As the academic year comes to a close, commencement speakers around the country will be talking about the leadership skills and life lessons students should take away from their years on campus. For Jewish and Zionist students, many life lessons were learned and many leadership skills were developed this academic year, but not inside the lecture hall.
By now most of us have seen the headlines that turned the spotlight on college campuses. Even those following university news for several years, alarmed by the increased hostility toward Israel, were caught by surprise as the reports from the finest academic institutions over the past months showed footage not seen since the 1930s.
4 View gallery
Protesters surround Hamilton Hall at Columbia University
(Photo: Alex Kent / Getty Images North America / AFP)
The hate-filled demonstrations and Gaza encampments included it all, from graffiti proclaiming 'Zionist' students are not welcome, to flying flags of terror groups and blocking Jewish students’ passage to campus spaces, to physical assaults. Jewish and Zionist students on campus were intimidated and bullied while watching their peers support chants of “Intifada” and “resistance by all means.”
On top of that, if anyone hoped campus faculty or administrators would be a beacon of sanity, these hopes were not realized. In various places, professors encouraged their students who participated in campus anti-Israel protests to do so. Presidents of Ivy League schools were unable to admit even in front of a congressional hearing that calls for the genocide of Jews is a violation of the student code of conduct.
Yet, despite the hostility, the social toll or the sacrifice of a grade, many young people who love Israel rose to the challenges and refused to be silenced. These students came from all backgrounds. Some of them have strong family ties to Israel; others have never visited the country, but from reading about Israel and learning its history decided they must speak up.
Despite the hostility, the social toll or the sacrifice of a grade, many young people who love Israel rose to the challenges and refused to be silenced
The Students Supporting Israel (SSI) movement has had the privilege of working together with hundreds of resilient and brave students. For the past several months, they affixed posters of hostages kidnapped on October 7 all over their campuses, and organized memorial events for the victims of the attack. They arranged rallies for Israel, practiced public speaking and delivered strong messages, and wrote op-eds in their school newspapers and letters to their school boards of governors. They debated in student governments against divestment from Israel, created visible campus displays and worked to build a network of support around them, just to name a few examples of their activism.
While in Israel many 18-year-olds are drafted to the IDF to serve their country, surrounded by a large community of likeminded and motivated peers, these 18-year-old students on U.S. and Canadian campuses served the Jewish community as a whole without ever wearing a uniform, and often without much support to rely on. They did not have to do it, yet doing nothing was not an option.
This academic year, standing up for your values and your people, speaking against hate and antisemitism, and organizing others to follow your lead were among the important life skills these students developed. Many of them never intended to be activists, but as they faced unprecedented levels of hostility they did not just hide in their dormitories and instead stepped forward to reclaim Jewish peoples' right to be treated equally in their communities.
If anyone had doubts about the future of our youth in global communities and their connection to Israel, then I would like to provide a message of optimism. Speaking on behalf of the SSI movement, our Zionist youth showed up when it was needed most. They may have been outnumbered, often just a handful of students carrying the Israeli flag in front of a large crowd of protesters, but they carried it proudly. They may have been intimidated after seeing their campus turn its back on them, but they remained determined to stay true to their values.
Valeria ChazinTo the current Jewish and Zionist students on campus, know that your struggles, activism and leadership did not go unnoticed. The SSI movement and your school’s Jewish and Zionist alumni, the Jewish community and the people in Israel are thankful for you.
Valeria Chazin is co-founder of the Students Supporting Israel Movement