While Dan Elbaum, The Jewish Agency for Israel's Head of North America and President and CEO of Jewish Agency International Development (JAID), is certainly dismayed by the at times violent protests on college campuses, he's still optimistic that there is much to be salvaged with today's youth. Elbaum sat down with Israel Hayom and spoke about why there are many students worth reaching out to who have compassion for Jews on campus and why the spirit of Jewish students remains high despite the struggles they're facing.
1. How do you explain these massive protests on campuses across the United States and how they turned into what we are seeing today?
What we are seeing is a perfect storm of three things. First, a simplistic and almost cartoonishly false portrayal by the media and on social media of Israel's legitimate steps to protect its population and free its hostages from an enemy, a terrorist organization, bent on their destruction. Second, a history of universities encouraging all conflicts, regardless of their nuances and individual characteristics, to be neatly pigeonholed as a struggle between oppressors and the oppressed. And third, a systematic disregard of the opinions and rights of Zionist students on the campus community.
When we look at the situation from that perspective, the question really becomes one of not why did this happen, but rather, why did it take this long to reach this point?
2. What is your assessment of how university leadership have handled these protests? What more could they do to enhance the safety of Jewish students?
I will answer in generalities as there have been several universities that have behaved in an exemplary manner. Yet, it has been shocking to see the complete lack of moral clarity and blatant insensitivity shown to Jewish and Zionist students when the request is as simple as merely asking the University to enforce their own rules and regulations. Please understand that I am not a person, nor is my organization an organization, that lightly makes these types of statements. Yet, it is difficult to imagine any university treating any other minority's safety, feelings, and emotional and physical wellbeing as cavalierly as so many Universities have treated their Jewish students. Sadly, this has been true since October 8 and remains true to this day.
This would be egregious under any circumstances yet is somehow even more hurtful for two reasons. First, many of those harassing Jewish students are not even students. And, secondly, there has never been any community in American history that has revered the university system more than American Jews. Our story is one of overcoming quotas and other hardships to become a part of this system and supporting it every possible way. I really do not know a better way to describe it than nothing less than shameful.
3. What are The Jewish Agency's campus emissaries, known as the Israel Fellows, doing on the ground right now as a resource for Jewish students? How have their activities and approaches changed since October 7?
If there has been a ray of hope on our college campuses, it has been our Israel Fellows and the Jewish students involved with Hillel and other pro-Israel organizations. At its simplest level, the fellows are there to answer hard questions, be a resource to Jewish and pro-Israel students, present a human face of Israel, and instill pride in our shared history, culture, and background.
Bear in mind that nearly every single one of our fellows has family and friends who are serving or have served in this war. Many have lost family and loved ones on October 7 or in the months afterward. Yet in the face of the largest challenge that their country has ever encountered, they have been there for American Jewish students every step of the way.
4. Hundreds of students have been arrested, suspended, put on probation, and, in rare cases, expelled from colleges in the US due to the protests. Do you think this is an appropriate form of punishment? When do protesters' actions cross the line from free speech to behavior that necessitates disciplinary action?
This is not a complicated question. Indeed, President Biden said it well the other day. You have every right to say and believe anything that you wish as long as you are not threatening others. You do not have the right to bar Jewish students from going to class; you do not have the right to break into university buildings, you don't have the right to damage things that do not belong to you and you do not have the right to call for genocide.
I do think that it is striking that universities have not seemed to care that much about free speech when the rhetoric was directed against other minorities. Many of the same institutions that were quick to expel students, correctly in my opinion, when the speech was directed against African American or LGBTQ students, suddenly find the issue somehow more complicated when Jews are the victims. In that situation, it is not only important that Jews ask why that is, but that we encourage our allies to do the same.
5. Have you had a chance to visit any US campuses since October 7 and see for yourself what's happening?
Yes and in every case, I must say that as shocked and saddened that I was by some of what I saw and heard, I left inspired by the Jewish students at Hillel, Chabad as well as our Israel Fellows. This is not what they signed up for, but this is what they are doing. For all of those older American Jews who are discouraged by what we see from the next generation, I would urge you to speak to some of these Jewish students. You will feel a lot better.
I also want to point out something relatively new that truly bears watching. It has been the voice of Israeli students on campus as well as Israeli Americans who grew up in America with one or two Israeli parents. They have been a crucial voice of leadership on many campuses and another inspiring part of Jewish life on campus.
6. What advice would you give to Jewish students navigating their final days of the academic year while these protests are occurring?
I would tell them three things:
1. Be proud of who you are and don't let anyone else define you. You have worked hard to get to where you are and do not allow others to derail you and all that you are doing.
2. Know that you are not alone and that there are resources at Hillel, Chabad, their local Jewish federations, and other good people who have your back.
3. You will always remember this time in your life and look back on it in a way that is different than maybe any other time after. Ask yourself how you want to remember what you did during this time and do your best to act accordingly.
Also, I think that it's important for students to remember that the overwhelming majority of their fellow students are not antisemites nor are many of them involved in this movement. There are a great deal of reachable people, and we must never forget that.
7. How do you think these protests will influence students' and parents' decisions when enrolling in colleges and universities for the next academic year? Do you think a significant number of prospective students may stay away from schools that have been hotspots for protests, including Ivy League or other elite institutions?
It is early to say, but I cannot count how many parents have identified the current atmosphere as an important factor in their child's college decision. College is a place where you should be exposed to other ideas, and we should not shy away from schools for allowing students to articulate views with which we disagree. But it is appropriate and proper for us to ask the question of how much that school prizes our children's safety and make sure that we are satisfied with the answer. Shamefully, many universities have failed that test and I do think that they have considerable work to do if they want to regain our community's trust.
