Rabbi Esther Reed of Rutgers Hillel spoke at a March 11 meeting on anti-Semitism sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County.
March 18, 2008
Jewish students at Rutgers are once again debating how to respond to the activities of a pro-Palestinian group.
This time, however, pro-Israel activists are able to draw on the lessons of 2004, when plans for a major pro-Palestinian conference roiled the campus.
Speaking at a Jewish Community Relations Council forum on bias March 1, Rutgers Hillel staffer Rabbi Esther Reed said dealing with anti-Jewish or anti-Israel sentiment on campus is different because of the campus structure, which allows some situations to be diffused through a more direct means.
“We reach out to interact with others in the campus community all the time,” said Reed, Hillel’s associate director for Jewish campus life. She delivered her remarks at a forum sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County at the federation’s South River offices.
“For example I’m very close with the office of the Muslim chaplain. I can just call if I have concerns. I also call up if we’re having a speaker they might view as inflammatory. We’re also trying to build relations with the African-American community.”
She said last year’s Yom Ha’Aztmaut, or Independence Day, celebration for Israel was cosponsored with the Black Students Union and featured an African-American hip-hop artist who had converted to Judaism.
The latest flare-up occurred March 7 when New Jersey Solidarity, the pro-Palestinian organization at the center of the 2004 controversy, drew about 40 students to a rally protesting Israel’s incursion in the Gaza Strip.
Reed said pro-Israel students were upset by a front page article in the student newspaper on the rally they considered “very biased.” The article quoted rally-goers critical of Israel and the deaths of more than 100 Palestinian civilians in the fighting, but did not quote anyone in defense of Israel nor mention the rain of Hamas rockets that precipitated Israel’s military action.
“Usually these things draw maybe three or four students,” said Reed of the rally, holding up a copy of the campus paper. “Here they got 30 or 40 students in the pouring rain. We’re not sure if this is a one-time thing. We’re now debating what would be a good response.”
She warned, however, that outside intervention from Jewish groups and individuals who want to help the Jewish community on campus is not always welcome by students or campus groups like hers. Because others don’t fully understand the campus dynamic, she said, their well-intentioned actions sometimes backfire.
Institutional responses to anti-Semitism were also on the minds of the other panelists at the forum.
Etzion Neuer, New Jersey regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said the state has “outstanding” reporting procedures that require each police department and county prosecutor’s office to file such incidents.
“There’s almost no state like it,” said Neuer.
Neuer also referred to the ADL’s annual tally of anti-Semitic attacks. Although the number of anti-Semitic incidents went down in New Jersey in 2006, he said, the most recent statistics show a slight rise for 2007.
Sgt. John Rodriquez, chief investigator for the bias crimes unit of the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office, spoke about the need to remain vigilant in fighting hate crimes.
Photos by Debra Rubin
Sgt. John Rodriguez, chief investigator in the bias crimes unit of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said that under Middlesex County prosecutor Bruce Kaplan there is “zero tolerance” for bias crimes.
Jews are among nine protected groups under state law, he said, where enhanced penalties are leveled against perpetrators for hate crimes.
Anti-Jewish incidents have always been at the top of that list, he added.
The detective said his office shares intelligence with both the state police and FBI.“There are a lot of people with twisted minds who don’t care about human life,” said Rodriquez. “We are here to protect you and your rights.”
Both Neuer and Rodriguez urged all in attendance to be vigilant and not to hesitate to call either the ADL or the bias crimes unit of the county prosecutor’s office with information and concerns. Both institutions have a number of preventative educational programs that are available to public institutions.
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