Before the outbreak of the coronavirus and the resulting lockdown, Larry Prince and Robert Berger, members of B’nai Shalom in West Orange, came up with the idea to run an interactive seminar to educate students before they embark on their college experiences.
Their free community-wide interactive workshop for high school seniors, “Combat anti-Semitism on Campus,” was originally scheduled to be held at the JCC in West Orange, pizza party sendoff included. Instead, the session took place over Zoom on May 31, led by Nancy Kaplan of the Anti Defamation League of New York/New Jersey.
The two businessmen, who are not affiliated with the ADL, initiated and facilitated the program aimed at educating students to recognize and understand these issues, know how to respond and where to go for help. The idea for the workshop arose when Prince and Berger were discussing the spike in incidents of anti-Semitic activity on college campuses. While the students were not able to engage in person, they still had the opportunity to learn about anti-Semitism on campus, which was Prince and Berger’s ultimate goal.
The two men first opened the program to Essex County residents, but soon expanded it to include any group of Jewish identifying students. A group of 10 local high school seniors joined in the discussion.
Kaplan, who has been working on college campuses for 30 years, has facilitated a fair number of similar workshops. She helped the students differentiate between anti-Semitism, anti-Israel bias and anti-Zionism and legitimate criticism of Israel or its politics. Kaplan offered insight into how a college administration operates, and which officials would be receptive to the student’s complaints or fears. She also suggested that students use their school newspaper as an outlet for their concerns.
Kaplan assured students that campuses are equipped with security cameras, and that students shouldn’t hesitate to reach out to campus police in the event of criminal behavior (such as swastikas painted on buildings). Armed with this information, college presidents will generally speak out in condemnation of anti-Semitism, she explained.
Kaplan cautioned the students to be respectful and keep themselves safe when responding to a potential bias incident. She used an example of a professor who would not write a recommendation for a student to study abroad in Israel. Here, she told students how they might convince the professor to halt such bias acts without worrying about their grades being affected.
One student, Talia, said she is ready to work with Hillel to run different educational programs on campus. Another student, Felicia, felt prepared enough to report any anti-Semitic or bias incident to Hillel officials. Becca, too, will be very involved with Hillel and will not be afraid to speak her mind on different issues. She intends on being open about her perspective on Israel.
Aaron said he wants to gauge what’s going on when he gets to campus and hear the ideas of others, while Ben emphasized that he’s ready to introduce other students to a Jew who has been to Israel before they reach unfounded conclusions. Yossi wants to establish relationships with others in Hillel, which he feels will enable him to work out situations as they arise. Maya will not only join Hillel, but will also be involved in other political organizations.
The students appeared comfortable giving their input and communicating electronically, and these 10 student leaders are set to hit their colleges running, while social distancing of course.
Prince and Berger are already planning for next spring. They intend to make this an annual event. They look forward to checking with the workshop participants after their first semester at college to hear their experiences, and they anticipate this input will help shape the program going forward.
For more information or to register for next year’s program, contact Eli Gang at [email protected].
By Sharon Mark Cohen
