Engaging Non-Jews In Combating Antisemitism On Campus

The Jewish Agency’s Israel Fellows program works in partnership with Hillel on more than 75 schools across the continent. Together, they engage in strategic partnerships with groups on campus, national organizations and various Hillel initiatives in order to respond to anti-Semitism or anti-Israel activity on campus.

As for antisemitism, my own experience may be anecdotal, but the data doesn’t lie: According to the Anti-Defamation League – Hillel survey on campus antisemitism that was published in 2021, antisemitic incidents peaked during that academic year — reaching an all-time high of 244 incidents, even though many campuses were physically closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More recently, this February, the American Jewish Committee released a survey which found that nearly 40% of Jews feel less secure about their status in the U.S. than they did a year ago, and nine out of 10 Jews and the general public believe antisemitism is a serious problem in the United States.

There’s an alarming fear permeating the air on many college campuses across North America, so much so that my students tell me they hesitate to even utter any pro-Israel sentiments, to avoid getting a poor grade or potential violence and hate crime backlash. This is unacceptable.

As an Israel Fellow, my job is to help Jewish and pro-Israel students find effective strategies for calling out antisemitism when they see it, and to ensure that students across the campus community and university leaders are aware of Jew-hatred when it occurs.

For example, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day in January, we held an emotional event which reminded students that the lessons of the past should not be forgotten.