Spertus Institute Combats Antisemitism

Spertus Institute Combats Antisemitism
by Dr. Dean P. Bell, President and CEO

For decades, Jewish communal professionals have been trained to build communities, inspire learning, and strengthen Jewish life. Increasingly, however, they are being asked to do something else entirely: respond to antisemitism—constantly, publicly, strategically, and often without adequate preparation or support.

That reality is one of the reasons Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership launched its Leadership Certificate in Combating Antisemitism (LCCA) in 2022. The program emerged from urgent conversations with Jewish educators, federation executives, rabbis, Hillel professionals, and nonprofit leaders across North America who found themselves spending growing portions of their time navigating antisemitic incidents, campus tensions, public relations crises, and increasingly fraught conversations about Israel and Jewish identity.

The rise in antisemitism was not only alarming in scale; it was reshaping the very work of Jewish leadership.

Professionals who once focused primarily on engagement and education suddenly needed to become strategists, communicators, coalition builders, and crisis managers. Many were confronting antisemitism in their workplaces and institutions with little formal training in how to respond effectively. They were expected to guide communities through moments of fear and polarization while maintaining relationships, morale, and organizational mission.

Spertus Institute—founded in Chicago in 1924 and long dedicated to preparing Jewish educators and communal leaders—recognized that this moment demanded more than reactive statements or one-off trainings. It required a new leadership framework.

As an accredited, non-denominational institution of higher Jewish learning, Spertus occupies a distinctive space at the intersection of academia and community leadership. Its work combines rigorous Jewish Studies with practical leadership training, an approach that has become increasingly critical as Jewish institutions confront the normalization and evolution of antisemitism across civic, educational, political, and digital spaces.

The Leadership Certificate in Combating Antisemitism was designed to meet that challenge directly.

The program seeks not simply to teach participants about antisemitism, but to reshape how Jewish communities understand and address it. Participants study the history and evolving forms of antisemitism, engage difficult questions surrounding anti-Zionism and anti-Israel discourse, and develop skills in strategic communications, coalition-building, and organizational leadership. Equally important, they do so in cohort-based learning communities that create networks of support and collaboration across North America.

The need for such training has only intensified. Antisemitism today is not merely episodic; it has become ambient—present in schools, workplaces, campuses, social media, and public life. Jewish leaders are increasingly expected to respond in real time, often under intense scrutiny and pressure. The emotional and professional toll is enormous. Combating antisemitism is no longer ancillary to Jewish communal work; for many leaders, it has become central to their daily responsibilities.

To date, the program has engaged more than 100 participants from over 60 organizations across 31 states and Canada, including Federations, Hillels, schools, synagogues, and Holocaust museums. Spertus leadership has also led numerous workshops on combating antisemitism for a range of Jewish communities, Jewish organizations (including FJMC!), and non-Jewish secondary schools. This growth reflects a broader recognition that this challenge is not temporary—and that Jewish leadership today requires new tools, new strategies, and stronger networks of support.

Written by Dr. Dean P. Bell, President and CEO, Spertus Institute

“Spertus Institute Combats Antisemitism” published in the July 2026, Inaugural Edition of Catalyst.