26 | AUGUST 15 • 2024 

MSU Jewish Studies and Muslim 
Studies team up to have difficult 
discussion and diffuse tensions.

KAREN SCHWARTZ 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

Conversations on 
 

Antisemitism 

and 

Islamophobia 

R

ecent Michigan State 
University grad Sydnie 
Burnstein of West 
Bloomfield took part in MSU’s 
four-part series, Conversations 
on Antisemitism 
and Islamophobia, 
in fall 2023, just 
days after the Oct. 7 
attacks. 
The series had 
existed before 
Oct. 7, but took a 
different tone right after the 
attacks, she says. 
 “Coming into that room, 
everyone was very tense and 
very afraid for their security 
because these are really difficult 
discussions and conversations, 
and you never know who’s 
going to show up; but all went 
well for the most part on that 
Oct. 11 and continuing into the 
last two sessions,” she says. 
The kind of collaboration 
that exists to produce and 
execute the Conversations series 
between Muslim and Jewish 
Studies on campus is rare in her 
experience, Burnstein says; but 
it also stood to really benefit 
students, especially as other 
departments sought unity and 
to host events following Oct. 7. 
“We already had this pre-
existing relationship,” she says. 
“There were definitely tough 
moments and tension but there 
was a lot of space for students 
to express their feelings and 
emotions and share what their 
experiences are.” 
After Oct. 7, she explains 
by way of example, Jewish and 
Muslim students shared the 
difficulties they had sleeping or 
keeping their grades up. 
“Coming to an understanding 
that I’m in a similar scenario, 
facing the same emotions 
would not have been possible 
without this kind of dialogue,” 
Burnstein says. “There’s a lot of 
‘othering’ happening, and this 
conversation series really opens 

Sydnie 
Burnstein