As a Jewish woman working as a speechwriter in the Obama White House, Sarah Hurwitz was part of a diverse staff, including many Jews, as Chanukah celebrations and the first Passover Seder hosted by a sitting president took place.

“I never experienced antisemitism,” she said as she spoke to a group of mostly students gathered at Rutgers Hillel in New Brunswick on Feb. 26.

However, now troubled by the rising antisemitism on campuses across the country, she was making her 24th appearance at a college to gauge what Jewish students are experiencing, help them address anti-Israel bias and antisemitism and answer questions about her tenure, how she went about writing speeches and how the students can use their talents to find work that is meaningful to them.

Hurwitz contrasted her own experience as a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard School of Law, where she said she could “have walked through Harvard Yard wearing an Israeli flag and shouting Am Yisrael Chai” and no one would have reacted negatively with the experiences of current Jewish college students.

The hypocrisy behind much of the criticism of Israel is undeniable, said Hurwitz, who noted that if others criticized a Black student for supporting the Black Lives Matter movement they’d be called a racist just as those who disparaged a gay student for sporting pride colors would be deemed homophobic.

She questioned how it came to be that “the majority tells the minority how they should feel” and why on so many college campuses supporting Israel “is like supporting the KKK.” Even more “heartbreaking” is that some Jewish students have come to believe that Israel is “bad and powerful.”

By her own admission, Hurwitz was a secular Jew while working at the White House as a speechwriter for President Barack Obama and head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama, who she described as “amazing people.”

She later on a whim took an introductory course on Judaism and began deepening her own Jewish roots after leaving the White House, which resulted in Hurwitz penning the book “Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life—In Judaism (after Finally Choosing to Look There).” She found profound insights in studying Jewish law, history, spirituality and ethics.

Hurwitz has a new book coming out later this year, “As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story From Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us.”

With antisemitism coming from the right and left, she downplayed the notion that if “we just had the right tweet” or the right campaign, such hate could be overcome.

“Antisemitism runs through the religious traditions of half the population of the world,” said Hurwitz. “When people feel out of control they tend to blame the Jews.”

Rather she believes the best strategy to combat antisemitism is simply to invest in Jewish life and Hillel; rather than making students “warriors for Israel,” we should encourage them to be good Jews.

Judaism sets a high bar for love and encourages understanding each person, Hurwitz said, while antisemites dehumanize and “reduce everyone to labels.”

Hurwitz said she initially embarked on her college tour thinking the brains of Generation Z were broken, but instead feels hopeful after hearing from Jewish students. “You were told your feelings don’t matter,” she said, but when informed they were oppressors Jewish students have often stood up and resisted the majority opinion.

In answer to student questions, Hurwitz spoke of her own career journey and the need for students to follow their instincts. She noted that after graduating from Harvard Law School she was working at one of the biggest law firms in Washington but would not have been a successful lawyer had she chosen to stay because her heart wasn’t in it.

Hurwitz became deputy chief speechwriter for Senator John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, deputy chief speechwriter for General Wesley Clark’s primary campaign and a speechwriter for Senator Tom Harkin. She later became Hillary Clinton’s chief speechwriter, which led to her position with the Obamas.

She described former President Joe Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president, as “Zionist to his core” and called his support for Israel “insane.”

“I couldn’t imagine anything more he could have done,” said Hurwitz.

Hurwitz said the Obamas would often suggest ideas, which would be bantered, and she would run with them.

“I became a much better writer because they were perfectionists,” she said and acknowledged that Michelle Obama’s famous line “When they go low we go high,” from her speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, was thought of by the former First Lady herself.

“If she had a boring, clunky speech no one would have remembered it,” said Hurwitz, adding that Michelle Obama was subject to significant racism as a Black woman but through appearances on talk shows and in the public eye she managed to soften public opinion.

In response to a student inquiry about what she is asked about most often at her appearances Hurwitz didn’t hesitate in answering. The question posed virtually every time is the speech Melania Trump inadvertently plagiarized in 2016 from one that Hurwitz had written for Michelle Obama.

She forgave the speechwriter, who Hurwitz said more than likely had cut and pasted the speech to reference for ideas and then in haste accidentally forgot to take it out, but not so much the campaign. “They knew they screwed up but spent three days lying and denying it,” she said.

After listening to Hurwitz’s talk, Noble Avellino said although he is not Jewish he attended at the invitation of friends and “loved her connection of Jewish values to her politics. I think it was beautiful.”

Debra Rubin has had a long career in journalism writing for secular weekly and daily newspapers and Jewish publications. She most recently served as Middlesex/Monmouth bureau chief for the New Jersey Jewish News. She also worked with the media at several nonprofits, including serving as assistant public relations director of HIAS and assistant director of media relations at Yeshiva University.