Leading in a Time of Crisis

As we witness a dramatic increase in antisemitic sentiment and behavior, shared without inhibition or fear of consequences, we may feel we are living in a once-unimaginable reality. Although this may not surprise those with an awareness of history and Jews who have been affected directly by hate, data demonstrate that many non-Jews fail to identify Jew-hatred in its contemporary forms. The hatred targeting the Jewish community today cannot and should not be addressed only by Jewish advocacy organizations that have a clear mandate to confront Jew-hatred. Especially at a time when all aspects of the Jewish community are being impacted, all Jewish communal leaders have a responsibility to step up and lead. 

Recently, 50 executives and senior leaders from across the Jewish Community Center (JCC) Movement attended “Navigating Israel and the Rise of Antisemitism” at Brandeis University. It was an intense four days where we engaged with experts on the subject, heard from practitioners who shared skills and tools necessary to confront Jew-hatred, and created a cohort experience of JCC executives and senior leaders to lead effectively in this moment. The gathering, created from a partnership among Brandeis University, Boundless, and JCC Association of North America, was developed to strengthen our movement’s leadership amidst growing Jew-hatred and anti-Israel sentiment. 

JCC Association staff and JCC leaders from across North America did not fly to Boston merely to learn, live in a dorm, and eat cafeteria food. We came to explore important research findings from Boundless, learn to lead effectively in the face of these issues, and facilitate change for our communities and the Jewish people. As JCC professionals, we understand that one antidote to antisemitism is to demonstrate visible, joyful, robust, strong, meaningful, proud and unapologetic connections to Judaism and Zionism. Given the precipitous increase in antisemitism in our communities, we also recognize the need to sharpen this approach.

As JCC professionals, we understand that one antidote to antisemitism is to demonstrate visible, joyful, robust, strong, meaningful, proud and unapologetic connections to Judaism and Zionism. Given the precipitous increase in antisemitism in our communities, we also recognize the need to sharpen this approach. 

The JCC Executive Seminar included practical learning, real-life case studies, and 12 world-class scholars and practitioners. They presented us with significant data about how Jews and non-Jews in America understand the ongoing increase in antisemitic sentiment and behavior. For example, Professor Eitan Hersh from Tufts University and Professor Leonard Saxe from the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis highlighted data from their research indicating that most Jewish college students identify “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the River to the Sea” as antisemitic tropes along with the notion that Israel has no right to exist as a Jewish state. Young American Jews generally consider such language and positions to be Jew-hatred. 

At the same time, Boundless shared its 2024 study on antisemitism, which focused on non-Jews, particularly 18-to 34-year-olds, and demonstrated that most non-Jews do not identify the aforementioned phrases or ideas as antisemitic and, most importantly, are unclear about why these chants and positions make Jews feel threatened and vulnerable. The data provide a point of reference that is necessary to inform leaders’ understanding in developing interventions and initiatives, both within and beyond the Jewish community. Words and ideas matter, and we must think creatively about how to educate our families, teens, young adults, community leaders and elected officials about these issues. During our time at Brandeis, we gained a better sense of language we can use to educate and promote understanding about Jew-hatred, including both antisemitism and antizionism. Perhaps most important of all, we learned that we must not be afraid to lead with confidence. This is our responsibility. 

 The JCC Movement is uniquely positioned to meet this moment. As the largest platform for Jewish engagement in North America, JCCs collectively welcome one million Jews and 500,000 people of other faiths (and no faith) to our facilities and online programming each week. Through our camps, early childhood education programs, health and wellness facilities, and partnerships and collaborations with other organizations, JCCs touch a broad spectrum of Jews, many of whom are not affiliated with a synagogue or any other Jewish communal organizations. JCCs are a central address for living Jewishly with pride and joy, and we all have an opportunity — and a responsibility — to truly humanize Jews, Judaism, and the Jewish state among our non-Jewish members and throughout the community at large. 

The JCC Executive Seminar introduced a model by which we can strengthen the relationships and information flow of knowledge and insight among funders, researchers, practitioners, and evaluators dedicated to combating antisemitism. An idea is only as good as its implementation, and we are eager to elevate what we learned. We are in a moment in time in which history is being written and in which the Jewish people are counting on us to lead. We have the knowledge, we have the data, we have the skills, and we intend to lead boldly.

Rachel Fish, Ph.D., is special advisor to the Brandeis University Presidential Initiative to Counter Antisemitism in Higher Education and co-founder of Boundless. Daniel Klein is CEO of Jewish Silicon Valley.