Two years ago, the October 7 attack on Israel marked a turning point for the Jewish community and for higher education. Across the country, a resurgence of antisemitism at many college campuses have too often been met with silence and even tolerance. It is a test of principle — and many institutions are demonstrating systemic moral failure.
History has shown us what happens when hatred goes unchecked, and Jewish students on many campuses today are left asking whether their academic community cares to protect them. When I became president of Florida Atlantic, and the first of Jewish faith, I began by affixing a mezuzah to the doorframe of my office with the blessing of Rabbi Boruch Shmuel Liberow. It was a small, personal act, but also a public statement: Jewish life belongs at our university.
Since the October 7th massacre, it has become increasingly clear that many institutional leaders are ignoring or denying the proliferation of contemporary antisemitism, and that is unacceptable. We are taking a different path.
We are ensuring that Florida Atlantic becomes the safest and most welcoming university for Jewish life in America. In August, we began construction on the Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building, which will serve as a national model for centers of education that wish to remain firmly rooted in truth and moral clarity.
South Florida is home to the third-largest Jewish population outside of Israel, and the Wallach building is being constructed at the right time to establish Florida Atlantic’s Boca Raton campus as a cultural and academic hub. The building carries the story of the late Kurt Wallach, whose family suffered unimaginable loss during the Holocaust. He and his wife, Marilyn, turned their family’s tragedies into an enduring act of resilience through their transformative philanthropy and commitment to teaching the lessons of the past.
As a pillar of educational, cultural and historical significance, the building’s impact will resonate far beyond our campus. It will house the Craig and Barbara Weiner Holocaust Museum of South Florida, where precious artifacts will tell the stories of unspeakable truths. Through the interactive George and Irina Schaeffer Dimensions in Testimony Exhibit, survivors will speak, and we will hear their stories firsthand.
In the classrooms of the Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education, our region’s K-12 teachers will learn how to most effectively share the lessons of the past so students will be equipped with the knowledge needed to build a better future. In the Marta and Jim Batmasian Memorial Pavilion, silence will speak through a reflection space dedicated to the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide, and in the Marilyn and Jay Weinberg Grand Lobby, the community will begin their immersion into exhibits, lectures and cultural events in the halls beyond it.
The bitterness of October 7th once again taught us that the mission of “never again” requires lasting vigilance and decisive community action. And in times like these, silence is the enemy of good. Just like Florida Atlantic, the Florida’s state government has taken a proactive approach to combatting contemporary antisemitism. “Never again” means that Florida’s public universities maintain policy regulations and standards that keep divisive ideologies out of our educational system — ensuring that Jewish students receive equal protection. As a national safe haven, our state is even streamlining the transfer process for those students who face persecution elsewhere.
We are reminded that our commitment to Jewish life must be lived every day. No student should have to wonder if they will be forced to live and study in an antisemitic environment — and doubt whether their university will be willing to protect them from it. At Florida Atlantic, Jewish students will not only find safety, but a home where they can proudly celebrate their Jewish heritage and comfortably observe their faith. The Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building will be a center where Jewish students and community members alike can learn, belong and thrive. It is more than a vision. It is a promise: never at Florida Atlantic, and never again. Anywhere.
Adam Hasner is the eighth President of Florida Atlantic University.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How Florida Atlantic is becoming the best university for Jewish life | Opinion
Reporting by Adam Hasner / Palm Beach Post
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