University presidents across America have shut down pro-Palestinian protests by force and arrested students. Where then are they supposed to have meaningful discussions on difficult topics like #warongaza, #ceasefirenow, #antisemitism, and #bringthemhomenow?

Across the street from Columbia University where this all started, Union Theological Seminary president Rev. Serene Jones knows where:

“Whatever our differences, I firmly believe campuses must be places for lively, rigorous debate, where we struggle collectively to find better ways to live together on this planet, and where students have the chance to find and strengthen their voices. Education is to experience the power of collective action, to become a passionate, engaged citizen. These precious values do not flourish when protests are squashed. Democracy itself cannot flourish."

Unlike what occurred at Columbia, she reminded her students that “Union has a strict policy that prohibits the NYPD from entering our campus, except in the rare situation where a serious crime has been committed“.

She then backed up her words by opening her campus to Columbia's Jewish students for a Passover seder, attended also by Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and students of other faiths.

It's dialogue like this that I think Diana Fersko, Senior Rabbi at The Village Temple in downtown Manhattan would support. She wrote We Need to Talk About Antisemitism because the vast majority of us have very little understanding about Jews.

Here's a basic example: there are 15 million Jews worldwide. That's about half the size of Shanghai.

• Christians > Jews 160,000-to-1
• Muslims > Jews 130,000-to-1
• Hindus > Jews 80,000-to-1 

Those aren't typos. If like me you're surprised, add that to the list of things we can all learn more about. More serious on the list: the holocaust, Jewish racialization, capitalist conspiracies, Judeo-Christian conflicts, and Israel.

So where are people, especially future leaders, supposed to learn about this? Well, now we're back to the topic of education, schools, and universities. But it can't happen if we can't talk about it (and makes you wonder what our current leaders know and don't know).

Read this book if you want to learn more #antisemitism. If you want some history on #ceasefirenow, a reminder about our “There was once peace in Palestine" post.

In the meantime, we can support Jewish-owned small businesses such as:

• Ariel Tidhar in Brooklyn fundraising for rescue services in Israel ,
• Sunflower Bakery in Rockville, MD training young adults and teens with learning differences,   
• Hamsa Made in Philadelphia upcycling sedar plates & wedding glasses 
• Safta in Denver & Saba in New Orleans supporting medical assistance in Israel, 
• Call Your Mother in Washington D.C. helping area youth & immigrants,
• Hyman's Seafood in Charleston, SC feeding anyone hungry for free no questions asked, and
• Big Heart Candle Company in Dallas donating 10% of profits to the American Heart Association.

“Have you heard?” is our way of sharing another point of view on commonly held beliefs. Through this we hope to encourage curiosity, dialogue, and tolerance of diverse ideas.