Article published by the Gatestone Institute, 2 August 2022. © Richard Kemp
The Hebrew expression ‘hineni’ means ‘here I am’, most famously used by the great Biblical defender of Israel, Isaiah, who responded to a heavenly call to duty with the words: ‘Here I am; send me’. Hineni encapsulates the spirit of Club Z (for Zionism), a network of Jewish American teens that are standing up for their people and their Zionist identity against the scourge of antisemitism that is on the rise across the US, with the latest FBI figures showing Jews — 2.4% of the population — were the target of nearly 60% of religious hate crimes in 2020.
Jew hate is at its most virulent on campus. A complaint filed last week against City University of New York includes a recorded 150+ incidents of antisemitism on their premises since 2015, more than 60 directly targeting Jewish students with the intent to harm them.
Among the allegations are students carving swastikas on school property, mandatory classes scheduled on Saturdays to prevent observant Jews attending, students using class time to accuse Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing’, endorsement of the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a resolution banning Jewish institutions on campus and even an adjunct professor calling to ‘erase this filth called Jews’.
Faced with such widespread animosity and contempt, as well as cancellation of Israeli speakers and protests against those who support Israel, many Jewish students are tempted to keep away, keep silent or at worst take refuge in anti-Israel activism. Some choose to make a stand for their Jewish and Zionist heritage, a course that requires a strong sense of duty – duty to Israel and duty to themselves and their fellow Jews, because attacks on Israel are attacks on the dignity and honor of all Jews. Confronting this Jew hate, often widespread among their peers, also demands moral and sometimes physical courage. It is Club Z’s mission to help teenagers understand their duty and to find the courage to stand up and be counted. Continue reading