The world is full of ignoramuses, and Hollywood has more than its fair share. Idiots like Susan Sarandon not only make horrible personal comments about Jews but suggest false information.
The simple facts are that Jews are much more persecuted than Muslims in the United States by a large margin.
Hate crimes against Jews have always been much higher than for Muslims or Arabs in every year for the past twenty years according to the FBI. The two groups started to converge around 2014 to 2016 as crimes against Jews started to decline and those against Muslims began to increase, but those trendlines reversed.
According to the raw FBI data, there were 6.3 times more hate crimes committed against Jews than Muslims in 2020. In 2008, the ratio was an astounding 8.6 times and got as low as 2.2 times in 2016.
When adjusting for the relative population of Jews and Muslims, assuming 5.7 million American Jews and 3.3 million American Muslims, the conclusion remains the same that Jews are targeted for hate crimes much more than Muslims or any other group, including Blacks.
Even before the terrible spike in American antisemitism in the wake of the most heinous slaughtering of Jews since the Holocaust on October 7, Jews were the most persecuted people in the country. Attacked by the alt-right, jihadists and the alt-left, and vilified by professors and politicians like Rep. Rashida Tlaib who claims that Jews in the United States and Israel are greedy conniving creatures who steal land and make money off of racism, Jews have become the global pinata.
American Jews are finding few allies and an array of enemies. It is well past time to prepare.
College is the first time that many young people live away from home. Young adults find new friends and community to experience learning and fun for several important formative years.
Alas, it is not always simple for Jews at universities.
Campus antisemitism has been a growing issue, and after the October 7 Hamas massacre, it has escalated and made Jewish students fear for their basic safety. Threats against students at Cornell, Cooper Union, New York University, Columbia and Hunter College are seemingly mentioned daily.
And that’s just in New York, home to the largest population of Jews outside of Israel.
As the current Gaza War is likely to go on for some time, it is likely that the tepid reaction of universities will enable more antisemitism on campuses, so this article is meant as a guide for how to ingest the latest incidents.
First Framework: 98% and 2% of Campuses with Jews
In the United States, there are roughly 5,300 colleges. Of those, roughly 100 have a Jewish presence of note, whether by number of Jewish students, percentage of Jews or those with a visibly Orthodox presence. That means that 98% of American colleges might have antisemitic incidents that do not actively harm Jews at that moment in time. While the toxicity of antisemitism spreading should not be overlooked, the antisemitism may go unnoticed and unreported.
The figures may hold true for other countries with large Jewish populations including Canada, United Kingdom and France. While there are many fewer universities there, it is likely that 90%-plus percentage of them have under-reported antisemitic occurrences.
Second Framework: The Three Groups of Antisemitic Actors
Antisemitism at universities have three principle actors: the alt-right, jihadists and the alt-left.
The alt-right and neo-Nazis were historically viewed as the classic antisemites. While the alt-right continues to taunt and attack Jews, they have a quiet presence thus far at the two percent of universities where most Jews attend. They have greater voices in the other 98% of campuses so that antisemitism is often unreported.
When White Supremacists marched at the University of Virginia in 2017, the world took notice. There wasn’t a need for the Hillel, which claims there are 1,000 Jews at UVA, to alert the press as everyone was shocked by the scale of the provocative march meant to intimidate the relatively small Jewish population and other minorities.
The jihadists have been gaining significant ground since the turn of the century. Led by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the pro-Hamas group has roughly 250 chapters around the United States, including almost all of the 2% schools which Jews attend including the large state universities (Florida, Michigan, Maryland, Indiana, Wisconsin), the City of New York/ State of New York and University of California school systems, as well as the Ivy League schools. Their presence on campus directly correlates to more antisemitic actions on campuses as shown by work done by the AMCHA Initiative.
In the current environment after the October 7 Hamas attack, they are a leading cause of anti-Jewish hostility on campus, and Jews are directly feeling the brunt of their extremism and hatred.
The third category of antisemites comes from the alt-left, such as groups associated with the Democratic Socialists of America. They are profoundly anti-Zionist, and have falsely labeled Israel as a “settler colonial state”, denying Jews their history and heritage in the holy land. Since the 2014/15 Black Lives Matter protests, socialists have bonded with the jihadists in coming for Jews and Zionists. Like the jihadists, they are found in almost school where Jews are located.
The cumulative effect is that one doesn’t hear much about campus antisemitism from the alt-right, especially during conflicts in the Middle East. If one hears about it at all, it will be from something major like the “United the Right” UVA march which included many people from outside the university.
In contrast, jihadists feel uncomfortably close with their daily confrontations with Jews and the spectacle is frightening.
The alt-left socialists feel even closer for progressive Jews. They belong to the same clubs and advocated for many of the same causes. To see them celebrating the murder and butchering of Jews is deeply hurtful and shocking.
Third Framework: The Three Levels at Universities
The third way to consider antisemitism is understanding the three tiers of a university: the institution, the teachers and the students.
Groups like SJP are made up of students and tend to be the most vocal actors on campuses. They stage die-ins, put on Israel Apartheid Weeks and are the ones generally responsible for vandalism. The university has little sway over them, other than the ability to not officially recognize them or allow them to hold events on campus grounds, or expel them if they go against rules of conduct.
Teachers are directly employed by the university so the institution has much greater influence on them. However, once a teacher gets tenure, it becomes very difficult to discipline them unless they do something egregious.
The institutions are businesses, whether they are not-for-profit or for-profit, public or private universities. They need funding, students, professors, accreditation, real estate and many other things to operate. As such, it is possible to impact their direction by donors and federal mandates.
Using these three lenses about universities, one can better evaluate the impact of campus antisemitism.
Examining Donors Via The Frameworks
Many wealthy Jewish university benefactors lashed out about the state of antisemitism on campuses. Marc Rowan, Bill Ackman, Leon Cooperman, David Magerman and others stated that they will no longer send universities millions of dollars as they have in the past.
It matters much less than they think. Not only do the universities have billions of dollars already in endowments, but the monies those benefactors spent were on hospitals and center for the arts and to put their names on buildings. The Jews gave money at the institutional level.
That is in sharp contrast to the Gulf states including Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Foreign forces gave over $10 billion to American universities at every level including the student and professor levels. At the institutional level, they spent money opening up campuses in their kingdoms to legitimize their autocratic regimes.
At the student level, the governments sent tens of thousands of students onto American campuses, changing the nature of the schools. The universities appreciate the fully-funded tuitions and the ability to appear diverse and international. In the 2015/6 school year, over 61,000 Saudi students attended American schools. That represented 0.2% of the entire population of Saudi Arabia to a single country. By way of comparison, the ENTIRE American students abroad cohort all over the world is around 162,000, or 0.05% of the U.S. population. Imagine 650,000 American college students all going to Brazil for college, and you get the absurdity of what transpired on American campuses with petrodollars.
The Gulf money also funded professors and chairs of departments. In July 2000, the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, donated $2.5 million to the Harvard Divinity School to endow the Sheik Zayed Al Nahyan Professorship in Islamic Religious Studies. Within a short period of time, the Zayed Center became a noxious fountain of anti-Semitic screed complete with Holocaust denials and blood libels. It took the non-profit group The David Project and a student at the Harvard Divinity School, Rachel Fish, to loudly protest the donation and Center itself.
But the damage is often already done. With an application of two students and approval of a professor, a new SJP chapter comes to campus. The AMCHA Initiative has shown that campuses with five or more professors who support the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) of Israel and has an anti-Zionist group like SJP on campus, is over seven times more likely to have antisemitic incidents.
These professors actively push the antisemitic narrative to Decolonize Palestine, framing Jews as interlopers and the Jewish State as a European Colonial State. It is inherently antisemitic, as it negates Jewish heritage and history. The professors claim that it is worthy of debate and administrations remain silent.
Ramifications
Historically, Jews focused on choosing schools with a good Jewish campus life. If there was a Hillel, AEPi Jewish fraternity, Chabad or OU-JLIC couple on campus, students and parents felt comfortable with a supportive environment. Walking through campus and seeing Jewish names on buildings like Stern and Lauder gave people comfort that they would not confront antisemitism.
That is simply not the case.
The correct questions are whether the university has an SJP or Jewish Voice for Peace on campus. Does the university take millions of dollars from Gulf states? Are there tenured professors with a history of antisemitic remarks like Columbia’s Joseph Massad? Does it promote the antisemitic libel that Jews have no history in the holy land and that it is noble to “normalize and globalize Hamas” the way Brown University suggests?
Action Items
The jihadists have focused on American universities for twenty years, and the alt-left has long had a hold on campus life but only bonded with the jihadists since 2014/5. It will take time to undo the damage that has been done.
But there are several things which can be effectuated to start the change. For those who don’t want or cannot wait, consider Yeshiva University or Touro which are Jewish institutions with no jihadist groups and very few members of the alt-left.
Get universities to stop taking money from toxic regimes. Qatar openly supports the terrorist group Hamas. Saudi Arabia beheads minors. There must be some human rights bright lines which should block universities from taking money. At a minimum, there should be a cap of say $5 million over any five year period for any foreign government or agency to pour money into American schools.
Label SJP a hate group and kick them off campus. With seven times more antisemitic incidents with their presence, the groups should be blocked from school recognition.
Place a morality clause in all contracts. If misgendering someone can be cause for dismissal, then certainly celebrating the slaughter of babies and raping of women should result in immediate firings.
Get the Biden Administration to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism as it relates to Title VI for universities. The administration already approved it as the best working definition of antisemitism but has not applied it to Title VI which would pull government funding to universities that allow rampant anti-Zionism and antisemitism.
Expel foreign students involved in hate crimes. Universities like MIT have been loathe to suspend foreign students as it would result in their deportation. American Jews should not be forced to endure visiting students’ antisemitism because the university wants to keep the foreign nation’s tuition funnel flowing.
Support Jewish and Israel groups. OU-JLIC, Hillel and other groups need active support, as do external groups which help out university students like StandWithUs and Students Supporting Israel. The infrastructure must be continuously enhanced for a strong Jewish campus life.
Get benefactors to fund Jewish scholarships and Jewish and Israel studies departments. Just like the Gulf states, Jewish benefactors should fund scholarships for Jews to their alma maters as well as professors focused on Jewish studies.
Write about the problem. Penning letters to the school administrators, posting on social media, and telling members of congress and governors about the horrific situation on campuses will help drive change. Write letters to the media that they must cover campus antisemitism more regularly and honestly.
Campus antisemitism is at alarming levels. You can help.
An estimated 290,000 Jews and Zionists came to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on November 14, 2023 to march for Israel, the release of hostages and against antisemitism. News reports share that it was the single largest turnout of Jews in D.C. ever.
Hundreds of thousands of people at the National Mall rally on November 14, 2023 (photo: FirstOneThrough)
While marked as a “march” to run from 1:00PM to 3:00PM, the rally started at 11:00AM and ended well past 3:00PM. Speakers and singers addressed the large crowd who came from around the United States, Canada, Europe and Israel. There were masses of Israeli flags everywhere, as well as American flags, as everyone attending appreciated the simple ability to come out without fear in America’s capital.
There were sections set aside for members of Congress, and both Republicans and Democrats were proud to show their support for Israel and Zionists. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) was an early speaker, and the most forceful American politician from those invited to speak. He roundly condemned Hamas and spoke with moral clarity about the fight against evil.
Other Democrats who were not given the podium, like Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), were happy to speak to various people about the war, including Nir Barkat, former Mayor of Jerusalem and current Minister of Finance in Israel. Republican speakers included new House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) who was only second to Rep. Torres in clearly articulating standing firmly with Israel and against Hamas, and that America’s support was a bipartisan effort. Many other Republicans attended, including from California, Arizona, Georgia and Texas.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz at rally for Israel in Washington, DC on November 14, 2023 (photo: FirstOneThrough)
Beyond the familiar names were the new names.
Families of the over 200 hostages held in Gaza came to Washington. They stood and held each other and demanded the return of their loved ones. Many took the stage and spoke passionately about their sons, daughters and family members abducted amidst the slaughter of October 7.
Family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin
Rachel Goldberg-Polin spoke to the audience as she has done many times at any forum where she can try to help advance the release of her son Hersh, whose arm was blown off during the October 7 massacre. She shared that she did not know if he was alive and buried in the tunnels of Gaza, or had died from bleeding out from his wounds. But she knew she needed to speak out as best she could.
Other parents also spoke on behalf of their children. Some held placards with the names and faces of the captives. These were not “Kidnapped” signs that could be ripped from lampposts as thousands have been by anti-Zionists in America’s cities. These signs held up the tortured families, standing somewhere between shiva and hope.
In many ways, that was the essence of rally. While people leaned on each other for support and blessed the United States for both standing with Israel and being an open welcoming society, everyone knew that this was no celebration.
Over 1,200 people in Israel were slaughtered and butchered. Antisemitism was skyrocketing. University professors and students shouted their joy at the death of Jews. Politicians and world governments were calling the Jewish State a racist genocidal country not worthy of existing. Global crowds cheered the jihadists’ auto-da-fe.
So thousands came to America’s capital in a counter-demonstration of love and peace.
Jews and Christian Zionists came to be together. At times they accepted comfort from the array of speakers and other times they shouted back “Bring Them Home!” and “No Ceasefire!” in reply. The crowd stood for hours, talking to people around them to understand their personal stories of how they’ve been impacted, as well as to simply embrace friends traumatized by unfolding events.
Families of hostages demand the return of their loves ones in Washington, DC on November 14, 2023 (photo: FirstOneThrough)
The crowd came to the capital to collectively mourn the unholy death in the holy land. They came to get and demand reassurance from powerful politicians that they will be safe in America and make sure Israel can have peace.
And they openly showed their fear.
Like the 240 hostages in Gaza, roughly 300,000 people are not sure whether this was a time for hope or a time to mourn. Perhaps this is a post-Ecclesiastes world when time and state are no longer paired; a time for shiva and hope concurrently.
Jews make up a very small population in the world yet suffer disproportionately from persecution.
Globally, Jews account for less than 0.2% of the population, or about 1 person for every 525 people. Most people have never met a Jewish person.
As most of the world is Christian and Muslim, it is not surprising that Christian-majority countries make up the majority of the United Nations, followed by Muslim-majority countries. There is only a single Jewish-majority country, Israel, which is disproportionately vilified at the United Nations.
Outside of the Israel, the only country with a sizable Jewish population is the United States, which has 40% of the global Jewish population. Outside of Israel and the USA, there is roughly 15% of the rest of world Jewry, principally located in France, Canada, United Kingdom, Argentina and Russia.
In the United States, Jews are a small part of the minority groups. While DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) efforts focus on Hispanics, Blacks, Asians and the LGBT+ community, it ignores Jews who are labeled “White” and “privileged”.
Without protection afforded to other minorities, Jews stand out as the most targeted group in the United States for hate crimes, based on population.
College campuses have become particularly noxious breeding grounds of antisemitism. In addition to excluding Jews from DEI and federal Title VI protections, universities miseducate Zionism to be a form of “European colonialism” and Zionists to be racists. Compounding the matter, because Jews are labeled “White and privileged”, they are not allowed to defend themselves, and must simply sit and be berated.
The tragic farse doesn’t even end there. In addition to persecuted American Jews being vilified by laws and people meant to defend minorities, those groups label Israel as an example of White Supremacy, even though Mizrahi Jews make up a majority of the Jewish State. Jews of color make up 41.2% of the Israeli population.
Despite Jews being indigenous to the land of Israel and Israel being the most liberal country in the entire Middle East, liberal universities have turned the Jewish State into a polluter of pure Arab land.
Jews are a minority-minority in the United States and around the world, persecuted and unprotected by laws and people who are both proud of their antisemitism and those who think they are fighting for minority rights. At least majority-minority rights, like 1.8 billion Muslims.
Hamas’s grotesque butchery of people in Israel on October 7, 2023 was seemingly from another time and place. Burning babies in ovens. Chopping off fingers of young boys and amputating feet of young girls. Cutting off breasts of women and raping them. The sickening depravity of the Palestinian jihadists seemed born in hell.
These Islamic extremists were not simply invading Israel to take land; they came to embarrass, to dehumanize, to torment the infidels.
Like the Spanish Inquisition of hundreds of years ago, religious fanatics tortured and burned Jews whom they deemed to be “heretics”.
Heretics to Christians. Infidels to Jihadists.
Jews.
Burning Jews alive during the Inquisition before large local crowds in Lisbon, Portugal
So they brought back some corpses to parade through the streets of Gaza. Some 240 live people too.
Modern technology enabled their barbarity to be captured and shared with the world very quickly. From Australia to the United States, antisemites shouted their joy at watching the massacre of Jews.
In Sydney, Australia the crowds yelled “Gas the Jews,” “F–k the Jews.” Cornell professor Russell Rickford said the spectacle was “exhilarating” and “energizing.” A junior at the University of Pennsylvania asked the crowd whether they remembered “the several other joyful and powerful images which came from the glorious October seventh?… I remember feeling so empowered and happy, so confident that victory was near and so tangible. I want all of you to hold that feeling in your hearts. Never let go of it. Channel it through every action you take. Bring it to the streets!”
The butchering of Jews eventually brought out the crowds, albeit asynchronous to the slaughter. They cheered the guilty verdict and incineration of Jews.
The antisemites gathered in the streets with fellow Jew-haters to reminisce and pray for more days like October 7. They tore down “kidnapped” posters, staged walk-outs, blockaded streets and lobbied members of congress to protect their heroes in Gaza. They wanted to see the second, third and fourth wave of torturing Jews, as Hamas promised.
Maybe live next time.
The Catholic Church once tortured and paraded Jews before burning them at the stake for the local crowds amusement. Today’s religious devils are radical jihadists appealing to a global audience to hunt and torment diaspora Jews for sport and to gather support for their war effort against the Jewish State.
The biblical Samson did not die alone but was staged in a large theater to mock and kill for the crowd’s pleasure.
Recognize that today’s pro-Hamas “protests” are not silent, holding vigil for Palestinian civilians. They are a mob looking for the next Jewish Samson to eliminate.
The New York Times has a long disgraceful history minimizing antisemitism both during Arab-Israeli wars and in every day life. It similarly highlights Islamophobia, even though Muslims in America suffer a fraction of Jewish hate crimes.
The paper’s jaundiced coverage is continuing during the 2023 Gaza War.
In two separate incidents, a Muslim boy and an elderly Jewish man were killed in the United States. The Times reporting on the tragedies were polar opposites.
For the killing of the Muslim boy, the Times referred to it as an active event with “fatally stabbed…attack” while the Jewish man passively “died.” One situation was clearly out-of-the-blue killing a child, while the 69-year old Jew was cast as partially to blame in an “altercation at dueling protests.”
In describing the attack on a Muslim, the Times called it an “Anti-Muslim Attack” and “a hate crime,” but no such language was used for the murdered Jew.
The uncle of the Muslim boy is featured face-on and his name was used. For the Jew, the picture was of just the backs of several people. His name and age went unmentioned.
The effort to minimize antisemitism is not accidental, as the paper actively tries to tell its declining readership that anti-Zionism and antisemitism have nothing to do with each other, and antisemitism is not really that big a problem.
Take a look at past NY Times coverage to appreciate this deformity.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY16) plans on hosting a “Healing Breakfast: Fighting Antisemitism and Hate” on Monday November 6 at 11:00am. Some Jews are inclined to not attend, having seen the congressman contribute to antisemitism in the United States and his district. Others want to confront Bowman, and ask him pointed questions.
There are many reasons for Jews to dislike Bowman.
While dozens of New York’s elected officials came to address 1,500 people at Temple Israel Center in White Plains on October 10, 2023, right after the brutal slaughter of 1,400 people in Israel, Bowman stayed away, despite the event being located in the center of his district. Among the various elected officials was Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who gave an incredible speech before the crowd. Thousands of Jews are asking Latimer to challenge Bowman in the Democratic primary for the Westchester congressional seat.
It may be a good idea to join Bowman’s virtual discussion to confront him on his positions about antisemitism and the Jewish State. Some questions to direct to Bowman about his track record include:
On May 17, 2022, you co-authored a resolution condemning the founding of Israel a “Nakba”, a catastrophe. You offered no language that Jews should have sovereignty and self-determination in their homeland at the same time, which often happens with “balanced” resolutions condemning both antisemitism and Islamophobia. Instead, you adopted a solely Palestinian narrative. Do you believe that Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel and should have sovereignty and self-determination there?
Many people in Israel and supporters of Israel believe in the principle of making peace with those who want peace, and going to war with those who wage war. On April 25, 2023, you voted against supporting the Abraham Accords. Do you believe in peace for Israel or do you only believe in peace for Israel when there is peace for Palestinian Arabs?
Jews are much more likely to suffer antisemitism in the United States than any other group including Black people and Muslims. You’ve spoken up for Blacks and Muslims but have done nothing until today to show an iota of concern for Jews. Why should the Jewish community trust you?
On May 3, 2021, you said that Critical Race Theory is important to teach in schools. Do you think CRT should be limited to Black experience in America? Do you think international laws which are supported by the US government, that ban Jews from living in parts of their holy land and ban Jews from praying at their holiest location on the Temple Mount should be taught as being deeply antisemitic?
Israel is often lambasted at the United Nations by every Arab and Muslim nation as well as key members of the UN Security Council. A “balanced” approach at the UN would therefore require the US to stand firmly behind Israel in all resolutions as other nations are siding against Israel. Do you agree, or should Israel be left without any backer at the UN?
Do you support Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s call for a ceasefire to only be in place once the hostages are freed, or do you support the ceasefire which Hamas wants without Hamas taking any actions at all as you tweeted on October 16, 2023?
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 30: (L-R) Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MN), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) take questions during a news conference about Islamophobia on Capitol Hill on November 30, 2021 in Washington, DC. A video of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) circulated on social media last week of the conservative lawmaker making anti-Muslim remarks about Rep. Ilhan Omar. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Brown University’s Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs’ website says it is “Seeking to promote a just and peaceful world through research, teaching and public engagement.” It gives someone hope that it is a force for good.
Alas, it spreads antisemitism while pretending to address the scourge.
On October 15, 2022, Brown hosted “The New Antisemitism and the Contemporary Middle East,” which one would imagine would address the horrible antisemitism in the Palestinian Arab community and throughout the Muslim Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. A viewer might have expected any of the following to have been addressed:
Palestinians being the most antisemitic in the world, with almost everyone – 93% according to an ADL global poll – harboring Jew-hatred
Palestinians voting Hamas to a majority of parliament, with the most antisemitic charter in the world which blames Jews for starting all wars in the world for profit to “rule the world.”
Jordan banning Jews from visiting the Tomb of the Jewish Matriarchs and Patriarchs
Banning Jews from praying at their holiest site on the Temple Mount
The list goes on. There is a disgraceful history of outright Jew-hatred in the “Contemporary Middle East” and Brown University had an opportunity to explore the evil.
Brown University Webinar on Antisemitism was all about the perceived evils of Zionism
The panel had two moderators: Nadje Al Ali and Katharina M Galor, both from Brown University. The speakers were Amos Goldberg of Hebrew University, Raef Zreik of Ono Academic College, Sherene Seikaly of UC Santa Barbara, and Noura Erakat of Rutgers. A mix of Jews and Arabs seemed like a good start to explore the rabid antisemitism in the region.
Goldberg led off the talk with a rant against the IHRA definition of antisemitism, claiming that it undermined the Palestinian narrative discussing Israeli “apartheid.” He added the “IHRA definition is a direct assault on truth,” (17:30) because it included a statement “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor”
Zreik followed Goldberg and also lambasted the IHRA definition and said that Israel engages in “ethnic cleansing.”
Seikaly defined antisemitism as only being relevant when coming from White Supremacists and Nazis. She pivoted that Zionism was a concocted European invention to help fight antisemitism. She claimed that Zionism “promised Jews they could finally become European but only by leaving Europe.” (35:00) Zionism created the “ongoing Nakba” and that “the struggle for Palestinian freedom is a crucial step in ending this logic.” (35:40) In other words, she argued that destroying the Jewish State will emancipate Jews from the European invented defense of Jews.
WTF?
Erakat pushed this narrative further, that antisemitism only exists alongside racism when pushed by White Supremacists. She offered that Jews fall into two camps: the Zionists which back a racist state, and anti-Zionists who are anti-racist.
So a webinar about antisemitism in the Middle East devolved into a long attack on the Jewish State. They claimed that Israel is a racist state and therefore hating Zionism is actually the opposite of antisemitism; it is the fight against racism.
Goldberg leaned into this further when he said that Israel doesn’t even care about antisemitism, (48:25) and just uses it to push the Palestinian narrative off-stage.
Zriek continued his story that Palestinians suffer from dispersion, occupation, settler colonialism, and were victims of Jews. That is the only lens through which he believes one can look at Jews in the Middle East: they were victims in Europe but are oppressors in Palestine.
Seikaly ended the talk with “opposing antisemitism, opposing all forms of racism, and opposing Zionist settler colonialism,” (1:15:55) setting herself as a champion for Jews and all forms of hate, which includes hating Jewish supremacy.
Rather than addressing rampant antisemitism in Palestinian society, Brown University gave a lecture that Jews are not indigenous to the holy land and part of a European racist colonial project. At this Ivy, antisemitism is definitionally only a feature of the far-right, and should not be confused with Muslim Arabs fighting Jewish racism which might look like antisemitism to those who are racists and Islamophobes.
America’s universities are not only ignoring violent jihadi antisemitism, they are attempting to reframe it as a just fight against Jewish racists.
It is no wonder that we are witnessing universities celebrating the hideous pogrom launched by Hamas on October 7.
ACTION ITEM
Contact the large Brown University donors “Stop supporting Brown University which whitewashes Palestinian antisemitism and seeks to destroy Israel” Top donors include the Andrew Mellon Foundation ($42m) tel (212) 838.8400, the Ford Foundation ($5.7m) tel (212) 573.5000 and Arnold Ventures
The Tikvah Fund hosts an annual event in New York City with great speakers discussing Jewish thought, Zionism and Western Philosophy. Hundreds of people attend, mostly from the tri-state area but also Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada and even Brazil.
The first roundtable discussion after an incredible speech by Ruth Wisse featured: Dore Feith (Columbia), Zach Kessel (Northwestern), Alexandra Orbuch (Princeton), Josh Blustein (University of Chicago), Tal Fortgang (New York University). Each student discussed their experience on campus, ranging from antisemitic groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), to terrible administrations which could not bear to clearly condemn the barbarity of Hamas’s terrorist attack on October 7.
Student panel at the Jewish Leadership Conference, October 29, 2023
Tal Fortgang concluded the discussion by making four observations about the state of academia in the United States today.
1. University presidents today do not stand by Jews, as evidenced by the amount of time and statement revisions issued to condemn the heinous Hamas attacks. The fifth attempt at condemnation reads like a hostage note written by lawyers.
2. Socialists and foreign entities have colonized the elite institutions. Dore Feith shared that the de-colonialist worldview has infiltrated every department in universities and is now part of the core curriculum at Columbia. Every student is fed a charged philosophy, including that Israel is a European Colonial settlement. There is no room left to debate this hallowed dogma at the Ivy League institutions.
3. There is a dire need to reexamine the admission policy at schools. While schools manage to be highly selective about GPAs and standardized test scores, somehow they manage to “accept 25% of students who are genocidal maniacs.” Based on recent videos of SJP on campus, it’s not an exaggeration.
4. Everyone must do their utmost to “drain the residual prestige which remains for these institutions.” They no longer teach people how to think but what to think, and the modern tenets are immoral by any measure other than a lens of radical socialism. The effort to drain those schools means no longer sending money or children to the school. It may also mean no longer recruiting students for jobs from those institutions.
A letter was shared at a New Jersey Jewish high school which said it would no longer allow some universities to present on site unless they attest that the schools are safe.
Letter from the Torah Academy of Bergen County, NY
Jewish institutions, parents and students are taking a new look at Jewish life at America’s leading universities and are not pleased with what they see. Perhaps not coincidentally, Yeshiva University, America’s flagship Jewish university, had admissions jump by 25% over the past three years. It is likely to see a continued surge in the coming years.
ACTION ITEM
Write to your alma mater’s administration, office of the president and alumni affairs “I am appalled at the antisemitism rampant on your campus. I will no longer send donations nor encourage family members to attend your institution. I will pressure high schools to not allow your school to present on campus, and ask my place of employment to stop recruiting from your school.”
Columbia University- alumni affairs caaalumnirelations@columbia.edu UPenn- alumni affairs alumni@ben.dev.upenn.edu Cooper Union- alumni@cooper.edu
First One Through 