L ittle Eva Weintraubová and her slightly older brother Pavel. Marthe Suzanne Tepfer. Rosa Henriette de Vries-Gersons. Petr Haim. Eva Neuová.
These are just a few of the names of children who were murdered at Auschwitz that were listed in a recent, online commemoration. The museum in Poland does not forget and instead shows photos constantly on social media of people who died in the gas chambers. They acknowledge birthdays and death days of people of all ages. Most jarring are the photos of children, posted daily.
The recent scene at Columbia University has me paying more attention to those faces who never got to live to adulthood. One professor was given the Passover gift of having his campus-access card decommissioned because, as he was told, his protection could not be guaranteed. Because. He. Is. Jewish. Camped protesters are not only claiming to make a political point about war but threatening Jewish students and staff. So much so that classes have gone online for the remainder of the semester.
It’s easy to criticize from the outside, but this certainly seems like an example of giving into bullies. More than that, what an opportunity lost to learn something about history.
Just a few weeks before the chaos on campus started, I went to the Easter Vigil of the Catholic campus ministry at Columbia. There was rejoicing and a focus on light’s extinguishing darkness. My first reaction to the encampments and violence on campus was to think: We clearly didn’t pray enough.
In the fall, I was part the launch of a coalition of Catholics against antisemitism at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. The school, in Ohio, offered to expedite the transfer to it of any Jewish student who didn’t feel safe at his current university. There were rumblings at places like Columbia already, and I cynically thought no student from such a place would want to go to Steubenville, Ohio. That offer, unfortunately, might be looking increasingly attractive.
At Franciscan, we were remembering the Vatican’s 1965 declaration Nostra Aetate, on non-Christian religions, which said, in part: “The Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel’s spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.” But you don’t even need to turn to such recent wisdom. There are the beatitudes, for Christians. “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Those in college encampments are unlikely to have been among the students who were baptized during Easter at Columbia, but more than a few of them may have been raised Christian.
Antisemitism is evil and pernicious and more widespread than we tend to acknowledge —even in New York City. Just ask Hasidic families who have considered in recent months what measures they feel they must take for their protection. And it didn’t start with the attacks on Israel on October 7, either. Even as we witness antisemitism in real time, there is denial. It’s one thing to disagree with Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s another thing to not realize that Israel’s neighbors reject the very idea of that country’s existence.
Beyond antisemitism, there is an additional cruelty afoot. It’s the end of the school year, and there are traditional celebrations that come with the end of college. Current seniors were freshmen during the Covid lockdowns. And protesters have now forced some Jewish and other students to leave campus. In some cases, commencement ceremonies have been canceled.
As a native New Yorker, I find the scenes from Columbia maddening. Because of the treatment of Jews. Because of the disrespect for the students who persevered through a somewhat ridiculous time in our history — particularly in New York City. Freedom of speech and assembly are surely critical. So is reverence for one’s neighbor. We don’t even need to get into war-time concerns to agree on this. And perhaps it’s telling that in upper Manhattan, it can’t even be recognized that we’re not actually at war and should have somewhat of a mandate to be civilized toward one another.
After all of this, the Jewish students at Columbia should get an extra graduation celebration. Just yesterday I saw another kidnapped-by-Hamas sign torn down from a lamppost in the city. People hate Jews. And non-Jews — especially Christians — need to speak to the evil that it is and combat it with charity and education and friendship. I’m told that even a kind word in a supermarket goes a long way after the October attack. By showing kindness, you’re not endorsing every move the Israeli government makes. You’re bonding on our common humanity. And insisting that everything is not war.
Congratulations to all students, and especially Jewish students, who are graduating this year. October 7 was an attack on all Jews, not just on those kidnapped and murdered and not just on Israel. May the memory of those who have died because of the evil of antisemitism be a blessing in your life. The Christian reflection of salvation history makes this clear: God doesn’t let suffering go to waste.
This column is based on one available through Andrews McMeel Universal’s Newspaper Enterprise Association.