A week has passed since Election Day. The votes have been counted. But no election can decide how proudly we live as Jews, how we support one another or what kind of leaders we become. Those decisions belong to us.
As the former student body president at the University of California, Santa Barbara, I know what it means to lead while your Jewish identity becomes a target.
My experience, featured in the documentary “October 8,” taught me how urgently institutions need to confront antisemitism — and how much courage it can take to speak up when they fail. It also taught me that we cannot put our lives or our leadership on hold until someone else finds that courage.
JEWISH TEENS PREPARE TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS WITH HISTORY, HUMOR AND COURAGE
Recently at the Jewish Student Union Presidents Conference in Stamford, Connecticut, I saw hundreds of Jewish high school students putting that principle into practice.
They had gathered as the country headed into Election Day. But their leadership did not depend on who would win.
They were already building Jewish communities in their schools. Already taking responsibility for something larger than themselves. Already choosing to show up.
I recognized myself in them. I am a Jewish Student Union alumna. Before I became a student body president, I needed opportunities to understand my Jewish identity, develop my voice and discover that I had something worth contributing.
BACK TO SCHOOL SHOULD NOT MEAN BACK TO FEAR FOR JEWISH STUDENTS
Returning to speak with these students reminded me why that early investment matters. Leadership grows through practice: inviting someone to a first meeting, organizing a program, asking a difficult question or standing beside a classmate who feels alone. Those actions can seem small. For the person on the receiving end, they can change everything.
Too often, we talk about young Jews only in terms of what is happening to them. The harassment they face. The friendships they lose. The pressure they feel to distance themselves from Israel or explain away a part of who they are.
Those experiences deserve attention. Antisemitism must be exposed and confronted. But young Jews also deserve to be seen for what they are creating.
CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM EXTENDS BEYOND STUDENT PROTESTS AND INTO CLASSROOMS, ADL WARNS
In Stamford, I saw students developing the skills and relationships that will shape their schools now and their college campuses later. They were learning to lead before a crisis demanded it of them.
That preparation matters. A strong Jewish identity gives us something to draw on when others challenge our belonging. A community gives us people to turn to. The experience of speaking up once can help us do it again. We should be giving more young Jews those opportunities. We should also make room for the joy that makes Jewish life worth building in the first place.
A student who encounters the Jewish community through music, sports or a celebration may discover a connection that a discussion about antisemitism could never provide. Those experiences give us friendships, memories and reasons to keep showing up for one another.
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Last week’s Omer Adam concert at Barclays Center offered a powerful example: thousands of people gathering around Hebrew music, Jewish pride and a shared connection to Israel. Among those celebrating were wounded Israeli warriors. Their presence brought another dimension to that joy: the opportunity to stand alongside people who have sacrificed so much and welcome them into a shared celebration.
That is why I want to thank Warriors of Israel, which supports Israel’s wounded warriors. Its work reminds us that building a Jewish community means taking responsibility for one another, including helping those living with the consequences of their service find support, connection and joy.
For young Jewish leaders, there is a lesson in that kind of commitment. We can build communities that celebrate who we are while making sure people who need us feel included and supported. That spirit belongs in our schools and on our campuses, too.
We need Jewish life that welcomes people in. We need students who know how to organize, build friendships across differences and explain what they believe. We need leaders who can confront hatred without allowing it to consume their entire sense of purpose.
None of this releases elected officials or university administrators from their responsibilities. They must enforce rules against threats and harassment. They must confront antisemitism within their own political circles. Jewish students have every right to demand accountability from the institutions that serve them.
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And we can make those demands while taking responsibility for the communities we want to build. Run for student government. Start the club your school is missing. Invite the student who is hesitant to join. Learn enough about your history to speak about it with confidence — and enough about someone else’s experience to listen with care.
You do not need a title to begin. You need a willingness to act and the humility to keep learning. The students I met in Stamford will enter a world full of challenges. They will also enter it with ideas, conviction and the ability to make a difference.
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My message to them, and to young Jews across this country, is simple: Become the leaders you want to see in the world, regardless of who holds political office.
