Campus Watch

BY SHIRYN GHERMEZIAN

(JNS) A number of Jewish groups have significant concerns about how Israel’s conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip this spring will correlate into anti-Jewish sentiment on North American college campuses as the fall semester begins.

Most colleges are resuming in-person and on-campus classes after nearly three semesters of virtual learning as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic. Even with the rapidly spreading Delta variant, universities are getting ready to start in full force, at least for now. While proIsrael and Jewish students are looking forward to some sense of pre-pandemic normalcy at their schools, being back on campus means they also risk facing proPalestinian activists and renewed efforts at demonstrations against the Jewish state.

It also comes in the backdrop of the July 19 announcement by the Ben & Jerry’s icecream company not to sell their products in what they deem the “Occupied Palestinian territory”—namely, the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. The Aug. 1 anti-Israel “intifada” rally in Brooklyn, N.Y., also has lingering effects.

Still, Jewish groups point to the criticism faced because of the Israel Defense Forces’ “Operation Guardian of the Walls”—criticism that led to a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in the United States and around the world. It came even though Hamas induced the conflict with rocket fire towards Israel; in the course of 11 days, the terrorist organization that runs Gaza launched more than 4,000 rockets at Israeli population centers, though many fell short of their target and landed locally, causing Palestinian fatalities and injuries.

“To us, that was a turning point: It was a bad situation before, but it got worse starting in May,” Matthew Berger, Hillel International’s vice president for strategic action programs and communications, tells JNS. He noted that Hillel International, which recently launched a partnership with the Anti-Defamation League to combat anti-Semitism on campus, noticed an “unprecedented” amount of anti-Semitic activity in May and June immediately following the conflict. Students were attacked in the streets and on social media, targeted and isolated simply for being Jewish.

He also noted that many college student groups took anti-Israel actions in May when many other campuses had already emptied out for the summer, “so we’re concerned that students may try to catch up and take anti-Israel positions or commit anti-Israel activities because they didn’t have the opportunity to do last spring.”

Hillel is additionally concerned about a rise in pro-BDS resolutions that are almost certain to be raised and voted on by student unions and governments. “The phenomenon that we saw during the conflict in spring was student government leaders writing unilateral, biased statements against Israel without going through the resolution process and without giving Jewish and proIsrael students an opportunity to engage or express their values. We’re certainly concerned that activity will rise in the fall as well.”

‘EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO SPREAD HATE AND MISINFORMATION’

Carly Schlafer, director of communications at the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC), told JNS that during the 2020-21 academic year, 37 anti-Israel resolutions were introduced in student government—17 of

BY ETHEL G. HOFMANN

(JNS) I know, I know; it’s summer! Must we think of all the cooking now? With the sun beating down, camp finishing up and vacations still in the works, and long evenings to sit outside and drink something cool, it doesn’t seem like fall schedules are around the corner.

Who’s ready for packing book bags and lunches? Well, some of us, of course—the ones who were home last year as children grappled with Zoom classes and being indoors too much of the time. In many parts of the country, this year looks much more promising as schools are open and services are slated to go, with the benefit of the warm weather making outside gatherings possible and comfortable. Maybe a bit warm, but better that than bundling up for Rosh Hashanah.

This year, the holiday starts the evening of Sept. 6—on Labor Day itself in the United States—and lasts through the evening of Sept. 8.

With the tastes of summer lingering on our palates, make the menu fresh, local and lighter than the traditional brisket and kugels. For inspiration, I pulled out works that long ago were my culinary bibles: The Settlement Cookbook and anything by Betty Crocker. I flipped through old cookbooks by my foodie colleagues, Claudia Roden in the United Kingdom and Phyllis Glazer in Israel. I pulled out half a dozen of my own books (recipes tested and true) and reread, with awe, my food columns going back to when I was Philadelphia’s “Instant Gourmet.”

Back in the kitchen, I adapted old favorites—lively flavors reminiscent of overseas travels along with the variety of fresh fruits and veggies still abundant in an Indian summer. At a taste-testing supper, each dish received resounding accolades. With Ben’s Mint Refresher (the fizzy drink is cooling and palate-clearing), Chicken Masala

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