“Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you.” For anyone that was bullied as a kid, we know this isn’t true. Bones heal, but wounds of the heart can last forever.

When I was a kid, I was bullied. It was a horrible experience and it took me a long time to learn how to deal with it: Stand your ground. Bullies feel powerful seeing their victims suffer and it took a lot out of me to finally muster the strength needed to be brave and stand up for myself. Eventually the bully backed down.

Now, as Jews, we are collectively experiencing bullying on an extreme level. Antisemites have succeeded in inverting the truth to normalize their unbridled hatred of Israel and Jewish people in the public square, on social media, and on campus.

Good people, Jews and non-Jews, who voice opposition to barbaric terror and slaughter are met with aggressive attacks. They are trying to bully the Jewish community into submission. It’s truly mind boggling. Their manipulative tactics are textbook bullying behavior.

But the Jewish community is done with being bullied.

In response to yesterday’s (on campus) and today’s (everywhere?) declared day of hate and rage, JGSI/JGO has responded with rallies and vigils on campuses around North America. Rather than avoiding campuses, our staff around the country are showing up to campuses. Our executive team has dropped everything else to spend time on campus in solidarity with students, flying across the country for emergency meetings with deans and administrators to ensure their protection. I myself moved all my meetings yesterday and today to various campuses and sat there drinking my coffee with my yarmulke proudly on my head. I want our students to see that I won’t let terror and fear tactics win.

For a lot of our students, they are fearing antisemitism for the first time in their lives. JGSI/JGO is trying our best to teach them that we can’t fear bullies. We must stand our ground. I have received many threats on social media in the last few days, but I’m not backing down. I’m proud to be a Jew and I support our Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.

At the same time, it’s also my responsibility to tell our students and friends to please be careful this coming Shabbat and weekend. The security concerns are real, and though we must stand our ground we also mustn't ever place ourselves in a dangerous position. Please be vigilant and stay safe out there.