The Algemeiner, Jessica Levin, September 26, 2024
I felt physically safe. Thirty minutes into the September 22, 2024, Summit on Antisemitism, Zionism, and the Crisis in Higher Education at Harvard’s Sanders Theater, I was pretty confident there would be no violence against us.
Surprisingly, no one tried to disrupt the event — even though there were almost 1,000 proud Jews there (students, faculty, parents, alums, and other Zionists) who believed in the right of Israel, an existing country, to continue existing.
Dozens of police officers guarded us both inside and outside the building. There was an established perimeter, metal detectors, bag searches, bomb-sniffing dogs, and printed tickets that we had to display, even when returning from the bathroom. With alums and presumably donors in the room, as well as a group of renowned speakers, including Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt (Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism), Harvard wasn’t taking any chances. Nor were the event planners — Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance (HJAA) with Harvard Hillel and Chabad.
It felt good to feel safe, and I was grateful to Harvard — until it fully sunk in that Jews now need a full security force to come back to our alma mater for an event about Jews and Israel.
And Harvard is the reason why this vast amount of security is needed.