Two years ago this month, the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel marked a turning point for the Jewish community and for higher education. Across the country, a resurgence of antisemitism at many colleges and universities has 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 the eighth president of Florida Atlantic—and the first of Jewish faith—I began my initial day on the job 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 massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, and the scourge of Jew-hatred that followed, 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 proactively ensuring that Florida Atlantic becomes the safest and most welcoming university for Jewish life in America.
In August, Florida Atlantic 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 (after New York City and Los Angeles), and the Wallach building is being constructed at the right time to establish Florida Atlantic’s campus in Boca Raton as a cultural and academic hub. It rises from not only a profound sense of responsibility and urgency, but also a shared understanding that unifying our community to promote education in our broader society is our strongest defense against hatred.
The Wallach building itself 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. Hearing from Marilyn during the construction ceremony was a powerful reminder of our shared commitment, and Florida Atlantic is honored to make their story an essential part of our own.
The Wallachs’ story is one of many within our community. 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 the public 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 that 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 prominent Marilyn and Jay Weinberg Grand Lobby, community members will begin their immersion into exhibits, lectures and cultural events in the halls beyond it.
The bitterness of Oct. 7once 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 state government has taken a proactive approach to combating contemporary antisemitism. “Never again” means that the state’s public universities maintain policy regulations and standards that keep divisive ideologies out of their 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.
Two years after Oct. 7, 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 school 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.
