To Jewish College Students Who Are Scared

Key Findings:

In her open letter to Jewish students on college campuses, author Sarah Hurwitz (former speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama) sheds light on the severe forms of antisemitism on exhibition at college campuses nationwide, following the October 7th massacre. She contextualizes these expressions of anti-Jewish hatred within history. 

Hurwitz reassures Jewish students that the kind of speech and behavior they have been experiencing at the hands of their professors and peers is textbook antisemitism, and that the Jewish nation has been dealing with this kind of hatred for thousands of years. 

Hurwitz expresses her amazement and respect for the Jewish students on campus, commending them for their bravery in the face of hatred, and their ability to handle a hostile environment with intelligence, critical thinking, and respect for their classmates. She maintains that this generation of young Jewish college students is exhibiting the ability to preserve Jewish tenets as old as time – debate, questioning, listening, and critical thought. 

Hurwitz expresses relief in knowing what the young generation of Jewish people are made of, and sends them a hopeful message of support and gratitude to carry them through the trying circumstances they face on campus.