Connect with us

RSS

The Ethics of a ‘Good Jew’ on College Campuses Today

George Washington University blocked off most outdoor campus spaces on May 9, 2024 after clearing out an anti-Israel encampment from the Washington, DC campus the prior day. Photo: Jack Elbaum

How does one become a “Good Jew?” What is the ideal response in the face of hatred? Should one choose silence and appeasement to avoid conflict, or express unapologetic pride and deter one’s enemies? Should we remain in the confines of our Jewish communities, or spread our wings beyond them? These questions, reflecting contrasting philosophies in the Jewish ethical wills of Eleazar of Mayence (1357) and Judah ibn Tibbon (1160-1180), resemble the questions we ask ourselves today.

In the Middle Ages, Jews typically left statements of inheritance to their children; beyond such wills, Jewish ethical wills — known in Hebrew as Tzevaot — conveyed values and guidance for learning and living to their descendants. Penned widely across Ashkenazi and Sephardic worlds, from al-Andalusia and the Levant to Germany and France, ethical wills show us what Jewish priorities and principles of character were valued at the time, and what we can contemplate in the modern age.

Judah ibn Tibbon, a successful physician and scholar, lived under Islamic rule during the Middle Ages. Medieval Islamic society was relatively tolerant toward Jews under the Pact of Umar; yet, there were restrictions under protected status, or dhimmi status, which provided conditional protections and required additional tax payments known as the jizya. In al-Andalusia, Jews including Tibbon, Maimonides, Abraham ibn Ezra, and others, lived enriching lives as public Jewish figures.

In contrast, Christian Europe had no such pact with its Jews. Elazar of Mayence, writing from Germany, lived through the Black Death and experienced pervasive Blood Libels and other chimerical myths that inspired mobs to massacre Jews with no government retribution. From this analysis, it is understandable why Elazar would advise his sons and daughters to reside among Jews and keep a low profile by remaining silent and avoiding any confrontation. At the same time, it makes sense that Tibbon prescribed his son to excel in medicine, philosophy, and science, and to build a good name for himself as a deterrence method.

The insights from these two authors — and noting the very different environments in which they lived — can inspire how Jewish college students would contemplate an ethical will for their descendants (i.e., future generations of Jewish students). I hope that, just as Jewish scripture and helping others were critical for both authors, knowledgeability about Judaism and Israel, and playing a role in the campus community, manifest as priorities for every Jewish student.

In the aftermath of October 7th, Elazar’s prescription of silence and appeasement is one that I believe would imperil the Jewish future. I was incredulous when some of my fellow Jewish peers expressed that we should hide in the Hillel building during the pro-Hamas encampment on my campus, instead of urging the administration to dismantle it immediately.

A similar feeling overcame me when my classmates began to isolate their friend groups exclusively to the Jewish community, and most of all, when they callously cut off friends who disagreed with them, most notably after this past election.

For generations, there has been discourse around the “Good” versus “Bad” Jew: one who exuded power or powerlessness, assimilated or remained visibly Jewish, tried to resolve conflicts through compromise or direct confrontation, or one who supports Israel and one who does not.

Throughout my university experience, I’ve approached the question of being a “Good Jew” in multiple ways, reflecting myriad ideas posited by Elazar and Tibbon.

In my sophomore year, I considered giving up the fight against antisemitism on campus and keeping quiet due to fears for my safety. After conversations with professors and family friends, and because silence felt wrong, I continued writing articles, speaking at a variety of events, getting involved in student government, and meeting with the George Washington University administration; yet, my initial advocacy approach attempted to appease university officials by providing them with constructive solutions, in my efforts to work with them in good faith.

Students like myself have sought to educate rather than expose administrators for their ignorance and negligible indifference. However, after my efforts proved fruitless — and pro-Hamas rallies continued sweeping the nation unabated, with administrators allowing and thus enabling them — this approach was bound to escalate anti-Jewish behavior rather than deter it.

The Jewish people today live in very different circumstances than Elazar, and even Tibbon. While we may not be fully protected by institutions, America stands with us, and Israel ensures our safety like never before. We have the right to defend ourselves, and in this eight-front war against Israel, Jewish courage has risen to the challenge. This courage is vital not only for Israel’s future, but for higher education and Western civilization. Our strength and victories inspire millions, proving that more stand on the right side of history than we may realize.

While it may seem that the Jewish community has never been in this much danger since the Holocaust — and many of the signs that we saw in Nazi Germany with the indoctrination and harassment of Jewish students by their professors and classmates seem eerily familiar — we should engage with the outside world in the ways that Tibbon prescribed.

In following the teaching of Pirkei Avot, “he who is wise learns from everyone,” we should all engage in social groups and academic circles where we may be the only Jew or only Zionist voice. Here, we have an opportunity to share the true stories of the Jewish people — along with personal, family stories that our peers can connect to. We should equally listen to the stories of others who may present opposing narratives and viewpoints — and be okay with that. While fabricated, propaganda-filled curricula should never be held as fact, the power of viewpoint diversity should never be compromised.

The “Good Jew” is the one who, like the shamash, serves the community by lighting all its neighbors with glimmers of wisdom and can be surrounded by those who hold different perspectives.

Simultaneously, the “Good Jew” should be able to read a variety of sources no matter how contrary to their beliefs. As the lesson of Hanukkah prescribes, the “Good Jew” is the one who does not assimilate or isolate himself to one source of knowledge or one community. The ideal response to hatred is continuing to shed light on truth by maintaining an unwavering Jewish spirit — asking challenging questions and spreading written and oral knowledge. Dissent, discourse, and debate are critical to prevent the permeation of fabrications about the Jewish people in the civilized, educated world and the West — a world in which we have the freedom to channel our merits and spread our wisdom.

A miracle is often seen as a divine, unexplainable event. But in Jewish tradition, miracles require human effort. The Hanukkah story exemplifies this: Judah the Maccabee fought against assimilation and prevailing norms among his fellow Jews, setting the precedent for modern Jews to never surrender their identity and power. Similarly, Elazar urged his descendants to stay rooted in Judaism, while Tibbon engaged with diverse philosophies and cultures without compromising his faith.

Exposure to other ideas should strengthen, not weaken, our beliefs. The combination of these elements should resemble the portrait of the “Good Jew,” which we have the duty to embody and channel for generations to come.

The author is a senior at George Washington University.

The post The Ethics of a ‘Good Jew’ on College Campuses Today first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

North London Synagogue, Nursery Targeted in Eighth Local Antisemitic Incident in Just Over a Week

Demonstrators against antisemitism in London on Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: Campaign Against Antisemitism

A synagogue and its nursery school in the Golders Green area of north London were targeted in an antisemitic attack on Thursday morning — the eighth such incident locally in just over a week amid a shocking surge of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the area.

The synagogue and Jewish nursery were smeared with excrement in an antisemitic outrage echoing a series of recent incidents targeting the local Jewish community.

“The desecration of another local synagogue and a children’s nursery with excrement is a vile, deliberate, and premeditated act of antisemitism,” Shomrim North West London, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group, said in a statement.

“This marks the eighth antisemitic incident locally in just over a week, to directly target the local Jewish community,” the statement read. “These repeated attacks have left our community anxious, hurt, and increasingly worried.”

Local law enforcement confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage and collecting evidence to identify the suspect and bring them to justice.

This latest anti-Jewish hate crime came just days after tens of thousands of people marched through London in a demonstration against antisemitism, amid rising levels of antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In just over a week, seven Jewish premises in Barnet, the borough in which Golders Green is located, have been targeted in separate antisemitic incidents.

According to the Metropolitan Police, an investigation has been launched into the targeted attacks, all of which involved the use of bodily fluids.

During the incidents, a substance was smeared on four synagogues and a private residence, while a liquid was thrown at a school and over a car in two other attacks.

As the investigation continues, local police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offenses, which are being treated as religiously motivated criminal damage.

No arrests have been made so far, but law enforcement said it is actively engaging with the local Jewish community to provide reassurance and support.

The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, condemned the recent wave of attacks and called on authorities to take immediate action.

“The extreme defilement of several Jewish locations in and around Golders Green is utterly abhorrent and deeply distressing,” CST said in a statement.

“CST is working closely with police and communal partners to support victims and help identify and apprehend the perpetrator,” it continued.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also denounced the attacks, calling for urgent measures to protect the Jewish community.

“These repeated incidents are leaving British Jews anxious and vulnerable in their own neighborhoods, not to mention disgusted,” CAA said in a statement.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, the United Kingdom has experienced a surge in antisemitic crimes and anti-Israel sentiment.

Last month, CST published a report showing there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.

In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism despite being an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.

In previous years, the numbers were significantly lower, with 1,662 incidents in 2022 and 2,261 hate crimes in 2021.

Continue Reading

RSS

Germany to Hold Off on Recognizing Palestinian State but Will Back UN Resolution for Two-State Solution

German national flag flutters on top of the Reichstag building, that seats the Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Germany will support a United Nations resolution for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but does not believe the time has come to recognize a Palestinian state, a government spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.

“Germany will support such a resolution which simply describes the status quo in international law,” the spokesman said, adding that Berlin “has always advocated a two-state solution and is asking for that all the time.”

“The chancellor just mentioned two days ago again that Germany does not see that the time has come for the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the spokesman added.

Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.

The United States strongly opposes any move by its European allies to recognize Palestinian independence.

Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US has told other countries that recognition of a Palestinian state will cause more problems.

Those who see recognition as a largely symbolic gesture point to the negligible presence on the ground and limited influence in the conflict of countries such as China, India, Russia, and many Arab states that have recognized Palestinian independence for decades.

Continue Reading

RSS

UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel‘s ally the United States.

Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests.

The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. US backing for the Security Council statement, which could only be approved by consensus, reflects President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” read the statement, drafted by Britain and France.

The Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” the Security Council statement read.

The Security Council will meet later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli attack at a meeting due to be attended by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News