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My Jewish studies students aren’t talking about Israel or antisemitism. They told me why.
I first noticed something was off on the first day of class. I had given my students in my “Sociology of American Jewish life” course at Tulane University blank index cards, asking them to write five words they associate with American Jews. The word antisemitism didn’t appear once, and neither did Israel.
Last week, it happened again. When I asked students to choose topics from the 2020 Pew report on American Jews for small group discussions, no one chose antisemitism or Israel.
What was going on? Antisemitism dominates conversations among lay leaders, philanthropists and academics. Universities are launching new antisemitism studies centers. Yet here were 20 Jewish studies students avoiding the subject. The Hillel director confirmed he’d seen the same pattern: low attendance at events on these topics.
So I turned to my students — almost all Jewish themselves — and asked them to write anonymous reflections on this pattern. I wanted them to help me understand what felt like a significant shift from previous years, when these topics dominated classroom discussions.
Here is what I learned:
My students are exhausted. Not physically tired, but soul-weary from the constant barrage of antisemitism they encounter online. “Seeing constant antisemitism and antizionism has just made me so tired of it that it’s easier to ignore,” one wrote. “When I’m in Jewish spaces, I prefer to focus on the positive things … because it feels like antisemitism is a battle we’re already losing.”
They see antisemitism everywhere on social media — on Instagram, TikTok, even in comment sections barely related to Jewish topics. It’s become so normalized that one student admitted they “don’t even get surprised anymore when I see crazy antisemitism.” Another described it as being talked about “on the news so much as well as talked about in everyday life” that bringing it down further in class feels redundant.
But perhaps most revealing was this: They want their Jewish studies classroom to be different. “When I am in class, I enjoy learning about new topics and not about topics that I already talk about and experience every single day,” one student explained. Another put it more bluntly: “I don’t want the thing I bring up when talking about Judaism to be antisemitism in a class setting, where it is something we deal with all the time outside of it.”
The Israel conversation has become even more fraught. Students described being paralyzed by the fear of “saying the wrong thing by accident.” The topic has become so contentious that it’s “a very sensitive time period because of October 7th,” making people hesitant to speak up even in Jewish spaces. One student noted that discussing Israel has become “a dividing point even within the Jewish community,” creating rifts with family members and friends.
The pressure to be perfectly informed weighs heavily on them. ‘I don’t feel as educated on that, and in most contexts, I don’t want to bring it up because I don’t want to say the wrong thing by accident,’ one student confessed. They feel caught between the expectation to have authoritative opinions as Jews and their honest uncertainty about complex issues. Another described finding it ‘hard to delve into’ topics when unsure if they’re conveying accurate information. This burden of representation — the unspoken expectation that every Jewish student must be an articulate defender of their people — has become another silencing force.
I don’t take this silence as apathy, but rather about self-preservation. My students are keenly aware that even among close friends, there might be hidden antisemitism. They’ve learned to perform constant risk assessments about when and where it’s safe to express their views. As one observed, people are either intensely engaged with these topics or “have little to no interest talking about it … and don’t feel comfortable sharing their opinions.”
What struck me most was their desire to reclaim Jewish identity from being primarily defined by hatred against Jews. These young Jews want to explore their heritage, culture, and traditions without every conversation circling back to those who despise them. They’re not in denial — they know antisemitism exists. They’re just tired of it taking up so much space in their Jewish lives.
This generational shift matters. While Jewish institutions pour resources into combating antisemitism and defending Israel — crucial work, to be clear — our young people are signaling they need something more. They need spaces where being Jewish isn’t synonymous with being embattled. They need opportunities to engage with Jewish life, learning, and culture on its own terms.
My classroom revelation taught me this: If we want to engage the next generation, we need to balance necessary vigilance with joyful exploration of what makes Jewish life meaningful. Our students aren’t abandoning the fight — they’re asking for the chance to remember what we’re fighting for.
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Israel Urges Canadian PM Carney to Drop Pledge to Arrest Netanyahu
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks as he and US President Donald Trump (not pictured) meet in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Oct. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Israel urged Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to drop his pledge to honor the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he traveled to the country.
Carney was asked in an interview with Bloomberg published last week if he would fulfil the commitment of his predecessor Justin Trudeau to arrest Netanyahu on war crimes charges if he came to Canada, to which he replied “yes.”
“We believe that Prime Minister Carney should, of course, reconsider this and welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu, the leader of the only Jewish state and democratic country in the Middle East, to Canada,” Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters.
The ICC issued arrest warrants last year for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. Israel rejects the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza.
Bedrosian said Canada’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state was a “prize for terrorism” and it had “only poured fuel on an antisemitic fire in Canada.”
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Daniel Naroditsky, Jewish chess grandmaster and influential streamer, dies at 29
Daniel Naroditsky, a Jewish chess grandmaster and former child prodigy who became one of the game’s most popular voices through his streaming, commentary and teaching, has died at 29.
Naroditsky’s death was announced Monday by the Charlotte Chess Center, a chess academy in North Carolina, where he worked as a head coach. Information on his survivors and a cause of death was not immediately available.
“It is great sadness that we share the unexpected passing of Daniel Naroditsky. Daniel was a talented chess player, commentator, and educator, and a cherished member of the chess community, admired and respected by fans and players around the world. He was also a loving son and brother, and a loyal friend to many,” the Naroditsky family wrote in a statement shared by the Charlotte Chess Center.
As a teenager, Naroditsky published books on chess strategy, including “Mastering Positional Chess” in 2010 and “Mastering Complex Endgames” in 2012.
Naroditsky earned his chess grandmaster title, the highest honor given to competitors by the International Chess Federation, in 2013 when he was 17 and had yet to graduate high school.
He was an active content creator on Twitch and Youtube, where he had nearly 500,000 subscribers.
Known as Danya, Naroditsky was born on Nov. 9, 1995, in San Mateo, California to Vladimir Naroditsky and Lena Schuman, Jewish immigrants who came to the United States from Ukraine and Azerbaijan, respectively. Naroditsky attended Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School in Foster City, California and was bar mitzvahed at Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo in 2009.
In November 2007, Naroditsky was named the under-12 World Youth Chess Champion, telling J. The Jewish News of Northern California at the time that he “couldn’t play chess without loving it.”
“I played a rabbi,” a 10-year-old Naroditsky said after he earned the title. “He lost right away and instead of losing normally he threw all the pieces in the air and stormed out. I almost laughed.”
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from Stanford University in 2019 after taking a year off to play in chess tournaments.
Naroditsky was introduced to the game by his brother, Alan, at just 6 years old and quickly developed an aptitude for the game.
“I think a lot of people want to imagine that it was love at first sight and that my brother couldn’t pull me away from the chessboard,” Naroditsky told the New York Times in 2022, when he was introduced as its chess columnist. “It was more of a gradual process, where chess slowly entered the battery of stuff we did to pass the time. A lot of my best memories are just doing stuff with my brother.”
In his last video uploaded to YouTube, titled “You Thought I Was Gone!? Speedrun Returns!,” Naroditsky told his fans that after a brief pause he was “back and better than ever.”
“I still can’t believe it and don’t want to believe it,” tweeted Dutch grandmaster Benjamin Bok about news of Naroditsky’s death. “It was always a privilege to play, train, and commentate with Danya, but above all, to call him my friend.”
At the time of his death, Naroditsky was ranked in the top 160 players in the world and the top 20 players in the United States, according to the International Chess Federation. He especially excelled at a fast-paced version of the game called blitz chess, for which he maintained a top 25 ranking throughout his adult career.
Naroditsky’s father, Vladimir, died in 2019.
“We ask for privacy for Daniel’s family during this extremely difficult time,” the statement from his family continued. “Let us remember Daniel for his passion and love for the game of chess, and for the joy and inspiration he brought to us every day.”
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Trump Threatens Hamas Amid Push on Next Gaza Truce Steps as Vance Visits Israel
US Vice President JD Vance is welcomed by Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee upon his arrival at Ben Gurion airport in Lod, Israel, Oct. 21, 2025. Photo: Nathan Howard/Pool via REUTERS
US President Donald Trump threatened Hamas on Tuesday with “FAST, FURIOUS & BRUTAL” force if the Palestinian terrorist group does not “do what is right” as he pushes for the next, more complex, stage of a Gaza ceasefire that has already been repeatedly tested.
Increasing the pressure on the Islamist group, Trump said in a social media post that numerous US allies had said they would welcome the chance to go into Gaza and hit Hamas but he had told them and Israel “not yet.”
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of repeated breaches of the truce since it was signed eight days ago, with flashes of violence and recriminations over the pace of returning hostage bodies, bringing in aid, and opening borders.
VANCE IS VISITING ISRAEL
US Vice President JD Vance, who arrived on Tuesday, was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday for talks Israel said would focus on security challenges and political opportunities.
Those are expected to focus on Trump‘s 20-point ceasefire plan that will require moving beyond the existing, shaky ceasefire, to much more difficult steps including the disarmament of Hamas and a path towards a Palestinian state.
The trip follows Monday’s talks between Netanyahu and US envoys Steven Witkoff and Trump‘s son-in-law Jared Kushner and comes as Hamas meets mediators in Cairo.
Israel is pressing for stronger assurances on Hamas disarming – a step to which the group has so far refused to commit – said a source briefed on the matter.
Hamas‘s Cairo talks, led by the group’s exiled leader Khalil al-Hayya, are also looking at prospects for the next phase of the truce and post-war arrangements in Gaza as well as stabilizing the existing ceasefire.
The head of intelligence for key Gaza mediator Egypt met Netanyahu earlier on Tuesday to discuss advancing the ceasefire plan and other issues, Israel said. The intelligence chief, Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, will later meet Witkoff, Egyptian television reported.
Underscoring the fragility of the truce, Qatar, another of the mediators and a chief backer of Hamas, on Tuesday accused Israel of “continuous violations.” It and Turkey, which has used its role to bolster its regional position, have been key interlocutors with Hamas.
On Sunday a Palestinian in Gaza attack killed two Israeli soldiers, leading to military strikes against Hamas targets in response.
FUTURE ROLE OF HAMAS?
Trump‘s plan called for the establishment of a technocratic Palestinian committee overseen by an international board with Hamas taking no role in governance.
A Palestinian official close to the talks said Hamas encouraged the formation of such a committee to run Gaza without any of its representatives, but with the consent of the group as well as the Palestinian Authority and other factions.
Last week, senior Hamas official Mohammed Nazzal told Reuters the group expected to maintain a security role on the ground in Gaza during an undefined interim period.
Hamas last week battled rival gangs on the streets in Gaza and publicly executed men it accused of having collaborated with Israel. Trump condoned the killings but the US military’s Middle East command urged Hamas to stop violence “without delay.”
Vance was expected to visit the headquarters of joint forces led by the US military and meant to help with Gaza stabilization efforts.
RETURN OF BODIES AND AID DELIVERIES
Speaking to Egyptian television late on Monday, Hayya reaffirmed the group’s compliance with the truce and said it would fulfil its obligations in the first phase, including returning more bodies of hostages.
“Let their [hostages’ bodies return to their families, and let the bodies of our martyrs return to their families to be buried in dignity,” he said.
Hamas released another hostage body late on Monday and said it would hand over two more late on Tuesday. That would leave another 13 bodies in Gaza. Israel believes Hamas could still return more bodies soon but has recognized that some remains would likely need a slower, more complex, process of location and retrieval.
Israel handed back another 15 Palestinian bodies on Tuesday, local health authorities said, taking the total it has returned to Gaza to 165.
Inside the enclave on Tuesday, more aid was flowing in through two Israeli-controlled crossings, Palestinian and UN officials said.
However, the UN World Food Program said supplies were ramping up but fell far short of its daily target of 2,000 tons, saying this was because only two crossings into Gaza were open. It said none had reached the north of Gaza yet.
Violence in Gaza since the truce has mostly focused been around the “yellow line” demarcating Israel’s military pullback. On Tuesday Israel’s public Kan radio reported troops had killed a person crossing the line and advancing towards them.
Palestinians near the line have said it is not clearly marked and hard to know where the exclusion zone begins. Israeli bulldozers began placing yellow concrete blocks along the route on Monday.
Hamas‘s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war killed around 1,200 people, with another 251 dragged into Gaza as hostages.