The election is over: It's time for young Jews to step up and lead

A week has passed since election day.The votes have been counted.

But no election can decide how proudly we live as Jews, how we support one another or what kind of leaders we become.Those decisions belong to us.As the former student body president at the University of California, Santa Barbara, I know what it means to lead while your Jewish identity becomes a target.My experience, featured in the documentary "October 8," taught me how urgently institutions need to confront antisemitism — and how much courage it can take to speak up when they fail.

It also taught me that we cannot put our lives or our leadership on hold until someone else finds that courage.JEWISH TEENS PREPARE TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS WITH HISTORY, HUMOR AND COURAGEJewish students at El Camino Real Charter High School during a walkout protesting antisemitic incidents at the Woodland Hills school on Tuesday, Feb.2024.

(Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)Recently at the Jewish Student Union Presidents Conference in Stamford, Connecticut, I saw hundreds of Jewish high school students putting that principle into practice.They had gathered as the country headed into Election Day.But their leadership did not depend on who would win.They were already building Jewish communities in their schools.

Already taking responsibility for something larger than themselves.Already choosing to show up.I recognized myself in them.

I am a Jewish Student Union alumna.Before I became a student body president, I needed opportunities to understand my Jewish identity, develop my voice and discover that I had something worth contributing.BACK TO SCHOOL SHOULD NOT MEAN BACK TO FEAR FOR JEWISH STUDENTSDemonstrators draped in Israeli and US flags at a rally for tolerance.

Returning to speak with these students reminded me why that early investment matters.Leadership grows through practice: inviting someone to a first meeting, organizing a program, asking a difficult questio...