ADL Prepares College Students to Confront Anti-Semitism on Campus

  • July 17, 2014

Although some see anti-Semitism as a thing of the past, hatred and intolerance of Jews sadly remains a reality today. The ADL’s recent Global 100 survey revealed that one quarter of the world’s population, representing some 1.09 billion people, harbors negative attitudes toward Jews. Anti-Semitism has become a serious concern for college students as anti-Israel activity increases on campuses. Today, Jewish high school students must be prepared to respond to anti-Semitism when they head to college.

On Monday, July 14th, ADL Associate Regional Director of Education Randi Boyette led a workshop on Confronting Anti-Semitism for high school students in the JEVS Human Services Lasko College Prep Program. The “Words to Action” training gave sixteen rising high school seniors the opportunity to learn about ways to respond safely and effectively to anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias on campus.

During the workshop, students explored multimedia real-life examples of anti-Semitism on college campuses, including prejudiced comments, anti-Israel incidents, anti-Semitic vandalism, and anti-Semitic slurs in sports. They worked together in small groups to brainstorm constructive responses and potential consequences to those responses. In addition, Boyette taught students six simple strategies to respond verbally to anti-Semitic or anti-Israel comments, such as: recognizing that perpetrators may have good intentions while pointing out why their comments are harmful; asking questions such as “What do you mean by that?”; pointing out that a particular stereotype could apply to all people and not just Jews; and simply saying “ouch” or “wow.” Students worked in pairs to role play how they might use these strategies and practice saying the responses.

The workshop also gave students a chance to explore their own personal experiences with anti-Semitism. The workshop served as a safe and understanding place for students to share and reflect on the anti-Semitism they have faced in the past, and to imagine how they might respond in the future.

Although anti-Semitism is becoming more prevalent on college campuses, ADL’s “Words to Action” program can help students effectively respond to anti-Semitism. As one workshop participant remarked, “Learning about anti-Semitism and ways of handling it prepares me to for dealing with prejudice in a constructive way. The Confronting Anti-Semitism workshop gave me resources for redirecting ignorance and disempowering hatred.”