16 | OCTOBER 10 • 2024 

JEWISH LIFE ON CAMPUS
Holding an Israeli flag adorned with a large yel-
low ribbon were seniors Evan Solomon, 22, and 
Max Burgida, 21. 
Solomon said misinformation about Israel on 
campus is a lingering problem, but the Jewish 
community stands strong in supporting one 
another. 
“I think the Jewish community on campus 
is doing a fantastic job in sticking together,” 
Solomon said. “It is so important for Jewish and 
non-Jewish students who have all kinds of view-
points to hear the stories of these former hostag-
es to counter all the misinformation. They are 
so resilient. And, at the end of the day, no one 
wants more people to die. We are all human.” 
Going forward after the rally, senior Sam 
Heller, 21, said that he is optimistic about this 
school year compared to last year. He commend-
ed the proactive efforts of U-M President Santa 
Ono. 
Heller, who is an active member of a group 
called Facts on the Ground (FOG), said he is 
looking forward to building dialogue with stu-
dents from a multitude of viewpoints on the 
Middle East by bringing thought-provoking 
speakers to campus to an event tentatively sched-
uled for November. 
Adding to Heller’s sentiments, senior Daniella 
Ludmir, 21, said FOG aims at informing all 
students on campus on the complexities of the 
Middle East. 
“We try to improve campus climate by pro-
moting dialogue and educating students,” 
Ludmir said. “We are very dedicated to this mis-

sion of bringing speakers from Israel, Palestine, 
Lebanon and other places to campus who have 
lived through conflicts firsthand to promote the 
education that we seek.” 
Lisa Elconin from West Bloomfield, who is 
a U-M alumna and has children and nephews 
attending the university, said now is the time for 
the wider Jewish community to show their sup-
port for Jewish life on campus. 
She attended the rally with other women 
as part of a group called “MacaBees” on the 
Ground, a nationwide mobilization created by 
the new organization Mothers Against College 
Antisemitism (MACA). Across the country, as 
a grassroots effort, Jewish mothers who either 
have a student enrolled at a campus or who live 
nearby volunteer to come to campus to hold 
signs showing support for Israel and Jewish stu-
dents. 
“At times like this, we need to show the stu-
dents our support,” Elconin said. “I am the 
daughter of a Holocaust survivor, and I think 
about that a lot now, with all we are going 

through. First students had to deal with COVID, 
and now they have to deal with antisemitism 
at levels we have never experienced in our life-
times. That’s why it is important to show up and 
give support.” 
Speaking at the podium, junior Danny 
Portnoy, the student president of the Jewish 
Resource Center, said now is the time for Jewish 
students to continue to be joyous and proud and 
find comfort in the strong Zionist and Jewish 
community that exists at Michigan. This joy 
needs to fly in the face of the increasing and 
continued animosity she and many of her peers 
have experienced for nearly a year, she said. 
“Do my fellow classmates care how deeply I 
have been hurting over this past year?” she asked 
the crowd. “Do they know how it feels to walk 
across campus nervous and anxious to express 
our beliefs and display our religious identity? 
When these doubts and questions arise, I am 
comforted by our strong Jewish community.” 
Portnoy said she and other campus Jewish 
leaders have attended many rallies and vigils 
and “expressed their concerns about their safety 
many times to the administration while their 
feelings of grief were still real and raw.” 
But, on the 357th day since Oct. 7, Portnoy 
wanted to give a message of Jewish joy. 
“Jewish joy is resilience,” she said. “It’s the joy 
of crowded Shabbat dinners, gathering to bake 
hundreds of challot or Israeli music blasting at 
parties as we dance with our friends. 
“It’s the joy of tradition, culture and communi-
ty that has sustained our people through count-
less challenges.” 

Lisa Elconin and other 
Mothers Against 
College Antisemitism

Jen Airley, 
who lost a 
son in Gaza

Evan Solomon and Max Burgida, both seniors
OUR COMMUNITY

continued from page 15

