Jarvis Hall at East Carolina University. Photo: Wikipedia.

Jewish activists at East Carolina University (ECU) lauded their peers in the Student Government Association (SGA) for passing a motion Wednesday condemning antisemitism amid a surge of the phenomenon on campuses and elsewhere across the US.

“I’m proud that our SGA isn’t like many others around the country,” said Ben Schine, founder and president of Pirates for Israel, after the passage of “The Fight Against Anti-Semitism” resolution. “Here, they actually care about the students.”

Schine — who told The Algemeiner that bomb threats were issued recently to his Jewish community center and day school 200 miles away — said that when he entered the school three years ago, the atmosphere was not as positive. “But through the work of groups like Pirates for Israel and Hillel, the environment for the small Jewish community on campus really has markedly improved.”

To illustrate, he pointed to a resolution passed late last year in support of study-abroad programs in Israel, which he hopes would preempt and quash potential future BDS efforts on campus. However, he added, “I recognize that the only problem going forward is it could all change on a dime.”

Chloe Greenfield, a board member of both Pirates for Israel and Hillel, told The Algemeiner why, when the antisemitism resolution was passed, she “sat in the ECU SGA room with the biggest grin on [her] face.”

Greenfield, a freshman, said, “It has been hard adjusting to a school that has such a tiny Jewish population, and it’s really great and encouraging to see that the student body stands with us.”