Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, of Tree of Life Congregation, right, hugs Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, of New Light Congregation, and Rabbi Cheryl Klein, For Hadash Congregation, hug after thousands gathered at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall for a vigil to remember the victims of the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation synagogue, on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018. Courtesy of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Alex Garcia, a member of Ohio State’s Jewish community, said she’s happy to be Jewish, but the threats of antisemitism, especially around campus, make her nervous.
In response to an uptick in antisemitic activity on Ohio State’s campus and nationwide, Garcia, a second-year in psychology, along with the Jewish community feel others need to be informed on the topic.
“I’m happy that I’m Jewish, but it makes me scared sometimes,” Garcia said.
Jewish students and organizations have felt the university has not been proactive in addressing their concerns after antisemitic stickers and drawings were found around and near campus, including south of the Park Stradley residence hall as well on High Street near the Ohio Union and Sullivant Hall.
Garcia said it was shocking to see “something so loud” happening on campus. She said it’s scary to think people hold this “hate” in their hearts.
“I think it’s so hard for people — that once they’re in that mindset — to change. Because hate is so strong,” Garcia said. “And I was taught at a very young age that you’d never say you hate something because hate is such a strong word.”
Courtesy of unnamed Jewish Ohio State student.
Garcia said she wants the Ohio State community to become more educated, and people have to step out of their comfort zones to learn and “be challenged by these issues.”
“No one wants to have those conversations and have those understandings,” Garcia said. “And that’s what just makes this specifically even more difficult because no one wants to think that a group of people is being targeted on campus.”
Garcia said she hopes Jewish organizations open for students, like Ohio State University Hillel and the Schottenstein Chabad House at OSU, can help inform about Judaism.
According to the 2020 FBI Hate Crimes Statistics, the Jewish community was the most targeted group for hate crimes in the U.S. with 683 “anti-Jewish”incidents.
The Anti-Defamation League also reported more than 350 incidents of antisemitism on college campuses during the 2021-22 academic year.
Sarah Deitsch, co-director of Chabad, said she believes people, including students, think it’s justified to spread misinformation about the Jewish community after seeing popular figures do so.
Garcia said she believes some popular figures like Ye — formerly Kanye West — and Kyrie Irving don’t deserve the platform they have.
“Those are two very big names, two people that young people, people our age, look up to because they were like our all stars, like, when we were kids,” Garcia said.
Ye — an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and fashion designer — said in a tweet Oct. 14 he thinks the Jewish community has tried to “black ball” whoever opposes their agenda. He also posted a now removed tweet in which he said “when I wake up I’m going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” Following the tweet, members of the neo-Nazi group, the Goyim Defense League, hung banners with the message “Kanye is right about the Jews” over a Los Angeles freeway Oct. 22.
Irving, basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets, promoted a 2014 documentary titled “Hebrews to N******: Wake Up Black America” on Twitter and Instagram in October, which contained misinformation about the Jewish community. Irving was suspended indefinitely for at least five games when he wouldn’t first apologize and given a series of tasks to complete before returning to play, including apologizing for promoting the film and taking antisemitic and sensitivity trainings.
Irving apologized Nov. 3 for promoting the film.
Deitsch said she believes these tasks “are enough” because she said Judaism is “not about hate, and it’s not about cancel culture.”
“It’s about love. And it’s about education and just, you know, enlightening these people,” Deitsch said. “Trying to help these antisemites understand through education and through reading and learning and going to websites that are reputable, and finding out what you know, where they are mistaken, and how these comments are so damaging nationally, globally, locally.”
The Ohio State Jewish community faced antisemitism in December 2021 when an assistant professor used an antisemitic slur in class. The professor visited Chabad and “genuinely apologized” for her mistake, which Deitsch said was all she was looking for.
”We invited her to a Friday Night Dinner at the Chabad house, so she could meet, you know, a nice group of 100 college students who are enjoying their observance,” Deitsch said.
Garcia and Deitsch both expressed their concerns about the lack of a response from Ohio State to the uptick in antisemitism on campus.
“I just care very much about the students and want to make sure that they feel heard and seen, and that the university is there for them,” Deitsch said.
University spokesperson Chris Booker said in an email Ohio State “is committed to a safe and welcoming campus” and has maintained a “strong relationship” with Chabad and Hillel.
“The university has no tolerance for hate or threats toward individuals or communities, and the safety of all members of our community is our number one priority,” Booker said. “Ohio State’s support for the Jewish community is unwavering.”
Booker said Senior Vice President for Student Life Melissa Shivers has been in contact with Hillel and has “reached out to other students and leaders to understand their experiences and offer support.”
Hillel did not respond to requests for comment by time of publication.
Booker said the reported incidents concerning the stickers and paintings were shared with the Office of Institutional Equity and the University Police Division.
“OSUPD routinely shares information with federal, state and local law enforcement partners that monitor extremist groups and investigate hate crimes,” Booker said.
