Educating, Motivating, and Activating Our Youth:Creating Jewish Identity to Combat Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism
© 2003 by CAJE. This article originally appeared in the Winter 2003 issue of Jewish Education News, published by the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE). Additional articles from this and other issues of JEN can be found on the CAJE Web site.
by Marjorie B. Green
Posted: February 24, 2003
The most effective way to confront anti-Semitism, and other forms of bigotry, often is through the building of diverse coalitions. The ADL's "Train the Trainer" program provides a collaborative model to help Jewish educators face the challenge of empowering Jewish students before they enter the politicized campus environment.
This article offers a collaborative model for educators who seek strategies to prepare Jewish students to identify instances of anti-Semitism they may encounter on campus and to acquire effective responses.
On college campuses across the country, the Middle East conflict has led to protests w haven occasion passed from legitimate criticism of Israeli policies into ugly rhetoric that is distinctly anti-Semitic The point of demarcation can often be recognized either by the oratory, i.e., when campus rallies use posters displaying stereotypes of Jews and youths of Jewish ritual murders or are so one-sided that they call for international sanctions and divestiture from Israel without calling for divestiture from any other country in the Middle East, regardless of that country's lack of respect for democracy or for women's rights or for minority religious practice.
The organized Jewish community has been passionate in its support of freedom of speech and cautious of labeling all criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic. Criticizing the government of Israel is no more anti-Semitic than criticism of the Bush administration would be anti- American. Not all of Israel's policies are correct or just or in the nation's best interests, but singling out Israel for reproach for failing to resolve the impasse in the Middle East, while ignoring the -responsibilities of the other parties, crosses the line and questions the very existence of a Jewish state.
Growing anti-Semitism at Harvard and other universities prompted Lawrence H. Summers, president of Harvard University, to urge his audience to recognize that the cam pus environment has recently changed to a place where " and thoughtful people are advocating and taking actions that are anti-Semitic in their effect if not in their intent."
Indeed, the number of anti-Jewish incidents on college campuses has increased for the last two years, reversing a five-year general trend of decline. Thus, it is not so surprising that most Jewish students, according to the Luntz Research survey of students on California campuses, believe anti-Semitism is on the rise on college campuses and that "virtually every one has personally seen an example of anti-Semitism on their own campus." Referring to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the same survey reveals that many non-Jewish college students see the entire Palestinian people as victims in the Middle East conflict and do not empathize with the terror and victimization of Israelis.
The Challenge
The fear of being singled out as different and the risk of being viewed as an "outsider" are two often-expressed reasons why many Jews remain silent in the face of anti-Semitism. Recent research indicates that people are most willing to respond to bigotry directed at their group when they have a strong sense of identity with that group; Even if they wish to respond, many Jewish young people do. not know how to respond. This lack of knowledge may, by itself, be sufficient to explain why children and adults fail to challenge any anti- Semitism they may encounter or even to share their experiences with others. When combined with the insecurity and isolation that lack of Jewish identity can produce, it is little wonder that the majority of anti-Semitic experiences in the United States go unreported -- to any one.
To compound the difficulty in creating a remedy, we are faced with a student population that has not had uniform experiences. Depending upon where and how they were raised, they may or may not have lived the "outsider" experience and encountered anti-Semitic slurs or conduct. On the other hand, second-class citizenship is not a familiar experience for these students who watched without surprise as Joe Lieberman was nominated for vice president of the United States and who see the same Ivy League colleges that imposed quotas on their grandparents now presided over by Jews.
As Jewish educators, our tasks are immediate and formidable. We must prepare Jewish
high school students to:
- Identify appropriately what they may encounter.
- Know that it is not their fault, nor is such behavior right or acceptable.
- Feel prepared to respond effectively if they do encounter anti- Semitism.
What we have all learned is that silence is not a viable response either for them, because it leaves them feeling powerless, or for their attackers who interpret silence as permission to escalate their behavior. In addition, we must prepare these students without generating a "we-they" mentality, because we do not want to foster paranoia or even escalate the normal apprehension of the student making that major transition to college. And, given the sparseness of our numbers (only confirmed in the latest population studies of the Jewish demographics in the United States), we want to help them to recognize that the achievement of their goals is often dependent upon seeking common ends with diverse groups, i.e., coalition building. Engaging in such coalition building can also serve to make Jewish students feel less alone and targeted; more aware that prejudice, hatred and bigotry affects many others; and committed to combating bigotry wherever it occurs.
A Program to Meet The Need
ADL's experience in providing educators with the skills to under stand and help others recognize and combat bias via a Train the Trainer (TtT) program may provide the best collaborative model to help Jewish educators face the new challenges of empowering Jewish students before they enter the politicized campus environment.
The goals of such a program would be to ensure that Jewish educators and communal service professionals have the opportunity to obtain, to understand, and to practice delivering effective activities to use at synagogues and youth groups to help their students:
- Develop comfort in their own Jewish identity.
- Explore personal reactions to anti-Semitic incidents.
- Analyze incidents and develop a repertoire of effective responses.
- Acquire sufficient knowledge to respond to anti-Semitic rhetoric.
- Recognize the value of forming personal and issue-oriented coalitions with diverse groups.
The TtT would demonstrate sample agendas that have proven effective in promoting student self-identity; in developing students' critical thinking skills to enable them to distinguish between legitimate criticism of Israel and blatant anti-Semitism; in providing students the opportunity to practice the essential skills to confront anti- Semitism when they do encounter it; and, finally, in helping them to play a role in transforming a campus environment into a better place.
Students will be able to engage in joint problem-solving based on real-life scenarios that engage them in thought-provoking discussions. They need the opportunity to analyze a situation, make sure they all agree on the facts, discuss their reactions, and brain storm possible solutions, including specific action steps. For Jewish Education News example, such a scenario might describe the following situation:
Standing Alone
Josh is a Jewish student at a small, liberal arts college campus. He encounters a professor in one of his Middle East courses who has a very strong opinion regarding the Israeli Occupation of the West Bank. Josh has his own opinion about the situation and finds that he is the only person outwardly disagreeing with the professor. Josh's term paper, worth 30% of his grade, is due next week. Josh is afraid to represent his opposing ideologies in his paper and possibly risk his grade.
Discussion Questions:
a) What should Josh do?
b) What are the possible consequences of his actions?
c) How should he deal with these consequences?
d) What institutional safeguards exist in the environment that can help him?
A critical component for the TtT is to ensure that participants have information to provide students about how they should take action, when, and to whom they should turn for help, i.e., college administrators, counselors, law enforcement agents, and. organizations such as Hillel or the ADL.
The TtT training conducted by AD L's educational staff is an optimum way of institutionalizing needed skills for staff serving Jewish youth. However, where such training is not viable, a significant amount of classroom-ready material for empowering students in the face of anti-Semitism can be taken from the ADL website (www.adl.org) to provide an experience that both encourages empathy and provides strategies for taking positive action. It is helpful to remind students that the people they want to convince on this ideal campus are not the campus activists espousing anti- Semitism, who may never be open to new ideas. Rather, they need to focus on campus opinion leaders, campus affinity groups, and the general campus population who are still very much open to persuasion.
The Pyramid of Alliance: An Activity for Senior High Students Adapted from A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute, Anti-Bias Study Guide (Secondary Level), New York: Anti-Defamation League, 2000
Rationale:
The purpose of this activity is for students to examine some of the ways that people take action against bigotry. The activity also gives students an opportunity to consider some of the ways a person can be an ally and to assess how building alliances strengthens a community.
Directions:
1. Explain to students that in this activity they will explore some of the ways that individuals and communities fight bigotry.
2. Have students brainstorm the kinds of things people have done or can do to fight hate in their communities. List their suggestions on a piece of chart paper. Discuss how these measures can be effective both in curtailing hate activity and in helping victims of hate.
3. Explain that many individuals do play an active role in combating hate. When the Anti-Defamation League and the National Urban League joined together and asked people to make donations to help rebuild the African-American 'churches that were burned in 1995 and 1996, hundreds of individuals wrote letters and sent personal contributions.
4. Explain that expressing sympathy and sending donations are two ways that people can be an ally to others, but there are other actions that can be taken as well.
5. Show the Pyramid of Alliance to students. Briefly review the handout and then divide students into small groups of four to five students. Give each-group chart paper and markers and instruct them to select a recorder and a reporter.
6. Instruct groups to draw a pyramid similar to the one shown here and then identify actions that represent the different levels of alliance. For example, low level of alliance might be interrupting a joke about a particular group of people; moderate level of alliance might be attending a rally or March supporting a group; high level of alliance might be helping to rebuild a mosque or a church or clean a synagogue that has been desecrated. Allow 15 to 20 minutes for groups to build their pyramids.
7. Have each group share its Pyramid of Alliance with the class. Students should notice that what some people see as a low level of alliance may seem like a high level of alliance to others. Sometimes an act of alliance may require a greater degree of risk because of the circumstances (e.g., if a student interrupts a joke with a classmate, the risk may not be great, but, if a student interrupts a joke told by a teacher or parent, the risk may be greater).
8. After all groups have presented and the pyramids are displayed around the room, lead a group discussion using the following questions:
- Have you ever been an ally? For whom? What motivated you to act?
- For which groups have you not been an ally? Why not.?
- Have you ever attempted to be an ally to someone,, but your efforts were rejected? How did you feel?
- What are some possible reasons why someone would reject an ally? What else can you do in that situation?
- Who, if anyone, has been your ally? What level of the Pyramid of Alliance did the individual or group's behavior represent?
- How does building alliances strengthen a community?
9. As a homework assignment, have students listen to the local news or read the local paper and identify situations where it would be beneficial for members of the community to act as allies 'to a particular individual or group. Students should identify what level of alliance would be appropriate to the situation as well as some possible actions that could be taken. Have students also share how these actions could ultimately strengthen the community. [
Students can also discuss situations in their school community where alliances would be beneficial.
10. Have students meet in small groups to share the homework assignment.
Recognizing that silence is not a viable response as it leads to feelings of powerlessness, the task that lies ahead of us as Jewish educators is how to prepare our students to respond effectively should they encounter anti-Semitism. As the article has highlighted, the most effective way to confront anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry is often through the building of diverse coalitions. The Pyramid of Alliance activity, one of many ADL anti-bias activities, encourages students to examine possible ways to become change agents on their campuses by building coalitions that achieve mutual goals among diverse groups while respecting multiple perspectives. This experience also provides them with the opportunity to serve as an ally to others and to recruit others to help them in ways that demonstrate how building alliances can strengthen themselves and their community. 1
Endnotes:
1. Karen W. Arenson, "Harvard President Sees Rise in Anti-
Semitism on Campus," New York Times, September 9, 2002, p.13.
2. "Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents," Anti-Defamation League,
Campus Incidents, pp.12-13, 2001.
3. "Project Communicate: Talking to College Students," The Luntz
Research Companies, Overview, p.1. 2002.
4. A 63-page resource, Advocating for Israel: An Activist's Guide, is
now available online at the ADL's website. To order 25 copies or
more, there is a $2.00 per copy shipping and handling charge.
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