The Anti-Defamation League's Cleveland chapter is hosting a panel discussion June 4 with leaders of local campus Jewish organizations to hear how they have navigated pro-Palestinian protests, and how to reduce tensions long-term.
The panel discussion, called "A Conversation about Antisemitism on Campus," is meant to provide a path forward for Jewish students, faculty, staff and their allies before heading back to school in the fall, said Kelly Fishman, ADL's regional director.
This comes as ADL reported a 321% increase in antisemitic activity on campuses since 2022, including 644 Israel-related acts of antisemitism since Hamas attacked the country last Oct. 7, she said.
The intent is "to help people feel empowered," Fishman said. "There's a lot of information out there, but I don't think people always feel like they have action steps that they can follow, and that's one of our goals, to just lay out the groundwork of what we're seeing, but also things people can do in real time to help really combat this rise of antisemitism."
The panel will include leaders at local chapters of Hillel, an organization supporting Jewish life on campus. There will be representatives from Kent State University, Cleveland Hillel, which represents Cleveland State University, John Carroll University and The Ohio State University, Fishman said.
The panel is about looking back and planning for the future, said Rachel Felber, Kent State Hillel's executive director.
"The goal of the evening is to give a high-level overview of what it's been like on campus over the last year — what that experience has been like for students, how parents, alumni and community members can be supporters, what's the best way for them to engage, and really talking about how we're planning for the fall," Felber said.
Responding to antisemitism involves Jewish students, faculty and staff better understanding its roots and the sources of stereotypes about Jews, Fishman added.
"I think it's really important to empower campus leaders and our community members with that knowledge, so that I think they feel more equipped to have conversations and to be a little more proactive with students or colleagues on campuses," she said.
Michael Pollak, Kent State Hillel's assistant director, said the group has successfully engaged with students and others on campus through a series of workshops over the past two years. Kent State Hillel has held these workshops with more than 1,000 people during that time, including students, faculty, staff, the university's police department and community organizations in Youngstown, he said.
These interactive presentations include answering questions about Jews and Judaism, as well as addressing any preconceptions.
"One of the biggest things that students on campus faced are assumptions and assuming what someone's values are, what they're thinking without actually talking to them," Pollak explained. "Let's get to know each other as people. We're not only our identity. We are many identities."
These discussions also include explaining what antisemitism is and that Jewish people are not all the same, he said.
"Students really want to understand antisemitism," Pollak said. "They also don't know the extent of it... Jewish people don't fit into one bucket. You know, there's different denominations, there's different cultural practices, there's different religious practices. I found that the majority of students don't even know that. They think we all are the exact same, so just kind of showcasing the differences in Judaism and also presenting Judaism in a better light than what they might know already from just an Instagram Story."
The goal is for workshop attendees to come away understanding two key points, Pollak added.
"It's important to stand up against hate in all its kind, and for people to not think so that by standing up for a different race nation or culture means you need to hate another race, nation or culture," he explained. "I repeat that throughout the presentation and that's probably the biggest thing I want people to walk away with — is to understand that when you support someone, it doesn't mean you inherently are against another group."
Felber said this work has made a difference, including during protests on Kent State's campus at this year's commemoration of the May 4, 1970, shootings.
"There was no disruption, there was no questioning," she said. "There was no indication that there was any reason that anybody was going to be in protest of that ceremony. The next day, the commemoration program went as planned and there were certainly a large amount of pro-Palestinian anti-Israel protesters who were there during the commemoration. They simply stood in the background and held signs."
The lessons learned from local Hillels is just part of a broader discussion about including Judaism as part of diversity, equity and inclusion on campus, Fishman said.
"We will talk with campus leaders," she said. "Much of my work is helping them understand the full spectrum of diversity, equity and inclusion, and how we include religion in those conversations, which are often things that get left out, and how we can tie that to the work that they're doing. I think campuses really do want to do what's best for students, but this feels like a new and a different conversation for them."
