Why we matter… combating anti-semitism… the challenge from within.

We just got off the  phone with a beautiful couple, he a Rabbi and she a Jewish educator and organizational guru who live in Israel and help families have meaningful Israeli B’nai Mitzvah experiences. They spoke candidly with us, about the joys of their work and the frustrations. Actually, the sadness they feel when a family comes to them having given no positive Jewish experiences to their children, only to go to Israel, the epicenter of Jewish life, in search of a meaningful family Bar/Bat Mitzvah experience. Over the past months, every major Jewish organization has highlighted the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States – grim statistics and all too often highly publicized attacks on the Jewish community. Much talk has been aimed at the growing tensions on the college campus surrounding Israel and Jewish life. What are these young adults,  disconnected and isolated  from the Jewish community, to do when they have few positive Jewish experiences on the one hand, and the prospect of going to college where they may be  confronted with anti-Jewish and virulent anti-Zionist sentiment?  We  Jewish educators have a two fold task. It is imperative to excite young people and adults about  the joys of being Jewish by providing meaningful and important positive Jewish experiences.  We are proud to say that over the last few of years, Chai Mitzvah has  helped to educate thousands of teens and provide a stipend to travel to Israel for many hundreds. 

Our second task is to call out anti- semitism in all its forms before it metastasizes. This takes a whole different sort of education:  Learning about our history, being informed and articulate about current events, understanding Israel and the central role it has had for Jews throughout the millennia. Our founder and Board Chair, Scott Shay, has written a well referenced book called Conspiracy U: A Case Study using his beloved alma mater, Northwestern, as a case study of anti-Zionist conspiracy theories from the left and the right. Unwavering in his commitment to educate the public on this, Scott is interviewed daily (sometimes multiple times) on the topic.

Muslim students at an anti-Israel protest at the University of California, Irvine, in 2006.
(Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images/JTA)

Chai Mitzvah is hosting an important webinar on February 24th entitled Shocking Trends on College Campuses: The rise of anti-semitism and the fall of Academic Integrity with two  other distinguished panelists Dr’s Andrew Pessin and Miriam Elman. This is the public RSVP link.

We have already piloted a 5-part course in Brooklyn College using Conspiracy U as a text and combining it with videos produced by Unpacked and a stipend for a trip to Israel. We are actively seeking other colleges and universities to participate in this fellowship. 

Our goals are to see fewer Jewishly isolated families, stronger, more informed Jewish people who can clearly articulate why being Jewish matters, understand and defend  the central role of Israel for the Jewish people, and call out anti-Semitism from both the left and the right. We Jewish educators matter no less than for the future of our people. 

For more information about our college fellowship or about Chai Mitzvah in general go to our website www.chaimitzvah.org or reach out to our Managing Director: Nina@chaimitzvah.org or myself, Executive Director: Audrey@chaimitzvah.org.