As colleges prepare for the fall semester, Georgia faculty members joined educators and student leaders from across the country in Washington, D.C., to discuss strategies for addressing antisemitism and strengthening support for Jewish students.
The three-day Jewish Student National Leadership Summit, held Aug. 2-4, brought together nearly 70 faculty members and hundreds of student leaders. Faculty and students participated in sessions focused on strengthening faculty-student partnerships, sharing best practices and preparing campuses to respond to antisemitism during the coming academic year.
The Georgia delegation included faculty from Spelman College as well as representatives connected to Emory University, Georgia State University and Georgia Tech. Organizers said the gathering comes as antisemitic incidents have increased nationally and on some college campuses following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. According to the Academic Engagement Network and Anti-Defamation League 73.2% of Jewish faculty reported observing anti-Jewish activity or statements from faculty, administrators or staff. The Anti-Defamation League also reported 83 antisemitic incidents in Georgia in 2025.
Miriam Elman, executive director of the Academic Engagement Network, said the summit gave faculty an opportunity to collaborate with one another while engaging directly with students navigating challenges on their campuses.
“By coming together from campuses across the country, they are strengthening partnerships, sharing successful strategies and ensuring students know they have faculty standing with them,”Elman said.
Elman said the summit also reinforced the role faculty can play in supporting students.
“I think the students began to realize, ‘Hey, wait a minute. Actually, that’s not true,'” Elman said, referring to the belief that faculty are powerless to help. “They have partners in the faculty and they don’t just have to do this alone.”
“You’ve [students] got to rely on the faculty to do this work,” she said.
John Eaves, an adjunct instructor at Morehouse College and founder of Black and Jewish Leaders of Tomorrow, said his work combating antisemitism is shaped by both his identity as a Black Jewish man and his commitment to building relationships across communities.
“I see antisemitism as a cousin of racism,” Dr.Eaves said. “It’s all connected… to hate against marginalized groups of people.”
Eaves said the summit reinforced the importance of coalition building rather than allowing divisions to deepen. Through Black and Jewish Leaders of Tomorrow, he has brought together students from Atlanta University Center institutions with Jewish students from Emory University, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech and Agnes Scott College to foster dialogue, build friendships and highlight the historic partnership between Black and Jewish leaders during the Civil Rights Movement.
“What I’ve learned is that the theory meets the practice,” Eaves said. “I’ve seen how you can bring two people who are almost diametrically different together… and they walk away saying, ‘Gosh, we have more in common than not.'”
Both Eaves and Elman expressed that the Israel-Hamas war has affected campus climate, saying their focus is ensuring Jewish students are not targeted because of their identity and that universities respond appropriately to incidents of antisemitism. Dr.Elman said many campuses have strengthened policies and enforcement since the height of protests in 2023 and 2024, while Dr. Eaves said he hopes to continue expanding bridge-building efforts that encourage dialogue across communities.
For all who attended, the summit underscored the role that faculty and students can play in fostering respectful campus dialogue as the academic year begins.
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