When the Front Lines Are on Campus: Orthodox Students Bring Jewish Leadership and Advocacy to Washington

Washington, D.C. — As night fell in the U.S. capital last week, a group of Orthodox Jewish college students gathered in D.C.. They had spent the day in advocacy meetings on Capitol Hill, part of a weeklong fellowship focused on fighting antisemitism and strengthening support for Israel. Suddenly, their mission took on chilling new urgency.

Just a few streets away, a gunman with a long trail of antisemitic social media posts opened fire outside the Israeli Embassy. The news hit hard.

“We were literally down the street when it happened, “said one fellow. “It made everything more real — more urgent. We’re not just students anymore. We’re part of a global fight.”

The students were part of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center’s Leadership in Advocacy Training (LIAT) Fellowship (in partnership with the OU’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus), which brings together Orthodox students from universities across the country to learn how to navigate policy, media, and legal tools to defend Jewish life on campus. For many, the week in Washington was a rare chance to step outside the isolation they often feel at schools where being visibly Jewish and unapologetically pro-Israel can make one a target.

During the week, the fellows met with congressional offices, national security advisors, and top legal advocates to discuss federal protections for Jewish students, push back against campus boycotts of Israel, and lobby for sanctions on Iran’s regime. Some met privately with Senators and Representatives; others delivered personal testimony about the intimidation and silencing they’ve faced from faculty and fellow students.

But these students are not new to this work. They’ve been organizing on their campuses long before they arrived in Washington. Students Eduardo and Lucy launched a hotline connecting victims of campus antisemitism with legal help. Hannah successfully lobbied Binghamton University to add antisemitism awareness to its mandatory diversity trainings. Others, such as Claire, spearheaded a coalition to oppose anti-Israel resolutions proposed by the student government at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Two others, David and Shoshana, are leading the fight at Columbia University, now infamous as a national flashpoint for anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment, where they’ve endured protests outside their dorms, academic hostility, and intimidation from peers. Undeterred, they’ve emerged as voices of strength and reason, rallying fellow students, organizing counter-programming, and advocating for institutional accountability.

“It’s not just about defending ourselves, ” one explained. “It’s about making sure Jewish students don’t have to walk campus in fear.”

As part of the fellowship, each participant designs a capstone project to advance real change on their campus. At Cornell University, Yael successfully reversed a planned event with a known antisemite after her campaign garnered over 5,000 petition signatures.

“People say we’re too young to make a difference, ” said another fellow. “But we’re out here holding our universities accountable and telling Congress what’s really happening on campus.