Michael Balaban's Update on the War in Israel

- Lynne Balaban
Executive Director of Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel

For this week’s letter, I am welcoming guest writer and my wife Lynne Balaban, executive director of Beth Zion-Beth Israel, to discuss what it is like to be a parent of a Jewish college student right now. 

As the parent of a college junior, I am saddened by what I am seeing and hearing taking place on college campuses around the country this week. Columbia, UCLA, UPenn, WashU and dozens of other schools are experiencing riots and protests, where Jews are being harassed, pro Hamas signage and paraphernalia are being sported, and demands for divestment are being chanted. This vitriol is on full display with anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric being uttered by students, faculty and political protestors being flown in from around the country. In response, many of these schools have moved classes online and are canceling graduations because they can’t keep Jewish students safe. The intense protesting is not just about Israel and the current war with Hamas, but rather about a high level of Jew hatred that has always been just under the surface and has escalated exponentially since Oct. 7. 

This isn’t about freedom of speech. This is about a group of people who do not understand what is going on in the world and how this impacts them directly. This isn’t about standing up for the oppressed. If it were, then we would be hearing shouts about Sudan, Yemen and other places where humanitarian crises are taking place. This is about recognizing that these people want us — Jews, Americans, Christians — all dead.

We can all say that we feel for innocent people — as Jews, compassion and empathy are core tenants of our faith.  But this isn’t about that. This is about something much bigger and much scarier. Hamas and the other Islamic Republic of Iran proxies want the complete elimination of the Jewish state. 

We have taught our daughter to be confident in her convictions and not to be fearful to stand up for her beliefs. We didn’t realize that it would mean she would need to do so in defense of her freedom to practice her religion safely and defend Israel’s right to exist. Eighty years after the Holocaust and 75 years after the founding of the state of Israel — our homeland — we are once again at odds with a world that seeks to destroy us. We took our daughter to Israel at a young age and instilled in her a sense of understanding of who she is and the proud and historic peoplehood that she is part of.

When I think back to our daughter’s high school years at a local Jewish day school, they were full of bomb threats, local school shootings and worldwide pandemic closures. But I never expected anti-Israel and antisemitic protests to be her college experience.

I am always happy when another school year ends and she comes home for the summer. I just don’t think that can come soon enough this year. Summer break might quiet some of the recent violence, but it won’t stop the anger and hostility that has infiltrated our lives. And while the encampments may end once finals are done, I am still concerned about what these misinformed students will do with their summers and what mentality they will return to campus with this coming fall.  

My hope is that when my daughter returns in the fall for her senior year that the war is over, the hostages are safely back home, a ceasefire has been restored, and we can embark on a journey of peace and healing. May we all wish for this future.   

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