Program prepares Jewish American high schoolers for antisemitism on US college campuses

Sinai Temple’s Beren Scholars Program trains Jewish high schoolers to combat antisemitism on college campuses, build interfaith allyships, and advocate for Jewish causes.

By CLINT VAN WINKLE/THE MEDIA LINE DECEMBER 5, 2024 16:13

Jonah Platt, host of the podcast “Being wish,” with the Beren Scholars. (photo credit: Courtesy)

In response to the massive uptick in antisemitism on American college campuses, Sinai Temple in Los Angeles recently launched a seminar to prepare Jewish high schoolers for the increasingly antisemitic atmosphere that is present at many US colleges.

“Today, we are asking our college freshmen to be leaders in this field even though we have never trained them. It's because we need them to. We are not [on college campuses], but they are there. So let's start actually training them on how to identify antisemitism, combat antisemitism, and the most important piece they are working on is learning how to form allyships,” Rabbi Erez Sherman, Sinai Temple’s co-senior rabbi and the new program’s leader, told The Media Line.

The inaugural cohort of 16 high schoolers began in October. The 2024 program culminates with a trip to Sacramento, where students will practice their new skills as they meet with state lawmakers to advocate for Jewish causes.

“This program is vital to educate the next generation to confront and combat the rising antisemitism casting a shadow over the Jewish future,” Rabbi David Wolpe, Max Webb Emeritus Rabbi of Sinai Temple, told The Media Line.

Rabbi David Wolpe addressing Beren Scholars and parents at the opening session. (credit: Courtesy)

As antisemitism increased, the rabbis reached out to their neighbors of faith for support. The Church of Latter-Day Saints, Saint Paul the Apostle Catholic church, and several protestant churches partnered with Sinai Temple to battle antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the community. Saint Paul the Apostle hung a banner of the October 7th hostages they received from Sinai Temple. Rabbi Sherman hopes to impart this interfaith allyship model to the Beren Scholars.

“Of course, we want the kids to reach out to the Jewish community once they get on campus, but we also want them to be able to go from Hillel to Christian clubs on campus to say, ‘What can we do together to make our experience even better.’”

How to make college better for Jewish kids was the question philanthropist Julie Beren Platt, a congregation member, the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America, and mother of five kids, also asked. Her family funded Sinai Temple’s program via the Robert M. Beren Family Foundation in honor of her father, who passed away in 2023.

Hearing from the scholars themselves 

The participants are referred to as Beren Scholars.

“I feel like I am not doing enough at my school. So I thought this was a perfect opportunity to be able to do something in the Jewish community and to get closer to my Jewish side. It was a better way to just get closer to my Jewish side and learn more about my history and learn how I can be a Jewish person living in the world, especially at my age,” Eli, a 16-year-old high school junior and Beren Scholar, told The Media Line.

Leah, an 18-year-old high school senior and one of the Beren Scholars, shared some of Eli's concerns.

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“There was a rise of antisemitism at my school…and seeing all this antisemitism on college campuses as well, I kind of wanted to have a good basis on how to combat antisemitism and have productive conversations with people with opposing views of mine. So, I joined this program to become better prepared for when I go to college and face all this antisemitism that is happening,” Leah told The Media Line.

Participants cited their access to numerous mentors as one of several bright spots in the program so far. Jonah Platt, Julie Beren Platt’s actor/ singer son and host of the podcast Being Jewish, is one such mentor who has already taken an active role with the Beren Scholars. He stressed the program's importance for the Jewish community as a whole.

“Now more than ever, empowering our Jewish students to be loud and proud about their Jewish identity is vitally important. Beren Scholars is doing that work, and it’s sure to pay dividends far beyond the individuals in the room,” Jonah Platt told The Media Line.

The Platts aren't the only celebrities or influential people working with the Beren Scholars. Miss Iraq 2017 and UN Watch Ambassador for Peace Sarah Idan, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, Oscar-award-winning film producer Deborah Oppenheimer, and actor/comedian Michael Rappaport are some of the other guest speakers the students will interact with during the program.

Leah said the program has already made an impact, especially a recent talk by Rabbi Wolpe about discussing antisemitism with people who may disagree.

“Even if you have these conversations with people with opposing views, you are not going to change their minds right away, but what matters the most is that you say something that they might reflect on in the future, and you hope they become educated over time and eventually evolve in their views. The change doesn't happen right away,” Leah recounted Rabbi Wolpe telling them.

The Beren Scholars Program at Sinai Temple plans to expand nationally in the fall of 2025.