October 14, 2024
The following column originally appeared in the Times-Union of Albany, NY.
Last week’s one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in Israel resonated deeply with me, not just in the headlines but in the personal stories from the tragedy, stories that touched our lives and the Jewish community around the world.
For many, including myself, the day brings back a painful personal memory — having to tell my teenage son that Hamas terrorists murdered his close friend. This conversation was among the most heart-wrenching moments a parent could face. And it starkly highlighted the grim reality that antisemitism and geopolitical hatred against Jews can have a local, devastating impact.
Indeed, at a time when 63% of American Jews feel less secure living in the U.S. than a year ago, and 46% say they have concealed their Jewish identity in public or avoided certain places out of fear of antisemitism, concerns about safety are real for Jewish families. And that’s especially true when children are outside the home.
Ensuring that Jewish students feel secure must be a priority for our K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities. Yet many Jewish students felt anything but secure as protests engulfed many New York campuses after Oct. 7.
Perhaps one of the most visible manifestations of this unease played out in the spring at Columbia University, where pro-Palestinian activists occupied a school building, set up encampments, and disrupted a lunch for new students at Columbia Law School by proclaiming that Zionists were not welcome, while one activist went viral with a video where he said “Zionists don’t deserve to live.” The group he belonged to, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, expressed regrets in the spring for his use of that language. But last week, the group not only walked back that apology, it also then apologized to the activist in an Instagram post for having caused him “irrevocable harm.” Yes, really.
Given that eight out of 10 American Jews say that caring about Israel is important to them, that kind of statement resonates. Its sentiment washed over to other campuses. A former SUNY Purchase student told an Albany news conference in May that Jewish students there were told they had “blood on our hands” for supporting Israel. That student eventually moved out of her dorm, fearing for her safety, and did not attend her commencement.
At K-12 schools, antisemitism can take several forms. There are regular reports of swastikas being found, from Buffalo to the Hudson Valley and Long Island, home to the nation’s fourth-largest Jewish population. In New York City, one teacher, who received an email stating “all Jews need to be exterminated,” sued the school system for its response to antisemitism, while another teacher was targeted by hundreds of students after saying she supported Israel.
Confronting incidents like these must come with a renewed sense of urgency, especially given the latest FBI hate crimes report. It revealed that hate crimes against Jews soared 63% in 2023 compared to a year earlier, and Jews are the victims of 68% of religiously motivated hate crimes.
Educational institutions must be sanctuaries of learning, not arenas of fear. It is profoundly unsettling that parents must vet educational institutions to ensure their children are safe from racial or religious bigotry. Yet this is our reality, and it necessitates a robust response.
The American Jewish Committee has created action plans for public school administrators that offer strategies to combat anti-Jewish hate. Among the recommendations: creating education programs about antisemitism, which is not well understood by many Americans; mandating antisemitism training for all staff members; and revisiting Holocaust education. A similar action plan has been created for college administrators to follow.
We need action, because too much inaction has led to the current situation on many campuses and K-12 schools.
Together, let us strengthen our resolve to foster educational spaces where safety and respect are paramount, and let us strive for a future where our children are judged by their character and embraced for their differences, not targeted for them.