Jewish Pride Tour Coming to Your Campus

Encampments, protests, and antisemitic rhetoric may be ramping up as students return to campus this fall, but something else is coming, too: A Jewish pride tour will hit colleges and universities across more than forty states and Canada, courtesy of Chabad on Campus. 

The project, “Let HERE Be Light,” creates a complete Jewish pride festival, including stands with crafting, kosher food, Jewish swag, and an opportunity to buy your own letter in a Torah Scroll. 

More than eight thousand students are expected to join the tour along its stops. Last year, 73 percent of Jewish college students surveyed said they had experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism since the October 7 Hamas attacks.

At Binghamton University, one of the tour’s first stops, 450 Jewish students enjoyed carnival booths, s’mores, ice cream and waffles, with music from the ChaBand, Chabad’s student band and Jewish hip hop artist Nissim Black.

At Cornell, University President Michael Kotlikoff addressed the fair, saying that the school’s vibrant Jewish student community is “an essential part of the Cornell community,” and emphasizing the school’s commitment to listen to Jewish students and ensure their safety.

“Many of us have forgotten what it means to have Jewish joy, and the Let HERE Be Light event brought it back,” says Eva Shrayer, a Jewish student at Cornell. “It was so fun to listen to music and spend time with community members.” Shrayer notes that the fair had a lasting effect: “A few days later Chabad was packed for Shabbat dinner and everyone was excited.”

At the University of North Florida, Rabbi Shmuli Novack sounded the shofar and University President Moez Limayem spoke warmly of Chabad’s impact on Jewish life at UNF.

The tour will continue throughout the 2024–25 school year. “Bringing Jewish students together is so crucial,” says Shrayer. “In a time of darkness, we must lean on each other and strengthen the community from within.”