It’s lunchtime at DSST: Cedar High School and the menu for students at JEWISHcolorado’s Jewish Student Connection (JSC) Club includes bagels, cream cheese, and a frank discussion of antisemitism.
For the past 10 years, Scott Esserman has been facilitating these discussions for students on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). With more than 30 years of experience in education, he can spot trends when he sees them, and since October 7, he has seen a significant shift in the experiences of the students he meets. At DSST: Cedar High School, when he asks students to stand if they have experienced an antisemitic incident, most stand.
“For the first eight years I was doing this work, that question would have been largely theoretical,” he says in an interview after the club meets. “Few students would have stood. Almost overnight, since October 7, that has changed. These students have an additional set of experiences that previous kids did not have.”
During November, JEWISHcolorado arranged for Esserman and other ADL facilitators, including Ilana Steinberg and Jerry Pinsker, all “Words to Action Facilitators,” to meet with Jewish Student Connection clubs in high schools around the metro area and in Boulder.
“Now more than ever, the partnership between JSC and the ADL is relevant and important,” says Jillian Feiger, Director of Teen and Israel Engagement. “JEWISHcolorado JSC staff, in collaboration with the ADL, created the program this semester to ensure that students have the tools and resources they need to respond to antisemitic incidents.”
For just under one hour, these students—Jewish and non-Jewish—grapple with some of the most difficult definitions and actions demanded by a significant increase in global antisemitism. The ADL reports a 140% increase in antisemitic incidents in the United States during 2023, the highest number since the ADL began its tracking in 1979.
“It is important to teach people what antisemitism is and what to do when you see it because for some people, the definition seems up in the air, and you don’t know what to do,” says Senior Sophie Moss, President of the DSST: Cedar Jewish Student Connection Club. “Having the ADL here is another way to combat antisemitism because they make it clear—it is not okay at all.”
Questions and answers
Esserman begins the session by reviewing important ADL definitions and questions with the students. What is antisemitism? What is anti-Zionism? What is anti-Israel bias? How is legitimate criticism of Israel different from antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and anti-Israel bias?
“Many people ask, ‘Is anti-Zionism, anti-Israel bias, or criticism of Israel antisemitic,’” Esserman says as the students study the ADL materials. “A better question to ask is, ‘How is antisemitism showing up in this language, behavior, or ideology?’ And it’s important to challenge antisemitism in all of its forms, especially when discussing Israel.”
Esserman follows up with the “stand up” exercise, asking students to stand if they have experienced antisemitism on social media, or in school, or from a friend, or from a teacher. “Stand if you have responded to an antisemitic post on social media and your post prompted a response that indicated even greater ignorance,” Esserman concludes.
By now, almost everyone in the room has stood at least once.
Now, Esserman changes the focus of the presentation to five plausible scenarios that students may have experienced and the tools they can use to handle them. Students break up into small groups to discuss the case studies and what they would or could do to respond.
Scenario #2: While walking down the hall, I heard someone yell, “Go back to Poland,” at my friend who wears a Star of David necklace.
Scenario #3: While in history class, my teacher was teaching about World War II and didn’t mention the Holocaust at all. When confronted about it, he said, “We don’t have the time to address it.”
When the students return to the large group, their responses speak volumes about the challenges of wrestling with these situations.
Olivia Moss, Sophie’s younger sister, represents her group on the subject of the “Poland” scenario. “I think you could speak up on it, and you could report it,” she says. “But I am not confident anything will come of it.”
In contrast, the group that assessed the “history class” scenario had a strategy—they would report the situation to a teacher they trusted, and if that teacher did not respond, they would continue to go higher on the administrative ladder. Esserman assured students that they could always come to him if they needed to, as did the Jewish Club Teacher Sponsor from DSST: Cedar Gabrielle Korey.
Combatting antisemitism with information
The students do not have to struggle with these difficult topics alone. They are supported in their discussions by staff from JEWISHcolorado—Feiger, Teen Engagement Manager Zachary Zimmermann, and two of JEWISHcolorado’s five Shinshinim (Israeli teen emissaries) Shoham Suisa and Yuval Tamir.
On a regular week when the ADL is not at the meeting, the group might discuss Judaic culture, educating non-Jewish students about topics that might be unfamiliar to them, something that the vice-president of the club Sammy Weiser thinks is important.
“Antisemitism comes out of ignorance,” Weiser says. “Having a club that is open to all students and actively informing people outside the Jewish faith about Judaism and Jewish concepts is a way to combat antisemitism.”
“DSST: Cedar’s experience with the ADL program was not unique,” says Feiger. “All 15 schools with JSC Clubs across the Denver Metro and Boulder area have highlighted the amount of antisemitism that is happening in high schools. We are grateful that we can provide a safe space for Jewish and non-Jewish allies to create a community within their school.”
By the end of the club meeting, Esserman moves around the room, picking up his handout materials, knowing that long after the bagels have disappeared, the lessons of the day will stay with these students.
“I am a lifelong educator,” he says. “By doing this work, I know that I am continuing to provide students with a set of skills and strategies for addressing difficult potential circumstances in their lives.”