(Jewish Group) Columbia rabbi speaks on anti-Semitism at Greenwich Reform

[Behind the Aegis]

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This week felt like an especially important time to engage in difficult conversations about anti-Semitism, the politics of Israel and Jewish life on college campuses, Columbia University’s Campus Rabbi Yonah Hain told a crowd gathered at Greenwich Reform Synagogue.

“Something for me that’s going to be an enduring lesson from this week is that as precarious and thorny and difficult conversations are — such as conversations about Israel on campus — there probably is a best-self that I can try to put forward,” he said, referencing the Oct. 27 attack that left 11 people dead at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

“In light of someone specifically targeting Jews because of his radical tribalism … it’s been really profound for me to see … togetherness and community,” he said.

Hain, who worked with Greenwich Reform Rabbi Jordie Gerson at New York University for two years, led an open conversation on Thursday night on the complex issue of the pro-Palestinian boycott, divestment, sanctions movement, known as BDS, on college campuses that aims to pressure Israel to end “occupation and colonization of Arab lands.” The rabbi shared his views on how the movement relates to anti-Semitism and detailed the way college-age Jews perceive it.

“I’m not willing to give up the next generation of youth Jews’ stance on Israel,” he said. “And I’m not willing to see the values Israel stands for only represented by Republicans. It’s worth considering what role this plays in our life and our Jewish identify.”

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