NYC RALLY this Sunday: “Jewish Students Deserve to Feel Safe”
Facebook group with 61,000 members to March Against Antisemitism in NYC tomorrow, Sunday December 8.
A group of activists, lawyers, parents and other concerned individuals will be marching from campus to campus Sunday beginning at New York University (NYU) at 11am to call upon schools to address the rise in antisemitic incidents at colleges.
The group — Mothers Against College Antisemitism, or MACA for short — was founded by Elizabeth Rand and now boasts a Facebook page with over 61,000 members. Rand, a lawyer and mother of a highs-school senior, started MACA in the aftermath of the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
“I took inspiration from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. They were ordinary mothers sick of losing their children to drunk drivers. They managed to change the drinking age from 18 to 21 across the country and withstand a Supreme Court challenge in 1987” Rand said in an interview.
“But there is a difference between a peaceful protest for Palestine and Jewish people being screamed at that they should go back to Berlin or being pushed and shoved. All these vile things are happening on campuses,” she added.
On Sunday, you can join the group at the arch in Washington Square, then march along to NYU, The Cooper Union, The New School, Baruch College, and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). These campuses have “have been allowing ongoing unchecked antisemitic behaviour,” says Michelle Corbett, the media director for MACA.
“I am marching and fighting for the schools to be held accountable for their Title VI violations. For some reason, Jewish lives do not matter in the woke world of academia. What happened to equity? What happened to tolerance?” asks Felice Schachter, a NY-based educator told Liberty Affair.
Felice joined MACA soon after Elizabeth Rand made the group. She has been helping to organize Sunday’s rally and said she faced. “I am marching because my ancestors didn’t.”
While Columbia was the national epicenter of pro-Palestine protests, MACA will notably not visit Columbia on their tour. This omission is not because MACA is afraid of Columbia students. Rather, some MACA members have worried that Columbia’s Jewish leaders are scared that the marchers may incite pro-Palestine students if they come to campus. Their fears are not unfounded.
Felice says that Columbia administrators and even Jewish groups at Columbia had a lot of pushback about the idea of MACA coming to campus, so they decided to skip the school. Her perspective is that “for some reason, the abused are protecting their abusers. It seems as though they are scared and trying to keep their heads down and play nice” she told me.
Columbia students were so combative last semester that the NYPD arrested 109 individuals during an encampment protest. Dozens of police cars engulfed the campus. Protestors rattled the gates of the hallowed school. A bullet rang out, but everyone was uninjured. Still, it shows the tenacity and stubbornness of Columbia’s regressive pro-Palestine students.
Columbia Professor Shai Davidai will be in attendance, as well as Mazi Pilip, a Nassau County legislator and former IDF paratrooper. With 61,000 members, MACA hopes to call attention to university admins, as if to say: I have my eye on you.
“We are determined to ensure our voices are heard by exchanging information, engaging in discussions, and initiating actions to safeguard our children and combat the hatred. We are resolute in NOT remaining silent” says MACA.
This article was written by Toni Airaksinen (@Toni_Airaksinen on X), a journalist living in Delray Beach, Florida. If you want to stay on top of news regarding college antisemitism, please follow her on Substack, Twitter or Instagram. If you enjoyed this, consider Buying Her a Coffee with a small donation.
Oct 7th not 27th