Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a straightforward message for the 30 Jewish college students and recent graduates he met with on Friday in Washington to hear their concerns about antisemitism: Fight back. 

“If you fight, you’ll be respected. If you bow your head, you’ll be despised and not respected. You’ve gotta fight. That’s the most important thing,” Netanyahu told the roundtable of students, who came from universities including Harvard, Georgetown Law School, George Washington University and University of Pennsylvania.  

The meeting, which took place at the Willard InterContinental Hotel near the White House, was organized by the Israeli Embassy. Attendees included Sara Netanyahu, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, Netanyahu advisor Caroline Glick and Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad). “Watching the energy and the interaction between the prime minister and these future leaders was uplifting and full of hope,” said Shemtov.

A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy said the purpose of the meeting was “to show solidarity, offer support and reinforce their connection to Israel during this challenging time.”

Student speakers included Julia Wax Vanderwiel, founder and president of Georgetown Law Zionists; Shabbos Kestenbaum, a recent Harvard graduate who is suing the university over its handling of antisemitism; and Sabrina Soffer, president of Chabad at GW. 

Wax Vanderwiel informed Netanyahu about an event scheduled for next week at Georgetown Law featuring Ribhi Karajah, a member of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Karajah served more than three years in an Israeli prison for his ties to a 2019 bombing in the West Bank that killed Rina Shnerb, an Israeli teenager.  

“The prime minister had a very visceral reaction to my speech,” Wax Vanderwiel told Jewish Insider. “He’s appalled [about the upcoming event]. He said he knows exactly who Rina Shnerb is, he’s met the family. He said that we need to stay strong. He genuinely listened, cared and wants something done.”  

“There were so many stories I heard from other students,” she said. “The girl sitting next to me had been told to ‘go kill herself’ on campus.” 

Eyal Yakoby, a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, described Netanyahu’s reaction to students’ accounts as “spot-on.” 

“The State of Israel can’t deal with specific issues but what they can do is give strategies to Jewish students and allow them to be empowered to fight antisemitism,” Yakoby told JI. “Netanyahu told us that if our universities are not speaking out against antisemitism, then they’re cowards.” 

Friday’s meeting came at the end of Netanyahu’s weeklong trip to Washington, where he met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office and with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill. 

“He spoke about working with Trump on the recent executive orders to combat antisemitism and the need for us to keep fighting and call out this hatred,” said Kestenbaum. 

Netanyahu met with evangelical leaders earlier in the week, but his visit did not include a meeting with leaders of Jewish organizations.