Jewish high school students fight hate with community support, face dwindling prospects for university future
The anti-Semitic hatred is growing across the country in the 14 months since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel has not only affected college students, but is also taking its toll on children from kindergarten through high school.
Department of Education Office for Civil Rights is responsible for handling complaints of discrimination based on common ancestry, including allegations of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, in schools receiving federal funding. A Department of Education spokesperson told Fox News Digital that OCR “opened 159 cases of common origin including K-12 schools, colleges and universities to investigate” on October 7, 2023. In the previous four years, OCR opened a total of 28 common origin cases.
In the face of rising K-12 anti-Semitism, Jewish Student Union National Director Devora Simon told Fox News Digital that an additional 4,000 teenage students seeking “meaningful community and authentic connection” have sought out JSU clubs at their schools, leading to an increase from 125 JSU clubs across the country during the 2023-2024 school year.
Simon said this “unprecedented demand for Jewish engagement reflects [students’] deep desire to belong, find strength in each other and explore their identity.” She said JSU provided a “safe space and unwavering support as [students] manage these challenges and build a vibrant and supportive community.”
Anti-Israel protests erupted at UCLA on Monday, May 6, 2024, with police arresting multiple people who gathered in the campus parking garage. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of attack, Fox News Digital spoke with three Jewish teenagers involved in the group about how anti-Semitism affected their high school experiences. Teenagers also noted how anti-Semitism at universities changed their college priorities.
A current high school student, Sarah was the president of her school’s Jewish Student Union (JSU) when the Hamas terrorist attack occurred on October 7, 2023. She witnessed the student body shrink from 15 to just six members due to the hatred that the participants faced at her high school. When Sarah and other Jewish students went to the school administration with their problems, Sarah said they were “mostly told [us] we played the victim.”
After Sarah and her friends took their concerns to local politicians, they began to find support. Today, Sarah’s JSU has nearly 30 members and a strong group of teachers who help Jewish students celebrate their faith and deal with troubling incidents. We built a whole family out of the horrible things that happened to us, Sarah said.
News of collegial anti-Semitism, however, worries Sara. She expected that excellent grades would help her get into an Ivy League school. It’s almost indescribable, Sarah said. “All my life I’ve been thinking ‘maybe Columbia, maybe Harvard’.” Now, she said, “I’m not even applying to the Ivies.”
Student protesters march around their campus on the Columbia University campus, April 29, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
“I can’t even put into words how real what I’m seeing is,” Sarah explained. “You’d never think you’d be facing what your grandparents warned you about now.”
Mother of two, Yael Levin, says her sons faced “absolutely zero” hate in high school. She says it is “very disturbing” to know that her sons will leave that “very protected place” and become adults “in a world that is very hostile to Jews”.
Levin’s academic considerations took second place to finding campuses that have thriving Chabad and Hillel, organizations that provide support for Jewish students.
Anti-Israel protesters gather outside the gates of Columbia University in New York on April 30, 2024. (Reuters/David Dee Delgado)
Unfortunately, Levin says most of the schools in the state of Virginia that Levin once hoped her sons would attend college no longer exist. “UVA has become a Hamas camp,” claims Levin. She also said that Virginia TechGeorge Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University are “not an option,” given the anti-Israel events that have taken place on their campuses.
“I shouldn’t have to worry about my child’s safety because he’s Jewish,” Levin said.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s press secretary, Christian Martinez, responded to Levin’s concerns, telling Fox News Digital, “Virginia college campuses are safe for Jewish students.” Martinez said the governor has “consistently made it clear that anti-Semitism has no place in Virginia and that the safety of students on our college campuses is a top priority.
“Since his first day in office, Governor Youngkin has taken decisive steps to protect all Virginians from discrimination, hate crimes and anti-Semitism. This has included swiftly addressing pro-Palestinian protests that threatened the safety of students on campus, as well as implementing law enforcement training nationwide to better assess and respond to threats against Jewish communities.”
Anti-Israel protesters at the University of Virginia hold a Palestinian flag on campus, May 4, 2024, in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Eze Amos/Getty Images)
Martinez added that Youngkin’s “efforts led to the investigation of members of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at George Mason University, further demonstrating the governor’s commitment to protecting not only Jewish students, but all Virginians.”
Rachel and Erica are second graders at a school where student activism is a popular form of expression. Both teenagers separately described similar environments of pro-Palestinian fervor that left them feeling ostracized, especially when older students with no cultural ties to Palestinians began wearing keffiyehs and accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
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Anti-Israel protesters stand outside Susan E. Wagner High School in Staten Island. (Ary Weiss/Staten Island Shomrim)
Teachers tried to respond to tensions at the school by promoting a two-week study on the history of the conflict. Rachel reported that the course “didn’t give any good context”.
Both Erica and Rachel told Fox News Digital how they experienced intolerance from students. Rachel says she lost friends because of her connection to Israel, and even had to report an activist professor who pushed anti-Israel sentiments in class. She said it’s especially painful to recognize that while other students are allowed to be proud of their heritage, “I don’t feel comfortable talking about Israel or saying I’m from Israel.”
It wasn’t until Erica gathered with other Jewish students to talk to a counselor about her experiences that she realized how deeply anti-Semitic hatred was affecting her fellow Jewish students. To respond to the hate, Erica reached out to JSU and helped start a club at her school. Now, she says the weekly events attended by both Jewish and non-Jewish students have fostered “a sense of community and a sense of acceptance.”
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Both Erica and Rachel are anxious about their college futures. Rachel said she worries about how colleges will respond to the pro-Israel activism she plans to highlight in her application. “I definitely aim for the Ivy League“, she said, but worries that she “won’t feel safe going” to the schools she hoped to attend.
Erica dreamed of going to college in Boston. “When I talk to my mom about it, it’s always, ‘We’ll see,'” she said. “It’s crazy to think about when you’re applying to college, you can’t just look at what the campus is like, what the classes are like, what majors you like. You also have to think” about anti-Semitism, Erica said.
