Antisemitism on Campus Series: Alex Biegelman ‘18

By Rebecca Altmann ‘24
When Alex Beigelman started his freshman year at the University of Delaware, he joined the school’s Chabad, where he frequently attended Shabbat dinners and eventually became chairman of the Student Advisory Board. On August 25, 2020, heavy flames burst through the empty Chabad building, causing $75,000 in damage. Fire officials ruled that the fire was intentionally set. 

The building was used to host more than 100 Jewish students every Friday night for Shabbat dinners and was a “staple of the Jewish community,” Beigelman said. The day after the fire, with the air “still smelling of smoke,” he “sat in the yard with the Rabbi, Rebbetzin and other advisory board members to support the Rabbi’s family and to figure out the next steps.” 
The community started a GoFundMe that went viral and raised $600,000 from more than 10,000 donors worldwide, also reaching out to local news organizations and Jewish influencers on social media to spread awareness about the incident. 
Beigelman noted that “after the fire, the community not only stayed strong, but grew stronger,” which inspired him immensely. “Our message in the aftermath was to rebuild stronger than we were before. We wanted to send out a call to action for everyone to get more involved in your Jewish community not in spite of antisemitism but rather out of pride in your Jewish identity.” 
Coming from a small, close-knit Jewish community like Golda Och Academy, Beigelman found that students are “in a bubble that does not often see the antisemitism that exists in the world so it can definitely be shocking when it happens in such proximity to your life in college.” 
 The new Chabad is currently under construction and the number of students attending Shabbat dinners has increased since before the fire. At 12,000 square feet, the new building will be far larger than the old one, including an apartment for the Rabbi, enhanced security and a new student center and is scheduled to be completed by fall of 2023. The estimated cost is $3.5 million and over $2 million have been raised.
Despite the tragedy, Beigelman remains optimistic. “We should not define our Jewishness in reaction to such hatred. Doing so, in my view, lets them win,” he said. “Go through your life constantly growing in your love of Judaism regardless of any antisemitism you may or may not encounter. Do not let them define who you are.”