If Bonhoeffer Were a Student at the University of Maryland

B’’H

For many Jewish college students, the response from people we deemed to be friends or at least neutral observers of the Middle East to the October 7th pogrom was shocking and appalling. Perhaps we were naïve, but we never expected our peers to chant for a globalized Intifada or gleefully tear down posters of kidnapped babies. We saw our peers embrace an insidious political cause, but did not predict that their hatred of Israeli Jews would extend to American Jews. I was among the many naïve Jewish students who became too comfortable living in a free and tolerant America, unlike the Communist hell from which my mom fled. Reality hit me in the face when my Israeli flag was ripped off the wall and my mezuzah was broken. Subsequently, a pamphlet promoting the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the terrorist organization responsible for the murder of eleven Israeli athletes in the 1972 Munich Olympics, was slid under my bedroom door. We also did not expect a blanket endorsement for such behavior or the religious fanaticism that breeds homicide from our professors. Nor did we expect complete silence from the university administration towards blatant antisemitism. 

During the past few semesters, the Jewish community at the University of Maryland has faced age-old tropes about Jews bearing collective responsibility for the world’s problems, blood libel conspiracy theories, and the celebration of the largest tragedy of our generation. We mistakenly believed that the majority of the student body supported us and that only a vocal minority was blatantly antisemitic. Yet again, we were wrong. This was demonstrated by the 55% vote in favor of this semester’s BDS referendum. Until then, the Student Government Association (SGA) had successfully thwarted the BDS resolution. So,  what was different this time? This time, the entire student body voted, rather than just the SGA. In other words, the same people that screamed “f*ck Jews”, and called Hamas terrorists “martyrs”  became included in the vote. While most students turned their backs on the Jews, some stood tall. I would be remiss not to mention the incredible degree of support from the organization, Christians United For Israel, and in particular, its president, Nick Marks.

Nick has done more for the Jewish community than all Jews on campus combined. He has stood hand-in-hand with us despite threats and a public smearing campaign. As a member of the SGA, Nick was one of the key reasons that BDS was not adopted during the four years of his college career. He has gone above and beyond his due diligence as a good Samaritan to support the Jewish people.  Nick has repeatedly put himself on the frontline of the battle against bigotry towards Jewish students. Whether it was advocating on our behalf in the student government, campaigning against BDS, or fiercely defending us against antisemitic trolls online, Nick has made it very clear that the Jewish community is not alone. He reminds me in many ways of Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German anti-Nazi dissident who ultimately paid for his courage and heroism with his life. While the German Evangelical Church adopted the values of the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer did not stray away from his Judeo-Christian values. His opposition to the Nazification of Christianity made him isolated and unpopular in Christian circles. He bravely defied the German Evangelical Church’s order to abandon his resistance to Hitler and efforts to save European Jews.

Bonhoeffer was charged with conspiring to save Jews and attempting to overthrow the Nazi regime. He was sent to a concentration camp and hanged. Similarly, during his undergraduate years, Nick tirelessly fought for the equal treatment of Jewish students and, rejecting the double standard set upon us, even if that meant making enemies along the way. Nick was metaphorically  “hanged” by peers, repeatedly, and the campus Jewish community will forever be grateful for his sacrifice. Bonhoeffer once said that “silence in the face of evil is itself. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” I am hard-pressed to find a Christian who embodies this principle more than Nick Marks.  Dedicating yourself to the pursuit of justice for your people is commendable; doing so for others is admirable. Nick, we thank you for being a righteous gentile.