Fully aware that schools have become battlegrounds, Israel Minister of Education Yoav Kisch visited New York to meet with University presidents to ensure that they “are committed to fighting antisemitism and providing security for the Jewish and Israeli staff and students on campus.”

In a conversation with The Jewish Link, Kisch reflected on his February 17 meeting with Columbia University Interim President Katrina Armstrong. “I am pleased that in our conversation Interim President Armstrong committed to fighting campus antisemitism,” he said. However, he is fully aware that words are one thing and action is quite another. Take for example Columbia’s Middle East department: “There is not one single professor in that department who is teaching the truth,” Kisch stated. “What [Armstrong] has there is a bunch of extremists who are trying to build on lies against Israel.

“I asked [Armstrong] to maybe add—or we could send a professor—from Israel to be part of this Middle East education faculty. At least there would be one voice out of the hatred and poisoning there that would be objective.”

In an email to The Link, Columbia provided Armstrong’s statement on the meeting, but did not comment on Kisch’s request regarding the faculty: “It was an honor to have the opportunity to meet with Minister of Education Kisch today to speak about our efforts on campus to address and eliminate antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and to discuss our collaborations on education and research.”

In contrast to Columbia, Kisch was sorely disappointed that New York University decided not to coordinate a meeting with him, which he stated is not the first time that the university has refused to meet with senior Israeli officials. “If you support NYU and donate money to NYU,” he said, “I recommend you stop doing that until the president officially provides a message where she is committed to fighting antisemitism and providing security to the Jewish and Israeli students.”

The Link reached out to NYU via email with respect to Kisch’s assertion that NYU decided not to meet with him, and NYU responded: “It was not possible to accommodate the request on the president’s schedule. NYU administrators frequently meet with both consular officials and other officials.”

NYU also noted: “Among American universities, NYU has been at the forefront of working to reduce and eliminate antisemitism on campus,” such as being “the first U.S. university to issue a 10-Point Plan to address safety, bigotry and antisemitism, and to announce the appointment of a Title VI coordinator.”

Kisch also spoke about his expectations from university presidents: “Once you see antisemitism, once you see incitement and acts of violence against Jews and Israelis, you have to fight it and make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Everybody is more than understanding and committed to freedom of speech, but … when the speech turns to hate and to violence, this is something we expect the leaders of these institutions to stop.”

Turning to education in Israel, Kisch described the significant impact that wartime has had on Israel’s higher education system. Approximately 25% of Israeli students participated in the reserves during the war. The government spent about $100 million to support the students in various ways such as monetary benefits and special programs. “We are doing all we can so that they will not quit school,” he said.

Lastly, The Link asked Kisch what Israeli students are taught about Jews in the Diaspora. “In general, everyone in Israel feels that the Jews in the Diaspora are their brothers and sisters,” he stated. “But not many understand the complexity and the differences between the different communities in the U.S. or the world in general. I agree that we need to learn more about what the Jews in the Diaspora are facing.

“The initial feeling is unity and support and understanding and family. Getting into details is something that takes more time, happens at a later age, and sometimes only at college.”

Judith Falk is the creator of the Upper West Side Shtetl Facebook Group. You can follow her on instagram @nyc.shtetl. She is a lawyer by day and a former legal reporter.