Spread Cream Cheese, Not Hate Racks Up Over 5,000 Signatures Against Antisemitism
What’s even more Jewish than a bagel and cream cheese?
Taking a stand against hate.
This week, University of Florida (UF) Hillel hosted its fifth annual Spread Cream Cheese, Not Hate event. Created as a program to combat antisemitism and all forms of hate, on-campus at the University of Florida and across all communities, Jewish and non-Jewish Bagel Day student volunteers set up stations across campus, inviting Gator Nation to sign the Spread Cream Cheese, Not Hate pledge. Signers received a free bagel and cream cheese in appreciation.
Bagels might be the attraction, but the event itself is about so much more. Spread Cream Cheese, Not Hate won the 2022 Hillel International Eleanor Meyerhoff Katz Innovation Award, and has only grown in the years since. “We care about putting a positive message in the University, how it’s an accepting community and we will not tolerate any forms of hate,” UF Hillel student Ceci Edelberg said in a report about the 2023 event. “It’s also a big opportunity to lift student voices and for students to share their experiences.”
Since October 7, more students than ever have experienced antisemitism on college campuses across the country. Even more than in previous years, Jewish students need to know their peers have their back. Even before the event, the UF community heard them loud and clear: 61 campus partners — ranging from clubs to multicultural student groups to sororities and fraternities and more — signed up for the Spread Cream Cheese, Not Hate Campus Partner Program to show their solidarity.
Cadi Schwartz, Student Director of Spread Cream Cheese, Not Hate, reflected, “My favorite part of the campaign is the questions we get to discuss with the people who sign the pledge.”
Last year, more than 4,000 students took the pledge. This year, UF Hillel anticipated an even greater turnout this year — and achieved it, with more than 5,000 total signatures. Good thing they ordered enough cream cheese to feed a crowd!