When I began my first semester at Columbia University, I expected to spend time making new friends, partying on weekends, and studying the “Great Works” in between. I could not have predicted that there would be a moment when I would run out of class with tears in my eyes as students outside my classroom window chanted “Globalize the Intifada!” I could not have imagined that I would be forced to shelter in the campus Hillel building, the Kraft Center, while loud protesters marched past 115th Street. But when people ask me, “Is it as bad as the media portrays it?” I cannot give a straight answer.
In some ways, the hostile environment on campus is portrayed exactly as it is. Hundreds of angry students gathered on the lawn to call for the destruction of the State of Israel, chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” On the other hand, I was standing arm-in-arm with fellow students ardently supporting the State of Israel and singing the Israeli national anthem that reflects the 2000-year longing of the Jewish people to return to their homeland. Campus tempted us with darkness, but we chose light.
important organizations did not meet expectations
I was, and continue to be, horrified by the silence of international women’s organizations, including UN Women, which did not speak out against the vicious gang rapes perpetrated by Hamas against Jewish women on October 7. Only after seven weeks, and much public pressure, did UN Women finally issue a statement “condemning the brutal attacks by Hamas” and state that it was “alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks.”
Nonetheless, my overwhelming disappointment motivates me every Wednesday evening, when I log onto the Purple Fellowship of Shalom Task Force, an organization dedicated to combating and preventing domestic violence, to educate Jewish high school students about domestic abuse and the importance of being successful advocates in their communities. Shalom Task Force “condemn[ed] the use of sexual assault as a weapon of war against all women, unconditionally.” When the world remained silent, we mustered up our voices and spoke for ourselves.
On December 5, the presidents of three top universities were unable to state unequivocally that calling for the genocide of Jews violates their schools’ codes of conduct. But on Thursday of that week and each day of Hanukkah, students gathered in the lobbies of their dorms at Columbia University to light candles to celebrate the reinstitution of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel during the reign of the Greek Hellenistic King Antiochus. We openly and publicly displayed our Jewish pride.
Focusing on the evil and the hate limits the Jewish experience, and ignores the empowering and unifying moments that have taken place since October 7. We worry about antisemitism, but we have to talk about Jews. Jewish voices, particularly those of Jewish college students, are being amplified as they publish articles in Rolling Stone and are invited to speak on 60 Minutes. These instances of magnifying Jewish voices not only serve to raise awareness of the difficulties Jews are encountering, but also empower the community as a whole.
Some trends for good
I have also witnessed a positive transformation in the Jewish community at Columbia. Students who never would have spent time at the Hillel have begun to do so. Students have found solace in attending weekly Shabbat dinners. Students who felt disconnected from certain aspects of religious observance have started proudly wearing their yarmulkes around campus. Students make sure their Star of David necklaces can be seen. Adversity has unified us. Rather than shrinking and hiding, the Jewish community has become more visible.
Yes, it is really as bad as the media portrays it, but that is only part of the story.
The writer is a first-year student at Columbia University and an active member of Israel advocacy clubs on campus.