Rabbis at ‘Woke’ NY Colleges Describe ‘Unnerving’ Anti-Semitism on Campuses

 By: Ilana Siyance

Hundreds of Rabbis serving at some of the most liberal universities across the country, are speaking up about how the educational institutions have rapidly transformed into dangerous hotbeds of hate since the Oct. 7 Hamas savage surprise attack on Israel.  In the five weeks since the vicious and deadly attack, many US campuses have seen a surge of violent pro-Hamas rallies and even alarming assaults on Jewish students.  As reported by the NY Post, notable prestigious institutions suffering from such hate include New York University and Columbia universities, at which not only student groups rose up at rallies, but the school leadership demonstrated a lackluster response to the recent spate of anti-Semitism.

“It’s been disturbing, unnerving — it’s been a shock to students to see that kind of immediate chutzpah, where the demonstrators came out even before the blood dried up, to shout with such audacity on the campus with no qualifications at all,’’ said Rabbi Levi Haskelevich, who has served as the Chabad rabbi at the University of Pennsylvania for the last 23 years.  Rabbi Haskelvich was recently in a viral video helping a student put on tefillin for prayers, while a group of pro-Palestinian students marched past them shouting “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.”  He said anti-Semitism on campus has escalated beyond comparison.  “We have students who are into their PhDs who said from the moment of the attacks they could not find a safe place on campus,” he said.  Chabad Rabbi Shlomo Elkan who serves at the Oberlin College in Ohio said some of the students were so scared after Oct. 7 that they urged him to cancel the campus’s annual Chanukah menorah lighting ceremony.

Rabbi Meir Chaim Posner, who is the Chabad rabbi at Yale University, also said he has seen an increase in “quiet insidious stuff” like discrimination and singling out Jewish students on campus.  “Many, many students have close friends that suddenly don’t understand or don’t appreciate or don’t affirm what they’re going through in terms of their sense of mourning, in terms of their sense of pain,” Posner told the Post.  “And then in the weeks after, they’ll find a close friend who is actively supporting Hamas,” the rabbi added.

Per the Post, what is heartening, is that some of the Rabbis added that as hate around them intensified, many Jewish American students seem to have bonded and regained a sense of pride in their Jewish heritage and religion.  Rabbi Shmuly Weiss, who is the Chabad rabbi at McGill University in Montreal, said they receiving a donation of 100 Star of David necklaces, and that students who had never worn one were eager to take the leap.  “It’s not just about Israel — they’re stepping up and saying, ‘You know what? I’m going to be a proud Jew.’ Students are scared, but they’re embracing this tense situation that we’re in. They’re very, very proud of their Judaism,’’ Weiss said.

Rabbi Schneur Zalman Oirechman, who has been Chabad rabbi at Florida State University for close to 25 years, said the most important thing for them now is to make sure that students are safe.  “The Jewish students were afraid, and parents were calling in, and we had to call the governor’s office,’’ Oircehman said, describing the aftermath of Oct. 7th.