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Before They Can Defend It, They Must Know It
The Four Questions from The Haggadah. Łódź, 1935. Source: Irvin Ungar
Before Passover, I took my son to Borough Park to buy a new Haggadah, part of a small annual ritual and one more way into an ancient story. The streets were busy, storefronts full, families preparing. Judaism there is not abstract. It is lived, visibly and confidently, woven into the rhythms of everyday life.
A few days earlier, we had been at the Jewish Museum on the Upper East Side, where he carefully decorated a matzah cover for the holiday. It was thoughtful, creative, and quiet. Another expression of Jewish life, shaped more by culture and reflection than by density and immersion.
Two experiences. Two expressions of Judaism. Both real, and both necessary.
My son is still young, but he has reached the age when everything is noticed and everything is questioned. That is part of what makes Passover so powerful. The Seder is not designed for passive listening. It is built around questions, anticipated and encouraged. The tradition does not fear inquiry; it depends on it. And it places the responsibility squarely on parents to respond.
That responsibility feels especially urgent now, because what Jewish children are not given early, they are often forced to confront later, and not always in its full or faithful form.
At a time when Jewish identity is increasingly contested in public life and often distorted in classrooms, many Jewish students arrive at college, and even in K–12 settings, without a basic understanding of their own history, traditions, or texts. They may have absorbed fragments – holidays, foods, cultural references – but lack the knowledge that allows them to situate themselves within a larger story. They know how to gesture toward identity, but not how to explain it, defend it, or live it with confidence.
I see this firsthand. In my own classes, many Jewish students are articulate and well-intentioned. They are comfortable analyzing power, language, and identity. But when asked basic questions about Jewish history, Zionism, or the origins of the modern Middle East, there is often a striking absence of knowledge. Not hostility. Not even indifference. Something more fragile: a lack of foundation.
This is not a failure of intelligence or curiosity. It is a failure of formation.
In the months since October 7, this gap has become difficult to ignore. Campuses have filled with slogans that many students can repeat but few can explain. Jewish students, in particular, are often left without the knowledge or confidence to respond.
This reflects a broader shift in education. In many cases, students are taught to critique identity before they have been given the knowledge needed to understand it. They learn to deconstruct before they learn to inherit. They are trained to interrogate narratives without first being grounded in them. The result is not critical thinking, but a kind of intellectual weightlessness, an uncertainty about what is theirs to defend, or even to value.
By the time Jewish students arrive on campus, these gaps are no longer theoretical. They shape how students understand their own identity and how they respond when it is challenged.
On many campuses, discussions of Israel and Jewish identity are flattened into slogans, repeated with confidence but stripped of historical context and moral complexity. Students encounter phrases, not arguments. Certainty, not understanding. And without a strong sense of their own inheritance, many Jewish students are left vulnerable to distortion or silence.
What is striking is not only the presence of these narratives, but the absence of a meaningful institutional response. Universities that pride themselves on rigor and inquiry often retreat into procedural neutrality or vague calls for dialogue, while leaving Jewish students without the intellectual tools to navigate what they are hearing. Leadership hesitates. Standards blur. And in that space, confusion hardens into conviction.
Which is why the work of formation cannot be outsourced.
Passover offers a model, not just as a ritual, but as a theory of education. It assumes that knowledge must be transmitted before it can be meaningfully questioned, and that identity must be formed before it can be defended.
The Haggadah does not present a single type of learner. It presents four children, each asking in a different way, each requiring a different response. The message is simple but demanding. Transmission must meet the child where they are. The burden is on the adult to ensure that the story is told, understood, and carried forward.
This is a serious vision of education. It assumes that identity is not automatic. It must be cultivated, explained, and renewed across generations.
And it assumes something else as well. Belonging precedes critique. Understanding must come before judgment.
A child who understands the story of the Exodus, who sees himself as part of it, is in a position to ask meaningful questions about it. A child who does not know the story at all is left with abstraction. The same is true more broadly. Without grounding, critique becomes unmoored from understanding.
This requires time, attention, and a willingness to take questions seriously, even when they are difficult. It requires parents to know something themselves, to explain, to contextualize, and sometimes simply to say: this is who we are, and this is why it matters.
Antisemitism today is often less explicit than ambient. It appears in slogans, selective history, distortions of Israel, and just as often in what is omitted. Jewish students encounter it not only in hostility, but in confusion, in half-truths presented without context. The danger is not only that they will hear falsehoods. It is that they will lack the grounding to recognize them and the confidence to challenge them.
That is why what happens at home matters so much.
The Seder is not just a ritual meal. It is an exercise in memory, identity, and transmission. It is where Jewish children learn not only what happened, but why it matters, and why it is theirs. It is where questions are welcomed, where stories are told, and where belonging is made real.
It is also where pride begins.
Children who understand their history, who have heard the story of their people told with clarity and care, are not easily disoriented. They are not dependent on others to explain who they are. They carry something with them, something durable, something that does not shift with the mood of the moment.
They will not be defensive. They will be grounded. And from that grounding comes a quiet but enduring pride.
If we do not teach our children who they are, others will, and not with care, clarity, or love. Passover reminds us that Jewish identity is not inherited automatically. It is transmitted: at the table, in the home, through questions, stories, rituals, and example.
In an age of confusion and institutional hesitation, that work is not optional. It is essential and sacred work, and it begins at our own tables.
Samuel J. Abrams is a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
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Indiana University Discloses Institutional Ties to Hamas-Linked Group
Indiana University campus on Dec. 2, 2025. Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect
Indiana University disclosed the results of an internal investigation this week into a controversial partnership with the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, confirming reports that the organization maintains ties to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
In a letter dated April 3 to Indiana state lawmakers, university officials said the inquiry was launched after concerns were raised about the organization’s coordination with the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. The review focused on the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative’s connections with the nonprofit group United Mission Relief and Development as well as entities linked with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a militant group from northwest Syria.
Formerly an al-Qaeda affiliate, HTS was proscribed by the US government until last year, when it’s designation as a foreign terrorist group was revoked.
Indiana University’s Muslim Philanthropy Initiative (MPI) operates as part of the school’s philanthropy school. MPI focuses on research, education, and professional training related to Muslim philanthropic traditions, an area it describes as historically underexamined in academic and nonprofit sectors.
The initiative offers workshops on fundraising and philanthropic leadership, with an emphasis on Islamic and Muslim charitable practices. Since its founding, MPI says it has trained more than 3,500 nonprofit professionals across more than 30 countries, disseminating programming which includes webinars and an annual symposium dedicated to contemporary Muslim philanthropy and civil society. The initiative’s stated mission is to equip nonprofit leaders, organizations, and communities with research and practical tools to better understand and develop Muslim philanthropy.
According to the university’s findings, the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative worked in 2025 with United Mission for Relief and Development to organize training sessions in Istanbul and Indonesia. That organization recommended Hayat Yolu as a local partner. At the time, according to the university, staff relied on assurances that the group was legitimate and conducted its own limited vetting.
However, on March 12, the US Treasury Department designated Hayat Yolu, effectively barring Americans from engaging in transactions with the organization. The designation raised alarm about the university’s prior involvement, even though the trainings occurred months earlier. The department also issued a statement describing Hayat Yolu as one of three Turkish nonprofit organizations that “have provided significant material support to Hamas.”
According to the statement, overseas “sham charities” such as Hayat Yolu are a “key element” in how Hamas fundraises. The department added that the group provides banking and financial support for the Muslim Brotherhood, some of whose branches have been designated as terrorist groups.
Indiana University stressed that its Office of the General Counsel determined no state or federal laws were violated, noting that all activity predated the Treasury prohibiting American involvement with the group. The university also stated it immediately ceased any engagement once the designation was announced and suspended related programming.
Still, the findings highlight what critics may see as a troubling lapse in judgment at a time when US institutions face increasing scrutiny over indirect links to extremist networks. Pro-Israel advocates and national security analysts have long warned that charitable and educational partnerships can be exploited by actors connected to terrorism, particularly in regions where oversight is limited.
The university itself acknowledged shortcomings in its report. Investigators found that Indiana University relied too heavily on decentralized vetting processes and government lists, rather than conducting deeper, centralized due diligence on high-risk international partnerships.
In response, Indiana University outlined a series of reforms aimed at preventing similar situations. These include expanding the authority of its Research Security Office, implementing stricter review procedures for international partnerships, and requiring additional training for faculty and staff involved in global programs.
The university is also reviewing oversight of the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative specifically, including whether to integrate its activities more closely into other institutional structures to ensure tighter control.
Indiana state Rep. Andrew Ireland spearheaded the effort to probe MPI and expressed appreciation for the university taking steps to address the issue.
BIG UPDATE: After our letter demanding answers, Indiana University confirmed its Muslim Philanthropy Initiative partnered with and accepted travel benefits from a Hamas-linked “sham charity.”
Now IU is:
halting all training activities and new partnerships
— Andrew Ireland (@AndrewIrelandIN) April 6, 2026
The episode comes amid heightened sensitivity in the United States over any institutional ties to organizations operating in conflict zones or linked to extremist groups hostile to the US, Israel and their allies. While the university maintains it acted in good faith based on the information available at the time, the case underscores how quickly reputational and security risks can emerge.
Indiana University officials said they are committed to ensuring future partnerships “demonstrate transparency and integrity.”
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Zelenskyy Marks Passover With Jewish Leaders, Receives First Ukrainian-Language Torah
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds the first-ever Ukrainian-language Torah while meeting with rabbis and Jewish community leaders to celebrate Passover, honoring the resilience of Jewish communities amid the ongoing war. Photo: Screenshot
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with rabbis and other Jewish leaders from across the country to celebrate Passover, receiving the first-ever Ukrainian-language Torah and honoring the enduring strength of Jewish communities amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.
On Monday, Zelenskyy met with members of Ukraine’s Jewish community for the annual Passover celebration, the fifth held amid Russia’s ongoing invasion. He honored the holiday, which commemorates the Israelites’ liberation from Egypt, and praised the community’s courage and resilience in the face of war.
“Today, this is very important for Ukraine. Freedom is what we are fighting for as a nation, and we are grateful for your support — not only of your communities but of our people and our state. Your solidarity matters greatly,” Zelenskyy said.
On the occasion of Passover, I met with rabbis from Ukrainian cities and representatives of Jewish communities.
Passover is about the triumph of freedom. This is exactly what all of Ukraine is fighting for today. I thanked the Jewish community for standing united with us in this… pic.twitter.com/eyAzmcRR1g
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 6, 2026
Despite the immense challenges facing Ukraine, Meier Stambler, head of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU), emphasized that the country’s statehood and freedom remain intact and that the Jewish community will continue praying and working toward the nation’s ultimate victory.
“Freedom begins within each of us, and we are proud to live in Ukraine during this challenging time. It is an honor to be part of this country, having built our lives and families here, and we remain confident in a just peace and true victory,” Stambler said.
Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Asman also emphasized the nation’s resilience and hope, urging Ukrainians to stay united in the face of the ongoing war.
“The war will end, and there will be a victory for Ukraine. God bless us. All regimes must fall – and then the entire axis of evil will crumble,” Asman said.
On Passover, the FJCU, together with Chabad emissaries — religious representatives of the global Hasidic movement — provided matzah and holiday kits to over 50,000 Jewish households across Ukraine and organized dozens of large public Seders that drew large crowds.
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‘Antisemitism Is Repellent and Dangerous’: Catholic University of America Rejects Accusations of Anti-Jewish Bias
A general view of the Catholic University of America (CUA) campus in Washington, DC. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC denied that recent conflicts with its Students Supporting Israel (SSI) chapter were indicative of institutional antisemitism in a recent statement to The Algemeiner which proclaimed its support for Israel and staunch opposition to rising anti-Jewish hatred in academia and across the Western world.
As previously reported, SSI’s leader, Felipe Avila, publicly accused the university of withholding approval to host events on combating antisemitism and defending Israeli security unless it agreed to feature “opposing viewpoints,” a stipulation that he said would require platforming antisemites or declining to hold events at all.
The cause was picked up by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which sent the university a blistering demand letter accusing of it chilling free speech and violating its values.
Last week, the university told The Algemeiner that it was sensitive to the appearance created by the dispute and had never been antisemitic or anti-Israel. The school stressed that it would continue to provide robust support for Jewish student groups on campus while holding other events which raise awareness of antisemitism in a manner consistent with its tradition of civil dialogue.
“The Catholic University of America welcomes people of all faiths and stands firmly against antisemitism. We take seriously the safety and dignity of our Jewish students and every member of our community,” a chief communications official said. “Antisemitism is repellent and dangerous. We are committed to confronting it in ways consistent with our Catholic mission and belief in the dignity of every human person.”
The statement came weeks after Pope Leo XIV in January marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a statement reaffirming the Catholic Church’s “unwavering” opposition to antisemitism.
The university has held two major events on antisemitism this academic year, including a “Discussion on Campus Antisemitism” in March and “The Church and the Jewish Community in Our Age: A Conversation” in November, with the latter being attended by Catholic bishops, Jewish rabbis, and an official representing the American Jewish Committee (AJC). Its faculty have published commentaries on antisemitism and participated in litigating antisemitism lawsuits brought during encampments of the 2023-2024 academic year.
Meanwhile, the school’s president, Peter Kilpatrick, was one of the few higher education chief executives to condemn unequivocally Hamas’s “kidnapping and maiming of so many innocent people” during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel.
“Hamas is a terrorist organization and seeks the annihilation of the state of Israel,” Kilpatrick wrote in a letter to the campus community on Oct. 12, 2023. “Its abhorrent acts of terrorism against Israel merit the strongest condemnation. There is no justification for the acts of violence against innocent civilians that we witnessed this week. As the Holy Father [Pope Francis at the time] noted Wednesday, Israel had a right to self-defense.”
A source familiar with the situation on campus told The Algemeiner that the university’s principal concern with SSI events is their tendency to cause shouting matches and confrontations which require the intervention of campus security, adding that its student leader — who once told Inside Higher Ed, “We haven’t been shy about embracing controversy” — is a keen activist. The source also noted that a communication suggesting that SSI would be forced to platform an anti-Zionist was made in error and not reflective of university policy.
However, the university has seen some strong expressions of anti-Zionism. In October, the student government considered a resolution, sponsored by Senator Joseph Ortiz, to ban pro-Israel organizations from campus on the grounds that they support a country “actively pursuing inexcusable evil, such as genocide or terrorism.” The resolution was ultimately tabled.
“We have invited Students Supporting Israel to submit a restructured proposal, and to work within University processes to host a thoughtful conversation,” the university spokesperson said of the recent controversy. “As a private, religious institution, Catholic University is well within its rights to approve or deny any speaker request. We are confident we’ll reach a resolution quickly through good faith dialogue.”
The university’s statements come at a time when some Catholic organizations in the US and outspoken Catholic commentators, such as Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes, have been promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and using their faith as a reason to oppose Zionism.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.