A Jewish synagogue in Los Angeles started a new program to aid high schoolers fight back against anti-semitism in colleges and universities.
Sinai Temple, a conservative Jewish synagogue, began offering the new seminar in October, starting with a class of 16 high schoolers, according to All Israel News.
The new seminar is called the Beren Scholars Program, named after philanthropist Robert Beren, according to eJewishPhilanthropy.
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The capstone of the experience will see students traveling to Sacramento, California, in order to talk to state legislators, All Israel News reported.
Rabbi Erez Sherman, who leads the program, told The Media Line: “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.”
“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, an Emeritus Rabbi of Sinai Temple, told The Media Line.
Sinai Temple also emphasizes the benefits of working together with Christians to oppose anti-Semitism.
“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,’” Rabbi Sherman said, according to Ynet.
Students will also have the opportunity to listen to experts on anti-Semitism such as Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League, The Algemeiner wrote.
Sinai Temple says it is committed “ to the principles and values of Conservative Judaism” and is “devoted to Jewish learning and support for Israel and the Jewish people.”
Campus Reform has contacted Sinai Temple for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
