Helping our students on campus

It’s easier to just close my door’ Undergraduate, third year student 

‘I have become extremely paranoid that I will be ‘outed’ and have been extremely nice to people who know that I am Jewish, in fear of being exposed’.  First year student

‘Post-October 2023, it has been clear that for Jewish students, campus has become, at best, a minefield of choosing to hide their Jewish identity or face the potential questions and remarks relating to the Israeli-Gaza conflict. I really felt this last year as President of a small Jewish Society, and I can truly say that the best way to support students is to bring them together. Marom provides opportunities both online and in person to give our students a community away from home.’  Elisabeth Sharp, Noam Movement worker.

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Your whole self. Your whole life. Even on campus. 

One of the consequences of the massive increase in antisemitic incidents on campus has been that students hide the fact that they are Jewish.  Even worse, many students don’t engage with student life or even go to lectures for fear of further attack.  Masorti Judaism has a plan to help our students bring the whole of themselves to their life at university. 

The power of belonging 

We have seen the power of belonging and how effective a well-supported youth leadership team like Noam and Marom, the student arm of Noam can be.  We know that with the right support, young people can step forward, take responsibility and make a massive difference. With the current crisis on campus, we need to identify and support more students who can take on responsibility for creating safe spaces and to help them deliver meaningful Jewish life to their own community of students on campus.  We can’t leave our existing overwhelmed Marom representatives to deal with this growing need on their own. 

We are already stretched so thin. We need to find more time and resources to provide the support for the Marom representatives to support their peers.  Also critical is to provide support for students in campuses without Marom representatives.  

That support comes in the form of our Masorti rabbis and Noam Youth movement workers who can help create networks, guide and inspire in one-on-one meetings, and in groups. 

The plan is to have Rabbinic or Noam Movement Worker visit 17 campuses over three terms, and to stay in touch with designated Maron leaders between visits. We would like to help host five Friday Night dinners per term on each campus, and to provide a resource pack for each student to build their resilience and sense of connection to their Jewish world.  

Please donate to help us make this possible.

From our co-chair Joe Carlebach: 

‘We, as the Masorti Judaism leadership, are determined to actively combat this abuse by calling it out.  Senior Masorti Rabbi Wittenberg and I have written to numerous University Vice Chancellors about specific incidents raised with us by our students, to voice our concerns. We are also working with other Jewish community bodies, and where necessary law enforcement, to support any student or academic affected.

To be clear this is not an attempt to stifle open debate. The right to criticise any government or debate an issue is an important part of university life in any democracy. However, where this crosses the line into abuse, we are calling this out and seeking to protect those affected. 

Experience has taught us that the most effective way to confront this kind of anti-Jewish racism is to confront it head on, expose it to the appropriate authorities and escalate where appropriate if action is not immediately forthcoming. 

If you are aware of any students from our Masorti community or students from the wider Jewish community who are suffering in silence having had experience of this abuse, please let us know as soon as possible and we will do everything we can to help.

Please donate to help us help them here.