We’ve seen the news, we’ve seen the emails, we’ve seen social media posts. President Bravman has been preaching his encouragement for peace and proper discord. But what do your Jewish friends actually want? What do they need? I cannot speak for all Jewish people on this campus, but I can speak for myself.
Being Jewish goes farther than my beautifully curly hair or my rich heritage. For me, my resilience, gifted to me, is what connects me to my people. Some students have talked about how they feel so bad about what is going on and do not know what to do for the hostages and horror going on in the Middle East. Some of the people close to me question how I continue to push through, despite my pain. I am able to push through because I am living the life that my Jewish community in Israel cannot live right now. We are pushing through for them. Why sit and wallow in pity, when I can be out living life to honor them? How great is it that I can go to class, take care of my hair and laugh? Sure I mourn, but life goes on. Just as it always has, just as it always will, and I must continue to go on, as every other affected person has been doing as well.
Naturally, others have had varying coping experiences. A general sense across the board is that people are taking each day one day at a time. Maya Fetzer ’26 has been coping with the ongoing violence by finding strength and unity within Jewish spaces. Ezra Weinstein ’27 discussed that his fellow classmates who are not Jewish make fun or do not recognize the seriousness of the events taking place in Gaza. If you do not know what is going on, ask someone. There is no reason to make hurtful comments to your classmates. Even if they are not Jewish, it does not make it right.
What can Bucknell students do for their fellow Jewish classmates? The administration is trying to do everything “correctly,” but students can only be held accountable for so many issues. Fetzer noted that she doesn’t need every person to ask about her political opinion. And honestly, I second that. People do not usually go around asking for political opinions on the Middle East, so why should you be doing that now? Instead of asking for political opinions, ask Maya and the rest of the community, if they’re okay, or if their community needs anything. If you look closely at the Mourner’s Kaddish, you will notice that the prayer is for peace, for love and for eternal goodness; it is not a sad prayer but an honoring prayer. It is our duty to live life to its fullest for our ancestors because they fought tirelessly so that we could be here, so that we can have a life that would be better than theirs. Our mourning time has not come because we still have a life to live in honor of others, so do not mourn for us, rather mourn for peace.
I personally have spent a lot of time in denial, off of all social media, all news sources and away from conversations. Sometimes I am hit with fear, with tears and with sadness, similarly to others. In those moments, I remember why I am here. I am here to keep going. To our hostages, we are honoring you. I, and the rest of the Jewish people, will continue to live, to fight and be resilient so that we may never be forgotten.
