December 9, 2024

Last month, I was in Ottawa as part of an eight-person contingent from Hamilton taking part in the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Courageous Leadership Canada Initiative. During the weekend, three of us called an Uber to travel from a synagogue to Ottawa’s National Holocaust Monument. As we fastened our seatbelts, the driver noticed that one of us was wearing a kippah. Without warning, he demanded we get out of the car, sarcastically suggesting we ask Netanyahu for a ride instead. As he sped off, he shouted that we were terrorists, leaving us shocked and standing on the curb.

I’m glad I was called a terrorist. To me, it reaffirms that the work I’m doing (along with many others) is important. 

Being a Jewish student on a university campus today sucks, but I can handle it because I’m confident in myself and my identity. But I can’t imagine how my younger self could have navigated being Jewish during this time. Kids in school are still in the process of figuring out who they are and forging their identity, but in addition to all the things normal teens have to deal with, like fitting in with their peers and keeping up with their homework, Jewish teens are having to navigate what it means to be Jewish with a war raging in the Middle East.  Being Jewish makes all their other struggles more difficult. People don’t want to be friends with terrorists. Teachers don’t want to hear the voices of terrorists. 

When I was in high school, I was involved in my student council, and that experience played a part in shaping the person I am today. If I were in high school now, I don’t think I’d stand a chance running for student council. That makes me sad. It makes me sad that opportunities are being taken away from Jewish teens simply because they are Jewish. It makes me sad that Jewish teens are being isolated from social groups and picked on for their beliefs. It makes me sad that the other kids aren’t saddened by the struggles their Jewish peers are facing. 

I could handle being called a terrorist by a complete stranger. I will never see this man again in my life. What I can’t fathom is how I would feel if I had to run into him in the hallway the next day or sit beside him in math. Would I choose to stay home from school or would that be giving him what he wants? 

I don’t know how to fix this issue. I don’t think we can, but I do think we can make it a little better. I think that this fight matters. I think that teachers need to understand the definition of antisemitism, that students need to learn the history of Israel, and that Jews need to stand up for themselves and each other. I think this is all doable, and I think that, in Hamilton, we’re on the right track.

Students and parents, if you haven’t already, I urge you to attend our next Jewish Student Forum. Your voices matter. Join us in our fight against antisemitism in our schools by emailing me at jrosenbaum@bbyo.ca.

Jack Rosenbaum, BBYO Chapter Engagement Associate