My son went to a BBYO conference this weekend and had similar stories other teens told. Physical violence. Threats. One kid ultimately switched high schools. This is as dangerous as the MAGA movement was to the right and until we hold them absolutely accountable for their intellectual failure and moral lapses, we’ll never change anything. I’ve never been more clear headed about calling out the movement where everyone is too afraid of being excommunicated to speak out and I’ve absolutely taught my kids to fight back low. These are not strong kids. They are troubled outcasts who find community in hating on Jews. It must be called out and treated like the sickness that it is.
Everything old is new again! When I was in middle school in the USSR, I invited my classmates over to my house. My grandmother who was a powerful lawyer and judge told me she would not be at home when my friends came. "Why?" I asked. "I don't want them to know you have a Jewish grandmother," she replied. You see, she looked Jewish, and I did not (and my original family name was Ukrainian). That was the moment when I realized I was not staying in that country. So now American Jewish kids are experiencing what my generation experienced when we and our families left the Soviet empire. And my advice is simple: if you can't or don't want to leave, fight back.
All of this has sad similarities to what one of my kids experienced last year as a student. I won't get into specific here, because I promised that child that I wouldn't make it public, but this unfortunately is where our college (and many high school) campuses are now. There are certainly exceptions, but for far too many of our kids, being a Jewish supporter of Israel's right to exist is a virtual sentence to isolation.
My son went to a BBYO conference this weekend and had similar stories other teens told. Physical violence. Threats. One kid ultimately switched high schools. This is as dangerous as the MAGA movement was to the right and until we hold them absolutely accountable for their intellectual failure and moral lapses, we’ll never change anything. I’ve never been more clear headed about calling out the movement where everyone is too afraid of being excommunicated to speak out and I’ve absolutely taught my kids to fight back low. These are not strong kids. They are troubled outcasts who find community in hating on Jews. It must be called out and treated like the sickness that it is.
How do they plan to build a future with people they refuse to speak to? 😔
Brilliant.
Everything old is new again! When I was in middle school in the USSR, I invited my classmates over to my house. My grandmother who was a powerful lawyer and judge told me she would not be at home when my friends came. "Why?" I asked. "I don't want them to know you have a Jewish grandmother," she replied. You see, she looked Jewish, and I did not (and my original family name was Ukrainian). That was the moment when I realized I was not staying in that country. So now American Jewish kids are experiencing what my generation experienced when we and our families left the Soviet empire. And my advice is simple: if you can't or don't want to leave, fight back.
All of this has sad similarities to what one of my kids experienced last year as a student. I won't get into specific here, because I promised that child that I wouldn't make it public, but this unfortunately is where our college (and many high school) campuses are now. There are certainly exceptions, but for far too many of our kids, being a Jewish supporter of Israel's right to exist is a virtual sentence to isolation.
The heart emoji seems wrong but obvs I'm not "loving" this info, just sending love to you.
This is a devastating story. And how eerie that you just wrote about Rudy Rochman (amazing young man BTW) and his campus activism.
כל הכבוד ולהצלחה. I really like your project. MACA. Hillel was the place we gathered at Brown Having been there as a teen I feel their pain.
Well that was an incredibly fucked-up read. I cannot imagine this level of bullying being okay with anyone.