AEPi’s Response to Rising Antisemitism: Pride, Leadership, and Action
I had the pleasure of attending the American Zionist Movement’s Biennial National Assembly, where I met extraordinary leaders transforming our community at one of the most difficult times in modern Jewish life. But just months earlier, something equally powerful unfolded at the Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) International Convention in Houston — a gathering that revealed exactly where the next generation of Jewish leadership is coming from.
To understand how Jewish life on campus will survive the next decade, you need to understand AEPi.
And to understand AEPi, you need to hear Rob Derdiger, the fraternity’s CEO.
Because when Rob speaks about this moment, he doesn’t mince words:
“You cannot build a people off of being anti-something.
You have to be pro something.
In an era of spiraling antisemitism, Rob’s message is a strategic reset — and a lifeline.
“Campuses have always been crazy. Now it’s spilling into antisemitism.”
Rob has spent decades watching campus culture shift, evolve, and explode. But this moment — post–October 7 — is different.
“College campuses have always been the epicenter of political craziness and inappropriate behavior.
Now it’s spilling into anti-Zionism and antisemitism.
Students aren’t just dealing with tense debates in classrooms. They’re facing harassment, intimidation, and isolation in dorms, dining halls, and student governments.
Yet Rob’s message isn’t fear.
It’s readiness.
“This is what we do.
We’ve been preparing young Jewish men to lead for 112 years.
Leadership: AEPi’s Identity, Not a Buzzword
While other organizations respond to crises, AEPi builds leaders before the crisis happens.
“We build the strongest Jewish leaders the world has ever seen. Full stop.
And this leadership is visible:
• Chapter presidents who suddenly become campus-wide Jewish spokespeople
• Students meeting with administrators about antisemitic incidents
• Brothers organizing rallies, vigils, and educational programming
• Jewish students finding strength because another student — an AEPi brother — stood tall first
Leadership isn’t theoretical for AEPi.
It’s lived.
“Relationships matter. They always have.”
Rob is clear about what makes AEPi’s model work:
“People see the parties, the social scene — but what they don’t see is the impact.
Someone meets someone at a party, and the next day they’re talking about Israel, antisemitism, and identity in a real way.
It’s not about isolation.
It’s about integration.
“We’re not just strengthening Jewish life.
We’re building relationships with non-Jews, and those relationships change campuses.
This human-to-human connective tissue is something no rally, statement, or press release can replicate.
The Pool Party Moment: When Everything Clicked
At the Houston AEPi Convention, Rob brought Herbert Block from the American Zionist Movement to a pool party to show him what AEPi looks like up close.
Herb watched quietly for a while.
Students talking, swimming, joking — a loud, joyous, chaotic Jewish environment.
Then he turned to Rob and said:
“Oh. Now I get it.
Because behind the energy and the fun, there was something deeper:
A Jewish space where students felt safe, confident, and proud — something that can’t be taught in a classroom.
Advocacy, the AEPi Way
What most people don’t see is the infrastructure behind the scenes.
“We know the administrators.
We know the student affairs offices.
We’ve been doing this work forever.
When crises emerge, AEPi isn’t scrambling.
They already have the relationships, the trust, and the pathways for action.
“Advocacy isn’t what you say.
Advocacy is who will pick up the phone when you call.
And on campus, AEPi has that power.
“Jewish life can’t just be a response to hate.”
Rob said something at the Houston convention that has stayed with me ever since:
“If the only thing we teach is how to react to antisemitism, we’ve failed.
Jewish identity has to be about purpose, joy, and connection — not fear.
In the aftermath of October 7, many Jewish spaces became crisis hubs.
AEPi intentionally resisted that.
They kept their spaces centered on:
• Brotherhood
• Shabbat
• Israel engagement
• Friendship
• Jewish celebration
Identity built on joy is harder to break.
The Post–October 7 Generation: “They’re not backing down.”
Rob sees the change clearly:
“These young men… they’re stepping up in ways I’ve never seen before.
Chapter presidents who once organized mixers are now organizing rallies.
Students who once debated in their dorm rooms are now speaking to university administrations.
Jewish pride is turning into public leadership — fast.
“This is leadership forged in real time.
Under pressure.
On the ground.
And they’re not just responding to the moment — they’re defining it.
Joy as Resistance
At the core of AEPi’s philosophy is a belief that feels almost radical today:
“We don’t run from who we are.
We celebrate it — loudly.
Joy as resistance.
Pride as identity.
Community as protection.
This is how AEPi has survived every wave of antisemitism for more than a century.
The Bottom Line: AEPi Isn’t Just Surviving — It’s Leading
From the AZM Biennial in New York to the AEPi Convention in Houston, one thing is clear:
The future of Jewish leadership is being built by students — and AEPi is the engine.
Rob summed it up perfectly:
“You can’t build a people off fear.
You build a people off pride.
And at a time when Jewish students are facing pressure unlike anything in decades, AEPi’s message — and model — may be exactly what this moment calls for.
