Jewish American students meet with Israeli leaders to talk about combating anti-Semitism
A delegation of Jewish students from multiple colleges and universities across the United States visited Israel to talk with Israeli leaders about the rise of anti-Semitism on campuses.
A delegation of Jewish students from multiple colleges and universities across the United States visited Israel to talk with Israeli leaders about the rise of anti-Semitism on campuses.
Olami, the organization that led Jewish students on the trip, is a “Modern Jewish Tribe” that seeks to “[b]ring the wisdom and traditions that our families shared for generations into the present in a way that makes sense.”
Campus Reform spoke with the executive vice president of Olami, Rabbi David Markowitz, about the excursion. Markowitz said the purpose of the trip was “really, to first and foremost, raise the awareness about the seriousness of the situation on campuses in America.”
The students, representing more than nine colleges and universities in America like Columbia, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and MIT, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and senior members of the Israeli legislature, the Knesset.
The delegation was a part of Olami’s “#ZeroTolerance” campaign, which aims to establish a zero-tolerance culture for anti-Semitism on campuses. Prior to the trip to Israel, 25 students went to Washington D.C. with Olami to demand a national reporting system for campus anti-Semitism following targeted violence towards Jews on campuses.
Markowitz told Campus Reform that the reason for these trips is to allow a space for Jewish students to speak out about what is occurring on campuses.
“It’s easy to spread lies. It’s much harder to stand with the truth because, [with] lies, you can say anything and just spew hatred and it doesn’t need to even have any basis. But truth needs to stand on its own and you need to listen to the points and there’s not much listening on the other side. So the core strategy is really to make it personal and to bring that personal message and that personal connection to the American front because we believe in humanity,” Markowitz stated.
Markowitz also commented on sentiments that drove students to make the trip.
“They are getting caught in the crossfire. They’re hearing not only hateful speech but threatening speech, and when [anti-Israel activists] say, ‘Death to all Jews, death to America,’” then “’Death to America’ doesn’t limit it to a particular audience . . . . If you’re walking on campus and you hear ‘Death to America’ that is huge intimidation, which is an absolute civil rights violation and to us that’s a critical point,” he remarked.
Speaking about some of the previous work that Olami has done to protect students from anti-Semitism and hate, he added: “We brought a delegation of students to Congress a few months ago and we worked together with Congress to draft a new bill that had started in the Senate. But now, there’s a version in the House which is the Protecting Students on Campus Act of 2024, which is effectively trying to hold universities accountable for not enforcing the civil rights of the students on campus . . . it is a requirement of the school to uphold the safety and security of students on campus.”
Markowitz added that Jewish students are now seeking support to stand against hate, saying: “We need to see America show up. The critical way to do that is to have the Jewish students on campus have the safety, security, and confidence to be able to stand up for what it is that they believe on the Israeli and American front, and hopefully we’ll see the next semester to be truly American, to be truly democratic, to be truly standing with our ally in Israel.”
