Prayer vigils for Israel being held on college campuses provide a stark contrast to the protests and anti-Semitism emanating from universities across the country. Concerned Women for America (CWA) has been organizing the vigils through student leaders of their Young Women for America (YWA) chapters. Annabelle Rutledge, executive vice president of CWA, joined The American Spectator to discuss the campus prayer vigils; Tuesday’s congressional hearing addressing anti-Semitism on college campuses; and the story of 4-year-old Abigail Idan, who was recently released after being held hostage by Hamas for 50 days.
Ten prayer vigils have been held thus far on secular and religious campuses alike. Rutledge explained that being able to welcome Jewish students and hear their stories has had an especially strong impact as many of those students have family and friends currently living in Israel. (READ MORE: VIDEO: Unprecedented Support for Hamas on College Campuses)
Earlier this week, the House Committee on Education and the Workplace held a hearing on “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Anti-Semitism.” At the hearing, the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and UPenn refused to condemn calls for genocide against Jews as hate speech and harassment on their college campuses. As Rutledge explained, the nature of responses given by these leaders highlights why the YWA-led prayer vigils are pivotal and significant. (RELATED: Harvard President Faces Uproar Over Refusal to Punish Students for ‘Intifada’ Chants)
In addition to leading prayer vigils, CWA facilitated meetings between families of American hostages and members of Congress following the Oct. 7 attacks. YWA leaders have told the story of American-Israeli hostage Abigail Idan at each prayer vigil, fulfilling their promise to her family. Abigail was one of 110 hostages freed thus far. An additional 138 individuals still remain held hostage in Gaza today.
Watch the full interview to find out more.
A contributor for The American Spectator, Grace Reilly is a senior at Grove City College, where she is a marketing fellow at the Institute for Faith and Freedom. In her role as a fellow, she is the host of the Post-Roe America Conference Series and Meet the Scholars and co-host of the Liberty Mail podcast. Grace has appeared on Fox News, Newsmax, and America’s Voice News, in addition to a variety of podcasts, radio, print, and television in her home state of Connecticut. Follow her on Instagram @conservativegrace and on Twitter @conservgrace.
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