The Time to Stop Campus Antisemitism Is Now

JNS.org – Last summer, I sent my annual message to more than 300 college presidents and administrators asking them to take concrete steps to combat antisemitism on their campuses and to work to implement student codes of conduct more appropriately.

I warned my colleagues in higher education about an increasing campus culture permitting—and even encouraging—antisemitism and provided them with some steps to help make Jewish students feel safer.

I never dreamed that my words would be so prophetic or that the message that I sent this summer would be so much more dire.

After an academic year that saw unprecedented antisemitic rhetoric and actions on campus, Jewish students and faculty are shaken. With their safety not secured on many campuses, I’m already hearing from Jewish students and alumni asking what can be done when the fall term begins.

Alpha Epsilon Pi International Fraternity (AEPi) has devoted a great deal of time and resources to providing our undergraduates with security and awareness training and we continue to work with local officials and campus security to make sure they identify Jewish institutions and protect them.

Last month, I again sent college presidents and campus administrators our annual message about protecting Jewish students and managing a safer and more equitable campus—but this year’s message is much more strident. The concern for Jewish students is very real and if campus administrators think that simply taking the summer off is going to make things better or easier, they’re wrong. We’ve already seen some college administrations reducing punishments for those who broke campus codes of conduct. Just this week, Harvard did so. This has put Jewish students on edge.

In my message to administrators, I emphasized several key points:

• The need to protect Jewish students, faculty and staff will be paramount this fall and universities should already be working with their security teams; local, state and federal law enforcement agencies; and the campus and local Jewish communities to identify and protect Jewish institutions including places of worship, Hillel and Chabad facilities and AEPi fraternity houses.

• AEPi urges all higher education institutions to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s definition of antisemitism so that conduct officers and other administrators can clearly identify and immediately quash antisemitic activities and speech. This should, in no way, be seen as an attempt to limit free speech, but rather an attempt to limit hate speech that, we know, often leads to the ostracization of Jewish students and violence against them.

• AEPi demands that university administrators ensure that all students and student organizations comply with university codes of conduct and the policies and procedures of the campus. This includes not allowing unregistered events, protests or illegal encampments. Universities must not be afraid to enforce their own rules.

Campus administrations must develop, implement and communicate their plans for keeping Jewish students and institutions safe immediately. Waiting until the beginning of the fall term is too late and will create a dangerous campus culture.

AEPi’s Antisemitism Response Center (AEPi ARC), a partnership with the ADL, is a resource to provide confidential consulting on the needs of the Jewish students that make up the campus community. Helpful resources can be found on the AEPi ARC website.

AEPi will work with campus administrators throughout the year with opportunities for staff development and education. For example, last year, in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks and at the outset of the campus protests against Israel, AEPi hosted a webinar with campus administrators to help identify and curb antisemitic speech and activities. We will be planning similar opportunities for university staff in the coming academic year.

AEPi’s primary focus is to protect our students and help ensure their safety. The 2024-2025 academic year will be an especially difficult one for Jewish students as, too often, campus administrators allow Jewish students to be marginalized or terrorized. We cannot stand for that, and we will work aggressively to protect our students and the entire Jewish community.

I should add that, as of this moment, I have not heard back from any college presidents or campus administrators.

We want to work cooperatively with our partners in university administrations and that’s why we sent these messages now, long before the start of the fall term, so we can begin putting in place policies and procedures that will protect our students.

In Tamid 32a, the Talmud asks: “Who is the wise person? The one who foresees the consequences.”

We know that the consequences of ignoring the rise in campus antisemitism will be the acceptance of Jew-hatred, an increasingly hostile and violent culture for Jews, and the inevitability of a campus tragedy. Let’s be wise together and work to avoid that.

Starting. Right. Now.

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