07 Nov DO JEWISH LIVES MATTER?

In the early 20th
century, universities in
America, including
elite Ivy league
schools, imposed a
Jewish quota, denying
many qualified and
worthy applicants’ entry, simply because
they were Jewish. For example, A.
Lawrence Lowell, president of Harvard
University from 1909-1933, labeled the
growth of Jewish students at Harvard as the
“Jew problem” and asserted that the
growing number of Jewish students at
Harvard would “ruin the college.” He
proposed reducing the number of Jewish
students at Harvard by imposing higher
standards of admissions to members of “the
Hebrew race.”
While 100 years later, Jews are admitted to
college campuses, today, in many cases,
they are not welcome there and simply are
not safe there. Last week, Jewish students
had to lock themselves in the Cooper Union
library as other students chanted “Free
Palestine” outside the doors and held up
signs while aggressively and threateningly
banging against the glass windows. A few
days ago, threatening statements about Jews
on an online discussion board at Cornell
University prompted officials to send police
to guard a Jewish center and kosher dining
hall and found Jewish students hiding in
their dormitory rooms. Jewish students at
Columbia University said at a press
conference this week that they had recently
been subjected to a series of antisemitic
incidents in recent weeks, including death
threats.
These stories and countless others,
unimaginable and unfathomable just a
month ago, are now becoming the norm, not
the exception, on campuses. Shockingly,
many of the hateful students are emboldened
or even openly encouraged by professors
who endorse and subscribe to the same
ideology of hatred and attach their names
and respected credentials to letters blaming
Israel for October 7 and/or outright
supporting Hamas. While reactions of
disgust and statements of support have
come from the White House, many elected
leaders, and other allies, the national
outrage, or mass movements that we have
seen to confront other forms have hate and
bigotry have not emerged.
To appreciate how relatively muted the
reaction has been, consider the appropriate
national reaction if black students were told
the black student center was closed because
it couldn’t be secured from the racists who
threaten black students and all black

students need to hide in their dorm room.
Imagine Muslim students or LGBTQ
students needing to lock themselves in the
university library because they are being
taunted and threatened.
Campuses are not the only place that
antisemitism is on the rise. Reuters reported
that in Los Angeles, a man screaming “kill
Jews” attempted to break into a family’s
home. In London, girls in a playground are
told they are “stinking Jews” and should
stay off the slide. In China, posts likening
Jews to parasites, vampires or snakes
proliferate on social media, attracting
thousands of supportive reactions. In
countries where figures are available, like
the United States, antisemitic incidents
have gone up a mind-boggling 400% since
Oct. 7 compared with the same period last
year.
Jim Gaffigan, posted: “Does anyone else
feel the need to call all their Jewish friends
and say, Okay, you weren’t being paranoid?”
Gaffigan is a popular comedian, but his
observation is no joke.
In 2017, following the exposure of
numerous abuse allegations against high
profile individuals, the #Metoo movement
swept the country with millions using the
phrase and hashtag first in English and soon
after in dozens of other languages. A
groundswell of support emerged to stand
with victims of abuse and to make clear it
would not be tolerated.
In 2013, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter
began after the acquittal of George
Zimmerman in the shooting death of
Trayvon Martin. The movement returned to
the headlines and gained international
attention during the George Floyd protests
in 2020. That year, 67% of Americans
expressed support for the Black Lives
Matter movement.
Where are these same voices to defend the
Jews? Where is the sweeping outrage,
where is the birth of a movement to stand
with Jewish lives while there are growing
explicit vile threats against innocent Jewish
lives? Why hasn’t #JewishLivesMatter
gone viral? Where are the demands to
defund campuses, where is the call to cancel
antisemites and Hamas sympathizers?
We would like to believe that the
overwhelming majority on campuses and
off of them, around America and the world,
are decent and moral, disturbed by what
happened in Israel and the ripple effects
elsewhere. But being disturbed is not
enough. Sitting on the sidelines is
unacceptable. As Shai Davidai, a professor
at Columbia whose passionate speech about

campuses not being safe for
Jewish students recently went
viral, eloquently put it, “To the
silent majority: I think we need
to talk about your silence.”
We need all good people to
speak up, act up, confront
antisemitism and antisemites and
be intolerant of the intolerable.
We need a #JewishLivesMatter
movement, a sweeping campaign
to confront antisemitism and
protect Jews everywhere.
Elie Wiesel once said: “We
must take sides. Neutrality helps
the oppressor, never the victim.
Silence encourages the
tormentor, never the tormented.
Sometimes we must interfere.
When human lives are
endangered, when human dignity
is in jeopardy, national borders
and sensitivities become
irrelevant. Wherever men and
women are persecuted because
of their race, religion, or political views,
that place must – at that moment – become
the center of the universe.”
At this moment, standing with Israel and
the Jewish people is the center of the
universe. As antisemitism grows
everywhere, I know how much it means to
me to see each and every gesture and
demonstration of solidarity with our people
and our homeland. Those who are not
indifferent are indeed making a difference.
I opened my front door this week and saw
my non-Jewish landscaper riding his lawn
mower with Israeli flags flying from it. An
older non-Jewish couple in Ft. Lauderdale
airport stopped me to say how upset they
are by what is happening and that they stand
with the Jewish people and Israel. A video
of a non-Jewish construction worker in
New York standing up for us and
aggressively confronting someone taking
down pictures of kidnapped hostages has
warmed our hearts.
The position we as a people are collectively
in right now is a grave cause of concern,
and it should and must motivate us to speak
up and fight for ourselves. More than that,
it should also inspire us to think about how
we feel, what we are going through, and to
remember this experience when another
group, race, or minority finds itself
confronting its enemies. If even small
gestures are meaningful to us, we must
express them to others in the future who
need to know they aren’t alone or on their
own. If solidarity matters, we must stand
with those who are targeted in the future.

In last week’s Parsha, when Hashem tests
Avraham by asking him to leave his home
and all that he knows, He promises to make
Avraham great, to bless him and also
v’heyei beracha, to be a blessing. What
does it mean to be a blessing? It can’t mean
to be blessed because that was already said
with avarechecha, I will bless you? Rav
Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that
Hashem was not only promising Avraham
that he would be blessed, but at the same
time was challenging Avraham to take his
experience, to learn from his own story and
to use it to become a blessing for others.
Others pursue being blessed, satisfying
their wants and needs and finding their own
happiness. To be progeny of Avraham is to
take our experiences and to pursue
becoming a blessing in other people’s lives,
using it to help others find justice, security,
and ultimately happiness.
In last week’s Parsha, Avraham is a
blessing by advocating for and protesting
on behalf of Sedom. When Hashem reveals
His intent to destroy this corrupt city and
society, Avraham doesn’t passively accept
with indifference. He objects, protests, and
negotiates on their behalf.
As we find ourselves in this urgent time, a
crisis for our people not only in Israel but
around the world, we are fair and just in
expecting more from the world, in
demanding outrage, support and solidarity.
But at the same time, we must demand of
ourselves to take this experience and feeling
and to be a blessing for others who will
need us to be outraged, support and stand in
solidarity with them.