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BY MYRA CLARK-SIEGEL, 

AJC WESTCHESTER/FAIRFIELD 

REGIONAL DIRECTOR

As we prepare for the school year to begin, educators, school administrators, and Jewish parents and students face a challenge far greater than school supply lists and syllabi. They return to classrooms still reverberating from the aftershocks of October 7, still confronting hostility and distortion, and still navigating what it means to be visibly Jewish in a climate increasingly shaped by division, denial, and disinformation.

This isn’t just a “back to school” moment. It’s a back to reality moment.

Antisemitism is no longer hidden in corners or confined to the internet. It’s showing up in lesson plans, faculty lounges, school board meetings, and student protests. And it’s happening not just on college campuses, but in our schools. We’ve seen it in curriculum debates, classroom incidents, and school silence in moments that demand moral clarity.

If we are to ensure that Jewish families thrive in safety and dignity, we must meet this moment with something stronger than concern: we must meet it with clarity, courage, and commitment.

Over the past two academic years, we’ve seen that when Jewish families – parents AND students – are equipped with language and strategy—not just emotion—they can advocate effectively. When school leaders are given facts and context—not just pressure—they can understand and teach more effectively. And when communities work across lines of faith and identity, they can challenge hate with unity.

Over the past year, our region has brought together hundreds of parents, teens, and educators through quiet briefings and dynamic summits. We’ve empowered school leaders to recognize the real, lived experience of the Jewish community as a minority community, and to respond to and prevent antisemitism. And we’ve equipped students to express pride in their identity, navigate complexity, and speak up for Israel.

But we are only just beginning.

This Fall, we cannot afford to be reactive. We must be strategic. That means holding substantive conversations with school leaders and providing resources for educators to understand the lived experiences of the Jewish community as a tiny minority, even in an area such as Westchester County. It means training students to understand both their heritage and the headlines. It means engaging our non-Jewish neighbors in deeper partnerships grounded in shared values and the need to stand up and speak up for the Jewish community. 

Our region has undertaken this work—with briefings for superintendents, summits for parents and teens, and ongoing advocacy with interfaith partners and government officials. But there is more to do.

We need more voices at the table, more allies in the room, and more readiness in our own ranks. Because no student should feel alone in their identity—and no parent should feel powerless in the face of rising hate.

This fall marks the 10th year of AJC’ Westchester/Fairfield’s Leaders for Tomorrow (LFT) program—our high school advocacy initiative for 10-12th graders that trains high school students to be informed, confident Jewish leaders. Applications are now open, and already, most spaces are filled. If you know a student who needs this moment—and this training—now is the time. And the same goes for the parents. To apply, go to westchester@ajc.org.

Because Jewish families must not inherit silence. They must inherit strength.

And strength doesn’t come from isolation. It comes from strategy.

So as backpacks are packed and classrooms reopen, let us recommit: not just to showing up, but to speaking out. Not just to reacting, but to reshaping the space around us. Let’s recommit not just to presence, but to strategic purpose. 

The classroom should be a place of learning and our town squares a place of upstanders—not of fear. Let’s make it so. Together. 

AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. To learn more about AJC educational and advocacy resources and ways to make your voice heard, contact us at westchester@ajc.org.