For several years now, we have been documenting anecdotal evidence based on incidents on US college campuses that anti-Semitism is a growing problem and there is a direct link between the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement against Israel. We have also been reporting on incidents involving anti-Semitic expressions by Students for Justice in Palestine. Now, thanks to the AMCHA Initiative, we have empirical evidence. What is linked below is the result of a year-long study.
http://www.amchainitiative.org/antisemitic-activity-schools-large-Jewish-report-2015
Once again, to my great consternation, the University of California is prominent on the list. Among its campuses. UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, and UCLA are all among the leaders. At least, UC Irvine doesn't appear. A few years ago, it would have. I am sure people like former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren and Daniel Pipes are pleasantly surprised that UCI is not among the leaders. Both have had their speeches at UCI disrupted in recent years.
And what accounts for UCI's slipping off the list? No doubt the hacks from Hillel and the Jewish Federation of Orange County will be quick to claim credit. For what? For their stand down orders to Jewish students? Because they attacked Jewish students and community members who stood up and spoke out? Because they tried to get people to put away their US and Israeli flags when the UCI I-Fest was disrupted?
I would rather think it is because the pro-Palestinian crowd and their invited speakers have learned that they will not be met by indifference and submission when they come to UCI. Ask Amir Abdel Malik Ali. Ask Norman Finkelstein. Ask Rabbi Ysroel Dovid Weiss. Ask Omar Barghouti. Ask David Palumbo-Liu. Ask (whatever happened to) Rabab Abdulhadi. (We still don't know if she actually made it down to UCI last May. I have a sneaking suspicion she was hiding behind the curtain on the stage waiting to learn if the Muslim Student Union/SJP would be able to keep me from videotaping.)
All that aside, the AMCHA Initiative has provided an important contribution to the study of Jew hatred on American college campuses. The hack university administrators don't put much stock in anecdotal evidence no matter how egregious it is. They favor empirical evidence. Well, here it is.
*Update: Today, I have sent the above link to every campus newspaper in the University of California system.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment