As a freshman at Tulane University, Marley woke up one morning to texts from family and friends asking if she was ok. From her dorm room, she heard chants of “free Palestine,” “genocide supporters” and “from the river to the sea.” It was late October 2023. She walked over to an anti-Israel protest on campus and soon realized it wasn’t peaceful, but filled with tension and calls for the destruction of Israel and Jewish people. A red pickup truck sped by with a group of men holding a lighter to an Israeli flag. One of Marley’s friends tried to grab the flag out of their hands. His nose ended up broken after he was hit in the face with a megaphone.
It was the first time Marley felt threatened as a Jewish college student, though she continued proudly to wear her Jewish star.
“As the days went on and my friend’s nose was healing, I thought back to my path of becoming a person who believes in the need for social justice. For four years I was a teen mentor for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). I encountered antisemitism from an early age. I felt confused and saddened, struggling to understand why someone disliked me without even knowing me,” Marley wrote.
After the anti-Israel protest, she and her Jewish friends found solace in community, being there for one another and spending Shabbats together at Hillel or Chabad. As the campus protests and encampments escalated in the spring, Marley realized addressing a lack of education about the issues is key.
Back in her hometown in Connecticut after the school year ended, she was disappointed and angry that the community wasn’t raising awareness around antisemitism. She felt compelled to do something and reached out to ADL, remembering her experiences as a teen mentor.
Once she became an ADL summer intern, she felt better equipped to remain calm in the face of upsetting comments. She learned how to counter antisemitism through her work at ADL such as strategies and specific language to use when faced with that hate.
Marley is back on campus for her sophomore year. She said it feels good to be there. Every Sunday, there is a walk when participants wear Israeli flags, carry signs of the hostages and read out their names. She described it as peaceful and as a way to show support for Israel and raise awareness.
She has already spent Shabbats at Chabad, even showing up early to help set up and spend time with the rabbi and his family. She hopes to continue surrounding herself within the Jewish community.
“Especially at times like this, it makes people want to be stronger together.”