Here’s a secret that many of the protesters in university encampments and on city streets don’t seem to be in on: The more they demonize Israel, the more they reawaken Jewish identity and strengthen Zionism.

As a community leader and Jewish educator in the United States, I have been living in the shadow of the horrors of October 7. We have seen the worst carnage against Jews since the Holocaust, video-broadcast by brutal terrorists. We have witnessed the avalanche of rising antisemitism around the world, including allegations last Saturday that a 12-year-old Jewish girl in France was gang-raped while being subjected to religious slurs. We have found out that too many of our allies right here at home refuse to speak up when Israelis are murdered or when American Jews who care about Israel are excluded from polite society.

While the intensity of the campus protests are simmering down with the end of the school year, the virulence of demonstrators outside college quadrangles are only intensifying the fear Americans Jews are feeling. Last week, protesters in Lower Manhattan targeted an exhibit dedicated to the memory of the hundreds of young Israelis murdered or kidnapped from the Nova music festival. They unfurled a banner proclaiming “Long Live October 7” and held signs declaring that Zionists “are not Jews and not human.” Days earlier, crowds chanted “kill another Zionist now” across from the White House in Washington.

But paradoxically, every day since October 7, I have also seen how this rise in antisemitism and anti-Zionist rhetoric is inspiring Jewish pride and solidarity with Israel among so many young Jews. I have seen this as a visiting researcher studying American Jewry at New York University. And I have seen this as the spiritual leader of Manhattan’s Downtown Minyan, a congregation filled with the diverse, ambitious and socially liberal young professionals who thrive in New York.

I have heard from many young Jews around America newly awakened to their Judaism. Some confess that they haven’t been to synagogue since their bar or bat mitzvahs but they want to come back now. Others have asked me how to get dozens of mezuzahs for their friends to hang beside their front doors. I see many sporting new jewelry expressing both pride and pain: prominent Magen Davids alongside dogtags calling to “Bring Them Home Now.” I am in regular conversation with dozens of Jewish leaders, rabbis and educators, and we’re all experiencing this — we’re running out of chairs for programs and struggling to meet demand for Shabbat dinners.

These young Jews have different backgrounds and political views, but they share the life-altering experience of deep disillusionment with previous professional or social homes. Nearly every young person I know has had a (former) friend express sympathy for Hamas, been the recipient of antisemitic comments on social media or seen overt antisemitism in their neighborhood.

Multiple Jewish university students have told me they have endured a sort of social “canceling” for expressing empathy for Israelis. One was ousted from her sorority for being a Zionist, another was told that being a Zionist made others have to self-censor so they stopped including him in events.

But they are finding that in their loneliness, they are not alone. They are rediscovering that they belong to a rich history of Jews who experienced othering and expulsions but whose greatest strength was in each other. They are rediscovering the millenia-old Jewish rituals and community structures that nourish belonging. And they are rediscovering Zionism.

This is not surprising. The Zionist dreamers of the 1800s and 1900s were motivated to build a Jewish state by the realization that their neighbors in an “enlightened” Europe were incubating a hatred so dangerous it could lead to their genocide. Young American Jews today are realizing that they, too, can be made to feel unwanted in their own homes.

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According to many of the protesters, Zionism is a settler-colonialist Jewish supremacist movement akin to Nazism and dedicated to the displacement of Palestinians. But for most of us American Jews, Zionism is the belief that Jews have a right to self-determination in their historical homeland.

At the heart of this Zionism is the security in having at least one place in the world that never closes its doors to displaced and oppressed Jews. This Zionism is dedicated to fighting for an Israel that is liberal and democratic and also holds hope for dignity, rights and freedoms for Palestinians.

I see this vision resonating with young Jews who never would have thought of themselves as Zionists before. I have spoken with young professionals who in college were too progressive to visit Israel but now are convinced that if America betrays its values, Israel is the only other country that would have their backs. I have spoken with dozens of Jews who are looking into real estate opportunities in Israel as an insurance plan in case they have to flee their communities. This is not just talk — just about anyone born a Jew today is a descendant of refugees who were either lucky or alert enough to survive persecution by leaving their homes behind.

Indeed, too many protesters have only reinforced American Jews’ fear that antisemitism is spreading here. Too many anti-Israel protesters have waved flags of terrorist groups sworn to kill Jews like Hezbollah and Hamas, or recycled medieval canards accusing Israel of blood libel. Too many have used chants like “there is only one solution: intifada revolution,” awakening in Jews two nightmarish memories: Hitler’s final solution and the Palestinian intifadas — which saw thousands of Israeli civilians murdered by suicide bombers.

When a UC Santa Barbara Jewish student leader is told “Zionists not welcome,” when an encampment at UCLA blocks Jewish students from getting to class, when a campus leader at Columbia goes so far as to say that Zionists don’t deserve to live, that pushes young Jews to question the direction America is heading in.

After all, though many protesters want to make a distinction between Jews and Zionists — to say that their hostility to Israel doesn’t mean they are hostile to Jews — the reality is that American Jews overwhelmingly identify with Israel. The latest Pew study on Jewish Americans shows that for 82% of US Jews, caring about israel is an important or essential part of what being Jewish means to them. It is therefore understandable that overwhelming numbers of us Jews feel threatened by crowds shouting anti-Zionist slogans.

Of course, some protesters don’t even pretend there’s a distinction. Visibly Jewish university students I’ve talked to have been told that “Hitler should have finished the job” or have had “oink, oink, pigs” screamed at them. This form of overt hatred fuels Zionism. Indeed, there is no greater justification for the legitimacy of a sovereign Jewish state than when protesters yell at us to “Go back to Poland.” This jeer is a grotesque reminder of indifference to Jewish lives — exhorting Jews to go back to the countries where our families were murdered in the gas chambers for not belonging there, while telling us that we don’t belong in America either.

To be sure, Jews’ care for Israel can take many different forms, left-wing and right-wing, in favor of the current Israeli government and deeply opposed to it. But across the political spectrum, it’s become too common for Jews to open up conversations in synagogue or with friends by trying to figure out what signs would lead them to move in search of safety.

As a Jewish educator, I see this moment as a bittersweet opportunity. Antisemitism might be on the rise, but so is Jewish identity. Jews might have friend circles that have disavowed them, but they are finding refuge, comfort and strength in each other. The protests unleashed a relentless antisemitic wave in America, but they also have awakened Zionism in the hearts of American Jews who now understand that Israel is at least one place on Earth that can truly guarantee that Jews will always be welcome.

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Officers remove pro-Palestinian encampment at UC Santa Barbara

Dozens of officers removed an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters from the campus of UC Santa Barbara early Sunday morning, according to videos and social media posts by the protest group.

University officials had sent a message to the group, which calls itself the UCSB Liberated Zone, that the encampment violated university policies and that the protesters were illegally trespassing.

According to the group’s posts on Instagram, dozens of officers arrived on campus shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday morning. The police “gave four dispersal notices to campers and then began moving into the encampment,” the protest group said.

Later video shows workers throwing tents into a large garbage truck.

Five protesters were arrested and booked for unlawful assembly, Santa Barbara County sheriff's officials said. All of the demonstrators have since been released.

In a statement Sunday, Chancellor Henry T. Yang said the university had offered the protesters the opportunity to voluntarily disband and remove the encampment, but they refused.

"Since May, the number of tents, banners, and signs increased. The walls of the library and bathrooms near the tents were defaced by vandalism," Yang said. "Our appeals to respect the rights of the broader community and to remove signs that many in our community reported as offensive and threatening were ignored.

"While we respected the right to protest peacefully, the encampment became increasingly disruptive to students who were trying to pursue their educational goals, as well as faculty and staff who support the academic mission of the University," he continued. "Our principles of community have been strained and we need to work together to restore them in a safe and tolerant environment that protects freedom of expression and supports our common academic mission."

In April, hundreds of protesters occupied the university's student resources building for a daylong series of workshops, art projects and other actions to express solidarity with Palestinians, call for a cease-fire and demand an end to Israel-related investments. Demonstrators set up encampments in May.

Sunday's police operation was the latest following weeks of protests by pro-Palestinian demonstrators at universities throughout the country.

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Pro-Palestinian protest outside LA synagogue criticized as ‘antisemitic’ after street fights with pro-Israel protesters

A pro-Palestinian protest held outside a Los Angeles synagogue devolved into chaotic street violence with pro-Israel counterprotesters on Sunday in an incident that several officials, including President Joe Biden, criticized as antisemitic.

The Los Angeles Police Department said it responded to two protests Sunday in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Pico-Robertson, just south of Beverly Hills. Videos taken at the scene show police pushing pro-Palestinian protesters away from the entrance of the Adas Torah temple, an Orthodox synagogue.

Chants of “Free, free Palestine - from the river to the sea,” and “long live intifada,” could be heard from among the pro-Palestinian protesters. Participants blocked traffic, and video from the scene shows multiple altercations broke out in the middle of the street and on sidewalks.

Officers arrested a person with a “spiked flag,” the police department told CNN. The person was issued a citation for possessing a prohibited item during a protest and released from custody.

At a Monday news conference, Los Angeles Police Department Interim Chief Dominic Choi said detectives are investigating “all acts of violence.”

He added that while residents are “OK” to protest peacefully, “violence will not be tolerated.”

At the news conference, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she plans on meeting with the city attorney’s office to talk about the potential for permits for protests, people wearing masks at protests and “establishing clear lines of demarcation between what is legal and what is not.”

Bass said she will also convene a meeting of leaders of houses of worship and cultural centers to discuss how to protect sacred spaces and keep congregants safe. Police will enhance their partnership with Jewish public safety organizations to review threats to the community, the mayor said.

Protests around the Israel-Gaza war have become common across the United States since October, but Democratic officials sharply criticized Sunday’s event for its violence and for taking place at a Jewish institution.

“I’m appalled by the scenes outside of Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles. Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American,” Biden said on X. “Americans have a right to peaceful protest. But blocking access to a house of worship – and engaging in violence – is never acceptable.”

“The violent clashes outside the Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles are appalling,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on X. “There is no excuse for targeting a house of worship. Such antisemitic hatred has no place in California.”

“Targeting a synagogue, or targeting the members of a synagogue, is anti-Semitic,” US Rep. Ted Lieu of California said on X. “I strongly condemn the Pro-Palestinian demonstrators who engaged in anti-Semitism by targeting Adas Torah Synagogue and/or its congregants. Anyone who engaged in violence should be prosecuted.”

Jewish and Muslim advocacy groups say the war has led to skyrocketing hate crimes and bias incidents. The Anti-Defamation League reports that antisemitic incidents were up 140% in 2023 compared to the prior year. And the Council on American-Islamic Relations said last year marked the highest number of anti-Muslim bias reports it has received in nearly three decades.

On Sunday, Bass said in a statement, “I want to be clear that Los Angeles will not be a harbor for antisemitism and violence. Those responsible for either will be found and held accountable.”

Synagogue hosted Israel real estate event

The protest stemmed from an Israel real estate event on Sunday at the Adas Torah synagogue, according to the synagogue’s security director and social media posts from organizers.

The event at the synagogue was promoted by a firm called My Home in Israel Real Estate, a group that has helped to facilitate marketing events for potential property sales in Israel and the West Bank to Jewish Americans. CNN has reached out to the group for comment.

In response, pro-Palestinian groups announced plans to protest the event in a Friday Instagram post from the Palestinian Youth Movement and an LA-based chapter of the group.

“Our land is not for sale,” the post stated. “Stand against settler expansion at Sunday’s real estate event selling homes to build ‘Anglo neighborhoods’ in Palestine.” The post then listed the synagogue’s Los Angeles address.

“Racist settler expansionists are not welcome in Los Angeles!” the account wrote in the caption. “This blatant example of land theft is operating in our own backyard. The Nakba is ongoing and must be confronted!”

Dan Braum, the volunteer security director for the temple, said the protesters blocked the entrance to the synagogue until police arrived and pushed them away.

It’s unclear how the chaos escalated, but videos shared on social media shows both groups taunting, shoving and grabbing each other outside the synagogue. The groups of demonstrators eventually began flowing down nearby streets, where more scuffles broke out, the videos show.

In one video, two men appear to be wrestling on the ground as others kick at them. Later, one of the men – holding an Israeli flag – appears to have a bloodied face and mouth.

Additional video showed an egg thrown at a pro-Palestinian activist and a man wearing a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian scarf, chased and punched on the ground by a man wearing a Jewish yarmulke or kippah.

During many of the altercations, bystanders worked to pull and hold people apart.

Los Angeles police began monitoring the situation around 10:30 a.m., Officer Tony Im told CNN. The crowd was ordered to disperse at some point, Im said, though no exact time was provided. He added that the situation appeared “pretty calm” hours later, but that police were closely monitoring the area.

‘They came looking to escalate’

Braum said the pro-Palestinian protesters had their faces covered, said “vile, disgusting things” and were “ready for a fight.”

“They come looking to escalate,” he said. “Not every single one of them, that would be unfair of me to say. But there are certain ones who come looking for violence and they get violence and they want the cameras recording.”

One man wearing a red keffiyeh over his face spoke to CNN affiliate KCAL as a counter-protester badgered him to “show your face.”

“It’s not meant to be intimidating. Yeah, disruptive, for sure,” the keffiyeh-wearing man said.

“This is intimidating,” he added, pointing at the counter-protester. “We didn’t get in anyone’s faces.”

However, resident Josh Golcheh disagreed. “They’ve come to our home. They come and are attacking us. They bear-sprayed my friend who’s standing right over here,” he told KCAL. He said people he knew had been attacked. “It’s just terrible.”

Rabbi Hertzel Illulian of the nearby JEM Community Center in Beverly Hills told KCAL violence “doesn’t belong here” and lamented what he saw as a double standard.

“I don’t think the Jewish people would go in front of a mosque or the Christian people would go in front of a mosque to do such a thing,” he said. “Nobody would accept this, but here, when it comes to Jews and Israel, everything is kosher, everything is okay.”

In a statement, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles nonprofit thanked Biden and other officials for their support.

“Yesterday’s abhorrent violence in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles, the most densely populated Jewish area on the West Coast, is yet another example of the rising antisemitism and violence targeting Jews. Harassment, intimidation, and physical attacks against our Jewish community cannot be tolerated or normalized,” the organization said.

“Jews, like everyone else, have the right to live, pray, and gather in peace. We respect the constitutional freedom to protest. However, what we saw yesterday and are witnessing time and again across the nation, are protests that devolve into excuses to target and harm Jews.”

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