The Israel-Hamas War in the Gaza Strip has created a new wave of antisemitism on American college campuses.
It has caused threats and dangers to American Jewish students, and has led to massive demonstrations and sitins on campuses, as well as blockages of traffic in New York City and elsewhere.
The House Republicans have exploited this issue, condemning university Presidents who have, in many cases, been slow to take any action.
But it has also led to criticism at Columbia University, who has banned various student groups and expelled some students, and cracked down on “academic freedom’ of some college professors.
This whole situation is very awkward in so many ways, with no easy solution, but to have student groups promoting hate and desire to destroy Israel’s right to exist, and to threaten all American Jews, is unacceptable.
College professors have the responsibility to promote dialogue, not to advocate for hate and division in any controversy, as they are perceived as role models for students.
So debate and discussion with a professor being the moderator is the only proper role, and the purpose should be to bring the temperature down and promote interaction without taking away the safety and security and basic rights of all concerned!
As you well know Professor… this is something I personally will not tolerate and have no problem calling another out on this.
Joy Reid talked with some organizers of the campus protest at Columbia University. They are saying that the anti-Semitism did not come from the students, but from non-student protesters have gathered outside the campus. They are saying that Fox News and other right-wing media is trying to paint everyone protesting as being hateful, when that’s really not the case.
So, in other words, it’s a case of bad apples ruining the bunch?
Yes, Southern Liberal. That’s correct. It’s like what happened with some of the Black Lives Matter protests. The vast majority of the protesters were not violent, but some agitators mixed in at times.
A bit of background about the students and their beliefs:
Students inside campus encampments that have spread across the United States over the past week are from a variety of backgrounds — including Palestinians, Arabs, Jews and Muslims, joined by students of other religious and ethnic backgrounds. They hold a spectrum of political and social views too: liberal and heterodox, progressive and absolutist. Many have been motivated by the reports and video coming out of Gaza that is often unbearable to watch. Many of these students see the actions of the Israeli military in Gaza as a continuation of a more than 70-year-long oppression of Palestinian rights, land and culture. Protesters say they want their schools to stand against what they believe is genocide in Gaza.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/26/business/campus-turmoil-complex/index.html
Bernie Sanders and House progressives have spoken out about attempts to discredit the pro-Gaza campus protests. They condemn misinformation being spread by Republicans that attempts to undermine the movement, outside agitators whose only purpose is to detract from peaceful solidarity actions, and the aggressive response by law enforcement.
http://www.commondreams.org/news/student-protest
This disturbing news gives the students even more reason to be upset.
Mass graves have been found at two Gaza hospitals that were besieged and raided by Israeli troops this year. The UN is calling for an independent, effective and transparent investigation.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/24/middleeast/un-calls-for-investigation-gaza-mass-graves-mime-intl/index.html
Seems to me it’s about the relationship between Zionism, anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Some people consider anti-Zionism as being antisemitic. Others reject any such linkage as unfounded and a method to stifle criticism of Israel and its policies, including its occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Gaza Strip. The student protesters, as well as many progressive politicians, such as Bernie, for example, as well as left-wing media, are in the latter camp.
I would strongly recommend taking a listen to this webinar (https://www.cfr.org/event/academic-webinar-public-opinion-israel-and-palestine) Dr Shibley Telhami of the University of Maryland did at the Council on Foreign Relations.
He outlines four factors that have caused a shift among younger progressive Americans on the Israel Palestine issue:
1- They are less white and less male then any other subgroup- and women and people of color are more likely to sympathize with Palestinians.
2- Social media use- higher social media use means that information young Americans receive is different then the mainstream, traditional media.
3- Democrats have begun looking at the issue through a more social-justice influenced lens vs Republicans looking at it through a foreign policy or biblical lens.
4- For the past decade and a half, Israel has had a deeply conservative government led by Netanyahu. While older voters might distiguish between Netanyahu’s government and the Israeli government/state as a whole, younger voters only know Netanyahu’s policy goals as that of Israel as a whole.
In my opinion, older generations are more pro-Israel because of their proximity to WWII veterans. They grew up with documentaries about the Holocaust that explicitly showed the victim’s of the concentration camps and knew people who fought in Europe. For more modern generations, it’s more history than something that happened in living memory. As a consequence there’s less guilt over the horror of WWII and Jews and more emphasis on the balance of Palestinian and Israeli interests/behavior.
I second that, Pragmatic. A lot has to do with how the government of Israel has changed over time, as well as how old each generation was during historical events.
Give this episode of “the daily” a listen: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/21/podcasts/the-daily/israel-gaza-war.html
What a Jewish student at Yale said about the protests.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/27/opinions/yale-student-palestinian-protests-berlin/index.html
Thanks for that, Former Republican. Those four points nail it.
Bernie speaking about the protests on CNN’s State of the Union this morning.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/28/politics/video/bernie-sanders-campus-protests-antisemitism-israel-hamas-sotu-intv-digvid
One of the demands that the students have is divestment.
Here is what divestment means.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/28/investing/stocks-lookahead-divestment-college-protests/index.html
All this protesting brings back memories of the widespread student protests of 1968. That didn’t go well for LBJ.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/28/opinions/1968-protests-warning-to-todays-democrats-zelizer/index.html
Vox explains that students have protested for Palestine since before Israel was even founded. And for decades, schools have tried to crack down on their activism.
http://www.vox.com/24138285/columbia-campus-israel-palestine-activism-sjp
Bernie Sanders is fir9 convinced that Netanyahu is carrying out ethnic cleansing.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4627250-bernie-sanders-benjamin-netanyahu-ethnic-cleansing-israel-gaza/
I heard on the news last night that Netanyahu is still planning to attack Rafah, where most of the population has fled to.
In my post that should be:
firmly convinced
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is considering issuing arrests warrants for Netanyahu and some of his top military personnel.