I write only for myself and not on behalf of my congregation. As a Jewish leader in Belmont, I can personally attest that the ugliness of antisemitism has too often become entangled with the protests about the war in Gaza taking place on college campuses. Some of our congregation’s students report experiencing personal intimidation, harassment, and anti-Jewish invectives simply because they are wearing a star of David, have a Jewish surname, or are seen walking into Jewish religious services on campus. Clearly, many of our universities are struggling and sometimes failing to find the proper balance between protecting the legitimate, First Amendment rights of some students and protecting the safety of other students who may be targeted for holding different opinions, or simply on the basis of their religious and ethnic identities as Jews. There’s no question that this is a very complicated balance to achieve, but many of our college leaders need to do a better job.
That said, as a Jewish leader, it also seems important to go on record about the government’s recent interventions with colleges and universities, and its treatment of foreign students, ostensibly in the name of combating antisemitism. Whatever one believes about the administration’s motives, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the suspension of due process of law, the severe limitation or denial of legitimate First Amendment and other legal rights, and the attempt to micromanage our universities will not help Jewish students on college campuses, will not decrease antisemitism, and will not make American Jews any safer. In fact, my own study of Jewish history suggests that whenever a government starts denying people their legitimate rights and acting in a brazenly authoritarian manner, it never ends well for any minority group including the Jews.
Rabbi Jonathan Kraus, Trapelo Road