Hundreds of GW students, professors, alumni and community members packed the Jack Morton Auditorium at The George Washington University for am important event – ANTISEMITISM: And what YOU can do about it!
The evening, which began with remarks by GW President Thomas LeBlanc, featured a strong bipartisan participation, including House Task Force for Combating Antisemitism co-chairs Representatives Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Chris Smith (R-NJ), Senate Task Force co-chair Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and State Dept. Special Envoys to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Ira Forman (Obama Administration) and Elan Carr (Trump Administration), who shared a panel moderated by Mrs. Nechama Shemtov, Director of Women’s Issues and Community Education for American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) and co-founder of Chabad GW, which sponsored the program. All spoke of the strong support at the highest levels, on both sides of the aisle in both chambers, which is being marshaled to counter the scourge of antisemitism.
Interestingly, the event was promoted and well represented by the GW chapters of “College Republicans” and “College Democrats.”
Other organizations that supported and participated in the event included GWIsrael, Jewish on Campus, Meor, Hadassah, the Louis J. Brandeis Center, the Tikvah Center, and a number of fraternities and sororities.
The program also heard from Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Chabad GW Founder and Executive Vice President of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), who emphatically declared “the most effective answer to antisemitism is a robust, energetic and informed Semitism” and urged the students and others to avail themselves of Torah study, Shabbat dinners, Israel awareness and other programs to help strengthen their own sense of Jewish identity.
Particularly relevant were the strong expressions of Jewish pride in the face of antisemitism by Chabad GW board members Shir Levy ’22, Josh Moussa ’24, Ari Patinkin ’25, Tiffany Salzberg ’25 amd Sabrina Soffer ’25, as they introduced the speakers and addressed the program.
Successful financial entrepreneur Mr. Brock Pierce, in town for several high-level business meetings, made it a point to participate and add his own voice to fighting antisemitism however and wherever necessary.
Students were grateful for the strong and unequivocal support conveyed by the officials, and appreciated being engaged by the Special Envoys, who stayed after the program to speak with many of them privately.
Great work!!!!
Beautiful! All campuses should follow
Thank you Rabbi Shemtov for such a great program and you words of wisdom!!!
Hope more will follow!!!!
Keep up your great work and may you go from strength to strength!