How Chabad Became the Heart of Jewish Life on Campus
by Musia Kaplan – chabad.org
“I never thought I would have to take off my Star of David necklace,” a student told Rabbi Levi Cunin a week after Oct. 7, 2023. Tears filled her eyes as she said, “I’m scared rabbi. What should I do?”
Cunin, who leads Chabad-Lubavitch at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., with his wife, Shaina, acknowledged the student’s concerns and said she had reason to be vigilant. Virtual flyers demanding “A Day of Revenge on the Jews” were circulating on social media. Protests by the Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC) were becoming increasingly aggressive. And the antisemitic graffiti around campus hadn’t escaped his notice.
“But,” Cunin told the student, “we can’t react to antisemitism by hiding who we are. That’s never gotten Jews far before. Instead, let’s respond by being prouder Jews than before.”
This motto shaped the post-Oct. 7 year at IU.
In the spring of 2024, the PSC set up a pro-Palestinain encampment directly outside the doors of the Chabad House. In response, the students danced joyfully to Jewish music they blasted from the building.
When the PSC began a weekly sit-in at the Starbucks lounge—the most popular study spot on campus—Chabad responded again.
“We started a new class called ‘How to Outsmart Antisemitism’,” the rabbi said. “We hosted it in the Starbucks Lounge at the same time as the sit-in. We printed a banner offering ‘FREE FREE COFFEE.’ Our students were so excited that they would show up at Starbucks early to reserve enough seats. Parents loved the initiative and sponsored the coffee. The class was a success, the students felt empowered, and best of all, the protestors got to learn about outsmarting antisemitism.”
“We were already a strong, active community before Oct. 7, but now our students have become louder and prouder,” said Shaina Cunin. “They encourage their friends to join Jewish pride events and post about Israel on social media. They’ve created a magnetic energy that draws in other students. Today, every Jewish student at IU knows that if they want a place to feel at home, a place where they’ll find community and solidarity, the doors of Chabad are always open.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Jewish students on college campuses across the United States. With the annual gathering of the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries set to take place this weekend in New York, a look at how Chabad has become the home and heart of Jewish life on campus.
The ‘Oct. 8 Phenomenon’
The Oct. 7 massacre ripped open a wound in the psyche of Jews in the Diaspora. The reaction of the world in the days that followed—beginning on Oct. 8, even before Israel retaliated—poured merciless salt on that wound. Jews assumed they would receive empathy from their friends and neighbors. Instead, they were vilified and ostracized. Perhaps nowhere was this betrayal felt as starkly as on American college campuses.
Alex Bernat is a senior at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. “On Oct. 8, Harvard’s pro-Palestinian society released a now infamous statement blaming Israel for the massacre,” Bernat said. “That kickstarted a ridiculous sequence of events where they continuously demonized Jews, blamed the victims and disrupted campus life. As an open and proud Jew, I felt alienated from the Harvard community.”
But the rejection and vilification of Jewish students on campus had an unintended effect.
Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, who leads Chabad at Kansas University with his wife, Nechama Dina, said, “After Oct. 7, Jewish students at KU discovered that many of their so-called friends didn’t like them as much as they thought they did. They also discovered that their Jewish classmates, who they may have never even spoken to before, considered them family. They become conscious of this incredible community that they are automatic members of. And they came to Chabad seeking to learn more, to understand more and to do more.”
Rabbi Tiechtel likes to tell his students that when you squeeze an olive, you get olive oil, and when you squeeze a Jew, you get “Jewce.” The Jewish essence—the fiery soul—flares up under pressure. “That’s why we have doubled our engagement since Oct. 7,” he explained. “That’s why more Jewish students than ever are attending Shabbat dinners, joining Torah-study classes and taking on a mitzvah—a good deed—for the sake of our hostages and soldiers.”
The numbers tell the story of the Oct. 8 phenomenon. According to Chabad on Campus’s data, from 2023 to 2024, there has been 30 percent increase in student engagement at Shabbat dinners, a 55 percent increase in engagement for Purim and Chanukah events, and a staggering 441 percent increase in students reaching out to Chabad just to talk. As of 2024, 480 Chabad Houses are servicing more than 957 campuses in 37 countries, bringing immeasurable support to thousands of Jewish students worldwide.
Even in universities with no protests or encampments, the “Oct. 8 phenomenon” was still visible.
In sunny Florida, Mushka Lipskier leads Chabad at the University of Miami Undergraduates with her husband, Rabbi Shmuly Lipskier. “The University of Miami was ranked the second-safest American campus for Jews, right after Yeshiva University,” said Lipskier. “Our students were not bogged down by antisemitism after Oct. 7. This gave them freedom to go ‘on the offensive’ instead of the defensive. Our students are not only embracing Jewish life more than before, they are proactively spreading the joy and beauty of Judaism with their friends and families. The guys are wrapping tefillin on their friends. The girls are giving out Shabbat candles. It’s really amazing to witness.”
Jared Lewin is a senior at the University of Miami. In the last four years, his relationship with G‑d and his own Jewish identity has shifted dramatically. “I was already on my own spiritual journey when Oct. 7 happened,” Lewin said. “For me, it reaffirmed what I already knew: that being a Jew is central to who I am. But for many of my friends, it was a turning point. It made them realize that being Jewish is not just a side note in their lives. They started seeking to connect with their faith for the first time. And the best place to do that on campus is, of course, at Chabad.”
Chabad Steps Up
On campuses around the world, Chabad has been a constant presence, uplifting Jewish students, offering a safe space and helping them find a positive way to respond to negativity on campus. But Jewish students needed something more. They needed advocates. Once again, Chabad emissaries stepped up to the plate.
“We became their voice,” said Rabbi Tiechtel. “Our first priority was ensuring our students’ physical and emotional protection. While students have the right to rally and protest, they don’t have the right to harass and intimidate. We brought awareness to how expressions like ‘Globalize the intifada’ or ‘From the river to sea’ impacted Jewish students.”
He continued, noting that “we helped Kansas University create guidelines that protected free speech while also ensuring Jewish students feel safe. We also tried to streamline the process of filing complaints, so that when antisemitic incidents did occur, students felt heard and addressed without having to jump through bureaucratic hoops. Through it all, the administration at KU was receptive and thankful.”
Shaina Cunin said parents of prospective students frequently call her to ask about the state of antisemitism at Indiana University. “I tell them that unfortunately there is antisemitism everywhere. What they should be looking out for is there is a thriving Jewish community on campus. At IU, Jewish students feel empowered. They have never felt prouder. They know that Chabad is their advocate and that gives them the courage to stand up to any hate.”
Bernat, who is currently co-president at Harvard Chabad, described how Chabad spearheaded events to combat antisemitism and atrocity denialism. “We held a screening of the Israeli military film showing raw footage from Oct. 7,” he said. “We brought speakers to address the Jewish students and bolster their courage and Jewish pride. Most recently, [hedge-fund billionaire and Harvard alumnus] Bill Ackman addressed the students about the importance of pursuing truth when it’s most difficult. Since day one, Chabad has been the loudest advocate for Jewish students at Harvard. They are usually the first, and sometimes the only, to speak up.”
The Future of Jewish Life on Campus
There has been plenty of media coverage—from The New York Times to X—about antisemitism on campus and the failures of university leadership. Bernat feels a more important story has escaped the spotlight.
“Of course, it’s not pleasant to go to class and discover your professor canceled class in solidarity with an anti-Israel protest,” he said. “But that’s not the totality of the Jewish experience at Harvard. That narrative misses out on the incredible joyful parts of Jewish life here. Every single Shabbat, hundreds of Jewish students gather at Chabad for a meal that nourishes our bodies and souls. When I was sick last week, Chabad sent me homemade soup.
“Last year, on July 4th, I was home in Highland Park, Illinois, and attended my town’s parade. Tragically, a shooter stole seven lives that day. A couple hours later, I received a call from my rabbi, 800 miles away in Massachusetts. He had seen the shooting in the news and wanted to make sure I was OK.
“It’s these little details that really matter. Thanks to Chabad, there is an active, vibrant Jewish community here at Harvard. Yes, there are underlying problems that need to be dealt with, but the solution is for more unapologetic Jewish students to join us in changing the status quo.”
Carly Bernard, a junior at Indiana University, grew up in Bloomfield, Mich., a short drive from the city of Dearborn. “Coexistence comes naturally to me,” she said. “I always had friends who saw the situation in the Middle East differently than me. Although the year since Oct. 7 has been painfully divisive, I am optimistic about the future. Yes, some people are brainwashed, but the joy and pride that has been awakened in Jewish students are not going anywhere. We’re an unstoppable group of people, we always persevere, we always come out stronger, and that’s gonna happen again.
When asked if he feels more fear or hope for the Jewish future, Rabbi Yossy Gordon, CEO of Chabad on Campus, replied: “The Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory], wrote in a 1960 letter, ‘Youth has special qualities of untapped reserves of energy and enthusiasm. In addition, being still on the threshold of life, youth has a greater measure of goodness and purity.’”
“Chabad on Campus is tapping into those pure reserves of energy,” Gordon continued. “We are fueling their passion into action, and empowering the next generation of Jewish leaders to be proud, bold and unafraid. This was incredibly vivid at our recent Pegisha gathering of students in New York City, during the Saturday night Havdalah ceremony, when over 2,000 Jewish students joined together in song and dance. There was enough light in that room to illuminate the world.
“I have never felt more hopeful about the Jewish future.”
