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‘You Don’t Mess With Our Kids’: Parkland Mom Launches Mothers Against College Antisemitism Chapter to Support Jewish Students 3

MACA Board President Miriam Zivin, left, with MACA South Florida founder Shlomit “Shelly” Leibowitz in Parkland Wednesday {photo by Kevin Deutsch}.

As anti-Jewish bigotry continues to roil college campuses nationwide, a growing grassroots movement of parents is planting its flag in South Florida.

At a packed launch event in Parkland Wednesday, the national organization Mothers Against College Antisemitism (MACA) unveiled its sixth chapter in the U.S.

“We are mama bears,” MACA Board President Miriam Zivin told Parkland Talk. “You don’t mess with our kids.”

With chapters in New York, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, Michigan, and now South Florida, MACA fights antisemitic hate and anti-Zionist racism on university campuses across the U.S., standing alongside Jewish college students, amplifying their voices, and ensuring they are equipped to respond confidently to discrimination and fight it effectively.

The nonprofit organization consists of mothers, parents, grandparents, family members, and friends “who hold profound concerns regarding the increasing antisemitism on college campuses in the United States,” Zivin said.

“We are determined to ensure our voices are heard by exchanging information, engaging in discussions, and initiating actions to safeguard our children and combat the hatred,” she said. “We are resolute in not remaining silent.”

MACA South Florida is led by Parkland resident Shlomit “Shelly” Leibowitz, an Israel advocate, parent, and longtime community member.

Leibowitz says the new chapter’s mission is clear: help protect Jewish students and ensure they are never afraid to stand proudly as Jews and as Zionists on campus at a time of unprecedented anti-Jewish bigotry in the U.S.

“Our Jewish college students are facing unprecedented hostility and isolation, and they cannot face it alone,” said Leibowitz, who hosted Wednesday’s launch event. “MACA exists to unite parents and allies to protect Jewish students, educate them with truth and confidence, and empower a new generation of proud Zionists. This group is for everyone: parents, children, grandparents, community members, and anyone who wants to help. We want to embolden our college students who are struggling right now, who are sometimes afraid to say that they’re Jewish, to educate them and give them the tools they need on campus.”

‘You Don’t Mess With Our Kids’: Parkland Mom Launches Mothers Against College Antisemitism Chapter to Support Jewish Students 4

MACA Board President Miriam Zivin speaks during an event in Parkland Wednesday {photo by Kevin Deutsch}.

MACA grew from a Facebook group for parents seeking solace after the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel — an online community that racked up over 40,000 members in less than a month — into a real-life, fast-growing nonprofit with major visibility in the Jewish advocacy world.

The first campus MACA South Florida plans to focus on, organizers said, will likely be Florida Atlantic University.

“Our goal in MACA is to go nationwide and fill the gaps that existing legacy organizations are just not filling, as far as protecting, educating, and empowering our students,” said Zivin, who first met Liebowitz in high school and, like her, served in the IDF. “Florida has a lot of Jews, it has a lot of big campuses, and unfortunately, with that comes problematic organizations,” including the antisemitic organization Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). “The more we can educate our students to fight for themselves and be proud Jewish Zionists on campus, the more we can help future generations as well.”

Founded by Jewish mom Elizabeth Rand in the wake of October 7, MACA is not just a mothers’ group: it is open to anyone with a “personal investment in our children’s futures,” Zivin said.

“Not just Jewish children, but children throughout the world who deserve to have a safe college campus experience,” she said, highlighting incidents in which anti-Israel activists have made students from other backgrounds feel unsafe.

Sometimes, MACA members have had to serve as physical barriers between anti-Israel student organization members and students. They work closely with Jewish students and bring speakers to campus to engage in civil discourse with students of all backgrounds, fueling respectful dialogue about Israel, Judaism, antisemitism, and anti-Zionism.

“We are literally boots on the ground at these universities helping to empower and educate,” Zivin said.

That empowerment, she said, includes coalition building.

“The Persian communities, the Hindu communities — if there are other student organizations that align in values — we need to work together with them to strengthen our numbers,” she said.

A number of notable figures from the pro-Israel advocacy world have held events with MACA or worked with the organization on campuses, including influencer Zach Sage Fox, former international Israel Defense Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus, antisemitism scholar Dr. Naya Lekht, and activist Loay Alshareef, who advocates for the Arab world to normalize relations with Israel.

At Wednesday’s event, Jewish educator Josh Gindea spoke to attendees about ways to fight antisemitism and anti-Israel hatred.

“The first thing we need to do is educate our own kids. Our kids need to be leaders. They need to know the history of the land of Israel. They need to know who the indigenous people are in the land of Israel: the Jewish people,” Gindea said.

Leibowitz, who grew up in South Florida and has children at different stages of life, said the stakes are personal.

“I have kids growing up here, including a little one that’s going to go into college,” she said. “These are going to be our future leaders. So if they’re not educated on the Israel-Palestinian issue, if they’re not empowered to have a proud Jewish-Zionist identity because of the hate we are seeing, it’s an issue we have to address. The level of anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses is horrific, and something has to be done. If there’s a little corner of the world where I can do something, then I’m going to do whatever I can.”

The message from Parkland was clear and unwavering: the mama bears are organized, and they are not backing down.

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Author Profile

Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.