Jewish parents care about education, and Jews have long looked to university education as the gateway to American opportunity. Yet over the past many years, the problems of American higher education have worsened: the academic fads, exploding costs, intolerance of free inquiry, hostility to religious tradition, and now—on stark display for the entire world—the tolerance and even celebration of ruthless anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. The crisis—especially for Jews—is very real.
Where do we go from here?
In this discussion, we hear from three leaders in the higher education reform effort: Joe Lonsdale and Pano Kanelos—founders of the University of Austin, a new liberal arts college devoted to the fearless and open pursuit of truth—and Eric Cohen—CEO of Tikvah—an institution that educates thousands of Jewish students in high school and college and that is now exploring new models in undergraduate education.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel makes this conversation about Jews and the universities more urgent than ever. As Jewish parents, we see anti-Jewish students signing pro-murder declarations and cheering for Hamas on the quad. We see university leaders choosing silence or feckless statements over moral clarity. We see our college-aged sons and daughters forced off campus, locked in libraries, and subjected to indefensible double standards.
The question we face: How should Jewish parents think about college? Are there still good options? Is there any hope of reform, or is this a time to build?