In recent weeks, we have witnessed a disturbing phenomenon: American Jewish organizations and leaders rallying against measures designed to protect Jewish students on college campuses. As they face harassment, intimidation and even violence from anti-Israel protesters, some Jewish voices have inexplicably chosen to defend the aggressors rather than the victims. This troubling reality forces us to confront an uncomfortable truth about contemporary Jewish American identity.
The root of this problem lies in the misapplication of the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, “repairing the world.” What is a beautiful component of a comprehensive Jewish worldview has, for many, become the sole pillar of their identity, divorced from the full context of Jewish tradition and values.
Let me be clear: Tikkun olam is a profoundly important Jewish value. But it was never meant to stand alone. Our tradition teaches that before we can effectively repair the world, we must first ensure the safety and well-being of our community. This is not tribalism; it is a recognition of our special responsibility to those closest to us.
Consider what we’ve witnessed in recent days. When the administration announced deportations of non-citizen, pro-Hamas protesters who had harassed Jewish students, numerous Jewish liberal groups condemned these actions. When threats were made against the Chabad-Lubavitch community in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y., earlier this month, many of these same organizations remained conspicuously silent. When Jewish students were trapped in libraries and Jewish centers on campuses across America, these groups redirected their concern to the “rights” of those threatening our children.
This inversion of priorities represents a profound distortion of values. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, himself Jewish, recently called for “mass protests,” “mobilization” and “disruption” against the administration, which is trying to protect Jewish students. Such rhetoric mirrors the tactics used by anti-Israel protesters who have made campus life unbearable for so many students.
A letter signed by more than 500 rabbis rejecting measures to combat antisemitism on campuses exemplifies this troubling trend. They describe universities where students have been harassed and threatened as “strongholds of Jewish academic and cultural life,” a characterization that would be unrecognizable to those who have fled these campuses out of fear.
What has led us to this moral confusion? I believe that it stems from reducing Judaism to a single value, tikkun olam, while neglecting the framework that gives this concept its proper context. Liberal theologians have suggested that one can fulfill their Jewish obligations merely by “making the world better,” without regard for the other commandments and teachings that form the substance of Jewish life.
The consequences of this reductionist approach are now becoming clear. When Judaism is reduced to universal social justice detached from Jewish particularity, it becomes all too easy to turn against Jewish interests, Jewish security, and even Israel itself.
Our sages taught us that there is an order to our obligations. Before we can effectively heal the world, we must first ensure the safety and well-being of our community. Think of the airline safety instruction to “put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others.” This isn’t selfishness. It’s a recognition that we cannot help others if we are in peril.
The recent events in Brooklyn illustrate this principle starkly. When pro-Hamas protesters threatened Chabad headquarters with violence, where were all of these Jewish organizations that are so quick to oppose protective measures for our community? Their silence was deafening. When Jews did stand up to defend synagogues and neighborhoods, they were characterized as “counterprotesters” rather than a community engaging in legitimate self-defense.
We now face the greatest internal division in American Jewish life in generations. Jewish organizations and leaders must make a choice: Will they stand with their fellow Jews who are under attack, or will they continue to prioritize a distorted version of social justice that betrays their own community?
True tikkun olam is a two-step process. First, we secure the safety and well-being of our own family. Then, from that position of strength and security, we extend our hand to heal the broader world. This is not a rejection of our universal responsibilities; it is the only sustainable path to fulfilling them.
As Jews, we have been commanded to care for the stranger, pursue justice and work toward peace. But we cannot fulfill these obligations if we abandon our children to harassment and violence. When we fail to stand up for Jewish students who want to receive an education without intimidation, we betray not only them but the very concept of tikkun olam that we claim to uphold.
The time has come to reclaim a balanced understanding of Jewish values—one that recognizes our universal responsibilities and our particular obligations to fellow Jews. Only then can we truly begin the sacred work of repairing our fractured world.