Students Meet with Jewish on Campus Founder Julia Jassey

 by Talia Herbst, SSLI '25

Last night, students who participated in the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Leaders for Tomorrow program (LFT) 2.0 and Next cohorts met with Julia Jassey, founder of the organization Jewish on Campus (JOC). 

Students heard Julia Jassey's story. (Y. Pedram)

Jassey's alma mater is the University of Chicago, from which she graduated in 2023. When she was a sophomore, she created the Jewish on Campus organization after unfortunately having an antisemitic experience on her campus that affected her. She did not have a safe space to go and did not know what to do. From that experience, she took it upon herself to make a change. In 2020, Jewish on Campus was created.

According to the Jewish on Campus website, their mission is “to amplify the voices of Jewish students, strengthen Jewish identity, and combat hate to secure the future of the Jewish people.”

Julia went through the many tropes that are considered antisemitic. She taught attendees the "Three Ds" that Natan Shransky, an Israeli human rights advocate and politician, came up with for recognizing if an action is antisemitic. If the message demonizes Israel, delegitimizes Israel, and/or sets double standards on Israel, then it is considered antisemitic.

Senior Yael Pedram “loved” the presentation by Julia Jassey. Pedram shared, “I found her story very inspiring; she internalized the antisemitism that she faced throughout her college experience and used that to create a beautiful outcome: Jewish on Campus.” She added, “She was very relatable, as she is young, and she is still active in combating antisemitism, something I am also passionate about.”

On many college campuses, there are JOC student union chapters. However, not all academic institutions have a chapter, and there are opportunities for students to create their own. Senior Liam Golan will be attending the University of Arizona, which does not have a JOC chapter. Golan shared, “The work that [Julia Jassey] does is important. I plan to reach out to start a JOC chapter on my campus.” 

Julia shared that all the chapters are student-run because only current students can speak on their experiences.

JOC is different from Hillel and Chabad because it is all student-run. Although both organisations are safe spaces for Jewish students, JOC focuses on Jewish college students advocating for themselves, for Israel, and allows for them to make their voices heard.

As many students are stepping foot into the real world on college campuses next year, Julia’s presentations gave students tools in their toolbox so that they know what to do, what to say, and where to go in case they face an antisemitic situation on campus.

Pedram concluded, “I am very grateful for organizations like Jewish on Campus and AJC for making the transition [to college] easier."

Talia Herbst is a writer for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since December 2021. Talia is currently a senior at the Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: therbst25@schechterli.org