of institutions. It erodes public trust in systems that are supposed to promote fairness and justice, making it harder for society to function effectively.
If prejudice and hatred against one group are allowed to persist, it becomes easier for other forms of discrimination to take root, threatening the rights and dignity of all people, regardless of their background.
Antisemitism does indeed hurt us all. AJC’s State of Antisemitism in America 2024 Report found that 90% of the general American public agrees that antisemitism affects society as a whole and everyone is responsible for combating it.
This is true for Rutgers as well. We invite others, on campus and off, to join us in seeing that The State University of New Jersey lives up to the ideals of the state of New Jersey by ensuring that hate has no place at Rutgers. Our two organizations will continue to work in partnership to address antisemitism in all forms.
In the aftermath of Oct. 7, far too many of those we believed to be partners were too silent. And far too many of us in the Jewish community felt alone. Now is the time to join us to rid this toxic hate from our campuses.
Rabbi David C. Levy is Director of American Jewish Committee New Jersey. Lisa Harris Glass is executive director of Rutgers Hillel.
