‘We will always outlive the people who hate us’
By Christina Avery , Jacob Day and Anya Heminger | Dec 16, 2022 3:53 pmAntisemitic incidents reached an all-time high in the U.S. in 2021
Antisemitic incidents reached an all-time high in the U.S. in 2021
A copy of the Torah sits on Maya's bedside table. She leaves it next to her bed so she is able to reach for it easily when she needs to.
Kaylee Werner, a co-chair of the antisemitism task force at Indiana University Hillel, leads the task force meeting on Oct. 11. The task force meeting was led while painting mezuzahs red to pass out to students.
Jared Cohen and Sophie Shafran paint mezuzahs red at an antisemitism task force meeting Oct. 11. The mezuzahs they are painting are to be passed out to students who want them; either for traditional use or to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community on campus.
Rabbi Sue Silberberg works actively to create a safe space on the Indiana University campus, and more widely across the Bloomington community. Students come to Rabbi Sue often for help and guidance when they face antisemitic words or acts. "It's hard to be Jewish off by yourself in a corner, because community is so much a part of who we are as Jews," Silberberg said.
Sonia Nussbaum, an undergraduate student at IU, takes action against antisemitism in a personal way. Any time Sonia sees a swastika or acts of hate against Jewish people, she takes a selfie with it. She claims that this helps to reclaim her space for herself and other Jewish people around her.
A mezuzah sits on the doorway of the Hillel House. This mezuzah sits on a side door to the house so that faculty members and students are able to perform the tradition of touching the scroll and kissing the tips of the fingers after. The scroll inside is sacred to the Jewish religion.
In an effort to show support for the Jewish community on campus, red mezuzahs were posted around campus to show that it was a safe space for Jewish students and faculty.
A mezuzah sits in the doorway of Maya's bedroom inside her apartment. Traditionally, mezuzahs are put on the front door of an abode and the fingertips are touched to the mezuzah upon entering a home and kissed afterward.
Maya Goldenberg is a Jewish student at IU. She is a junior in the Kelley School of Business who hopes to one day move to Israel. She remembers going shortly after her Bat Mitzvah, and said "There is nothing else like it."
The Star of David hangs around Maya's neck as she talks about what the Jewish community on the IU campus means to her.
Solutions by The State News
