Thousands of Jewish teens gather at Ohel amid spike in antisemitic incidents

 Thousands of Jewish teens from across the globe gathered at a pro-Israel rally in Times Square and at the grave of a beloved rabbi as part of the annual CTeen International Summit.

A massive crowd prayed at the grave of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in Queens Sunday, a day after the Times Square rally, spreading handwritten, shredded prayers over his final resting place.

The Rebbe’s resting place is known for its spiritual significance, attracting over 400,000 visitors annually.

CTeen volunteer Mendel Zaklikovsky said the gathering at the grave site was significant because Schneerson was passionate about young people.

“The Rebbe was very into education. He would always talk about the potential that young adults have,” Zaklikovsky told The Post. “They are the future leaders of the Jewish world. So it’s very important that we instill in them a strong sense of Jewish pride.

“Just coming together is a very massive thing for these teenagers,” Zaklikovsky said. “There’s a lot of antisemitism, and when there are 3,000 teens coming together, it’s a big deal.”

The CTeen International Summit, hosted by CTeen, brings together teens from around the world for a weekend of prayer and workshops on topics such as antisemitism, mental health, and leadership.

This year’s theme is “Count on Me”.

Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Chabad’s executive director who oversees youth networks, said the CTeen convention was more important than ever because it has never been harder in the organization’s history for Jewish teens to take pride in being Jews.

“For a lot of these teens this is the largest gathering of Jews they’ve ever seen in their lives,” Kotlarsky said.

“Most of these teens are the only jews in their their schools, they don’t get to meet many other Jews,” Kotlarsky went on. “To be able to have this, the support, the energy, the Jewish pride, gives them the ability to stay focused, to have a positive message, to have pride.

“If this [gathering] was ever important, now is the time.”

Binny Posluns, 16, traveled from Monsey to take part in the summit.

“It’s really scary what’s happening. And not just in Israel. If you look in America, people are the targets of hate crimes for being Jewish,” he told The Post.

But he said the gathering made him feel hopeful that better times may be on the horizon.

“It feels very uplifting. Something different. It’s amazing to see people from all different countries. Singapore, Brazil, France, all over the place. We may not all speak each other’s language, but we connect on a deeper level.”

Shana Siteon, 14, from Kansas City, echoed Posluns’ sentiment.

“It’s powerful to see so many young Jewish people,” Shana said. “It makes me feel like we are all in this together. I feel like God is sending us the help we need to be Jewish right now.”

Noam Dovev, 14, from Moldova, is one of only seven Jewish students in his school, where he says antisemitism is a constant worry.

“Antisemitism is everywhere. People hate Jews everywhere. It’s hard to be proud knowing that there are people who hate you everywhere,” he told The Post.

“Here, I can not be scared. I know there are a lot of Jews everywhere.”

Sheina Cowan, 14, from London, told The Post that she has witnessed antisemitic bullying and attacks outside of her school.

“In my school there is a lot of antisemitism, especially on social media. People feel like they can say whatever they want,” she said.

“On the streets of London, I would be scared to shout out that I’m Jewish or play Jewish music, but here you can be open, you can be proud of being Jewish.”

Schneerson — who is credited with creating a global Jewish renaissance in the aftermath of the Holocaust— gained the ear of political leaders such as Ronald Reagan, Robert F. Kennedy, Shirley Chisholm and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, as well as notable figures such as Elie Wiesel, Herman Wouk and Bob Dylan.

Over his 92 years on Earth, Schneerson became so influential that he is known to many simply as “The Rebbe.”

Schneerson died June 12, 1994 — the third day of the month of Tammuz in the year 5,754, according to the Hebrew calendar.