Hundreds of Jewish high school students gathered in Stamford, Connecticut, for the Jewish Student Union Presidents Conference as the country headed into Election Day, according to an op-ed published by a former University of California, Santa Barbara student body president whose experience confronting antisemitism on campus was featured in the documentary “October 8.”
The author, a Jewish Student Union alumna, writes that the students she met were already organizing Jewish life in their schools before any ballots were counted, and that their leadership was never contingent on who won the election.
“They were already building Jewish communities in their schools. Already taking responsibility for something larger than themselves. Already choosing to show up,” the author wrote, describing the gathering as proof that young Jewish leadership does not wait for institutions or election outcomes to catch up.
The piece argues that discussions about young Jews too often focus only on what is done to them — harassment, lost friendships, pressure to distance themselves from Israel — while overlooking what students are actively building. The author says a strong Jewish identity and a supportive community give students something to lean on when their belonging is challenged, and that those resources need to be paired with room for ordinary joy, not just crisis response.
As an example, the op-ed points to a recent Omer Adam concert at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, which drew thousands of people around Hebrew music and a shared connection to Israel. Wounded Israeli veterans attended the event, and the author credited Warriors of Israel, a group that supports Israel’s wounded service members, with helping create that space.
The author stops short of letting institutions off the hook. University administrators and elected officials, the piece says, remain responsible for enforcing rules against threats and harassment and for confronting antisemitism within their own political circles, and students retain the right to demand that accountability.
But the central message directed at young Jews nationwide is about initiative rather than grievance: run for student government, start a missing club, invite a hesitant classmate, and learn enough history to speak with confidence while listening carefully to others. “You do not need a title to begin,” the author writes. “You need a willingness to act and the humility to keep learning.”
The op-ed closes with a direct appeal to the students she met in Stamford and to young Jews across the country: “Become the leaders you want to see in the world, regardless of who holds political office.”
Add comment