Why it must be cool to be a Jew on campus

My first year at the University of the Witwatersrand was in 2017 and it was a strange year.

There was no Jewish establishment. Each student came with a radically different background and perspective, almost none of them had ever met a Jew, seen a Jew, or even heard of a Jew. But many had heard of “apartheid in Israel”.

I remember how 500 people filled the lecture hall. There I was, a naïve 18-year-old Jewish guy sitting with my new Muslim friends. The professor was running 15 minutes late. We were all chatting until one girl, Akeela, came to the topic of Israel, and that’s when things start getting heated. With a slight hiss in her voice she whispered, “You’re not a Zionist, are you?”

Shocked and intimidated, I looked away and didn’t know what to say. She pressed me, and repeated “Are you?” Without thinking, I quickly mumbled ”no” just as the lecturer walked in and began the class. I begin questioning who I was, and what I believed.

I can tell you countless stories of antisemitic/anti-Israel attacks, but this vignette sums up what Jews are dealing with on campus in some shape or form. Students feel unsafe to express themselves. There is no sense of pride in being a Jew, only fear or even shame. Like a friend of mine in her Philosophy 101 module who was literally laughed out of the class when she said, “Of course I believe in G-d! I’m a Jew”.

Internationally, Jewish students and their leaders are insecure about what they stand for, be it their unique cultural values or their indigenous homeland. At every corner, there is external pressure, which has created a deep sense of doubt about who we are and what we represent.

Throughout the Book of Kings, the g-d Ba’al plays the foil of the Jewish nation. King after king, they each fall to this Ba’al. It’s like a cycle. A new king of Shomron (modern-day Samaria) takes over, he is fair and good, next he gets too close to Ba’al, and loses everything. His throne, friends, family, and eventually his life. Out of the 19 rulers of Shomron, this sequence happens a lot. What does this mean?

The simple understanding is that the leaders at that time were serving the idol Ba’al. But our sages saw a more relatable message, and explain that translated literally, the name Ba’al means master. So the problem was that those generations were allowing a Ba’al-master, in other words a force other than their own internal set of ethical guidelines, to dictate their actions. Or it could be thought of as external pressure – this “master” was forcing a foreign lifestyle on the kings.

It was only when the leaders of the time rejected the false g-d and embraced their natural moral compass that they succeeded in ruling.

A similar idea might be applied today. It’s unpopular to be a Jew/Zionist. It’s hard to stand your ground when the world is blaming and shaming you. And it’s easy to give in to all the negative rhetoric which is thrown at you. But we cannot compromise our moral and ethical high ground to please the external pressures of pop culture.

We must fortify ourselves by embracing what makes us unique – our Jewish heritage. Students shouldn’t feel ashamed to say they are a Zionist or believe in G-d. We should be confident in who we are and what we represent.

We must empower the global student community by reminding it that it’s cool to be a Jew and do Jewish things, to stand out as a proud member of our supernatural nation.

That’s a future worth fighting for.

There couldn’t have been a better place for this work than the 47th annual World Union of Jewish Student (WUJS) Congress that took place in the last week of December as we said goodbye to 2020. No flights necessary, no headaches or hotels, we simply signed up on the website and were amazed by the inspiring sessions, broad networking capability, and a fair dose of fun. WUJS Congress 2020 – “inside your home & outside the box”.

• Shimshon Fisher is the vice president of the South African Union of Jewish Students.