ASHLAND — Ashland University’s partnership with Yad Vashem, the world Holocaust remembrance center, has brought two visiting Jewish scholars to Ashland and campus for the past two weeks.
Those scholars are Yossi Kugler, a researcher at Yad Vashem whose Ph.D. focused on Israelis’ attitudes about antisemitism, and Sarah Levy, a program coordinator of Echoes and Reflections.
Echoes and Reflections trains elementary and middle school teachers on how to teach students about the Holocaust.
AU’s partnership with Yad Vashem began in 2020. Carlos Campo, AU’s president, said the university pursued that partnership prior to a 2021 letter from Gov. Mike DeWine to Ohio’s university presidents, urging them to address antisemitism on campuses.
Antisemitism nationally saw an increase after Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking another 250 as hostages. According to the Anti-Defamation League, between Oct. 7 to Dec. 7, over 2,000 antisemitic incidents were recorded — an increase of 337% from the same period in 2022.
After the Hamas attack, AU offered a statement highlighting its partnership with Yad Vashem and declaring its solidarity with Israel. Campo said Tuesday that statement came thanks to a visceral reaction to what happened on Oct. 7, and reflects the university’s values and connections to Israel.
“We join with many others in solidarity against Hamas and its brutal attack that has brought this mayhem,” the statement read. “We mourn those who have died, pray for those who have been taken as hostages and for all those who remain in harm’s way.”
Israel formally declared war on Oct. 8. In the first month of the conflict, 1,300 Israelis were killed as the death toll in Gaza rose to over 10,000, with more than 4,000 children counted among the casualties, according to Reuters.
Most recently, Israel bombed Rafah Monday morning. Rafah is a city on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip. Over a million Palestinians sought refuge there, most of them living in tents and U.N. shelters, according to the Associated Press.
Qatar and Egypt are currently trying to broker a temporary truce, according to the British Broadcast Company.
The scholars’ visit
A press release from AU about the scholars’ visit stated that with the rise in antisemitic incidents and the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine, “the timing of this programming could not be better.”
While at AU, Kugler is teaching a two-week, one-credit class to undergrads about the Holocaust. He will also offer a public lecture titled “Knowledge and Lack of Knowledge in the Holocaust.”
Levy has offered seminars to local educators and AU students on teaching about the Holocaust.
Both have also traveled the state offering presentations and having discussions with local and state leaders.
Kugler, Levy, Campo and Terri Jewett, a professor in AU’s education department, sat down with local reporters Tuesday to answer questions about the scholars’ presence on campus.
Kugler and Levy addressed antisemitism, Holocaust education and misconceptions, and the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
On antisemitism
Kugler, who completed his Ph.D. thesis on Israelis’ attitudes about antisemitism, said antisemitism extends to the Middle Ages.
Levy added that during the Holocaust, only a small population of Germany was actually Jewish — less than 1%. It concerned her that they received such hate, despite being such a minority.
But, she hopes that with knowledge comes acceptance.
“I’m hoping that in the states that do have large Jewish populations, that this knowledge of who these people are as people who eat, breathe, culture … I would hope that would reduce the level of antisemitism,” Levy said.
Kugler said the first step in the struggle against antisemitism — and against hatred in general — is the will to learn about it. He commended AU for taking that first step by bringing the Jewish scholars to campus.
On the Holocaust
The value in Holocaust education, according to Levy, lies with the event’s enormity. It touched everybody, she said.
Kugler added he thinks misconceptions either come from a place of ignorance, or from a place of cruelty.
He explained there’s a difference between somebody who doesn’t know about the Holocaust, but is willing to learn about it, versus somebody who wants to act like it didn’t happen.
Both Levy and Kugler are concerned with Holocaust distortion and denial, which they said is on the rise.
Levy said Yad Vashem has worked on determining where that narrative stems from. But in her opinion, it comes down to another form of antisemitism.
That’s why, for Levy, her work with educators has such importance.
“Through education … we have to just start, I always say, one student at a time, one classroom at a time, one school at a time.” Levy said.
“We will keep on hammering out this message to our last days to try and create a safer world for people to be able to exhibit their own thoughts and their own lifestyles, as long as it’s respectful to others.”
On Palestine
Levy, whose sons are part of the Israeli military, said Oct. 7 brought horrors to Israel that the country hadn’t seen since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
That conflict happened between Egypt, Syria and Israel, and ended with a ceasefire following U.S. involvement.
Levy and Kugler both characterized Hamas’ attack as terrorism, and both also said they drew inspiration at how quickly Israel mobilized its forces.
Levy said she found particular inspiration from her work with Yad Vashem since the war began. It opened its building of the International School of Holocaust (in Jerusalem) for 300 first grade through 12th grade students to continue their education during the war.
Levy taught English.
“I didn’t get to teach the verbs,” Levy said. “They wanted to just talk about their feelings. And that was fine too.
“I made them tell me in English. So, there’s some remarkable things going on, but also incredibly terrifying aspects that we need to deal with.”
More opportunities to engage
Kugler, the scholar on Israelis’ attitudes about antisemitism, will give a lecture at Ashland University on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. It will be in the John C. Myers Convocation Center and is open to the public.
Campo and Jewett added AU’s partnership with Yad Vashem will continue. AU also has plans for Holocaust Remembrance Day and hopes to bring more scholars to campus in the future.
Jewett’s classes have also paired with an Ashland Christian School’s fourth grade class to offer a Holocaust curriculum.
She plans to continue exploring how she can bring up the topic to young students and lead them in conversation about it.
