Anti-Semitic Vandalism at Indiana University: What Does it Mean For Us?

Kristallnacht in Germany 1938

Could this come to America?


Hat tip to the Orange County Independent Task Force on Anti-Semitism

This week, Jewish facilities at Indiana University were vandalized and Jewish texts were found urinated on in bathrooms. Below is a report from the OCITF with a link to the IU campus paper report.

http://octaskforce.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/vandals-attack-chabad-house-ant-indiana-u-desecrate-holy-texts/#more-3352

Just a case of a broken window? A simple prank by a lone bigot? Jewish texts urinated upon? A harmless prank? No, it is much more than that.

For those of you who have no experience in Europe, you should know that things like this are happening regularly in most western European nations-and worse. In places like Malmo, Sweden, Jews are leaving in droves because they cannot walk the streets safely wearing any sign of their Jewishness. Synagogues are being defaced as well as Jewish cemeteries. Anti-Semitism in Europe has seen a rise not seen since the 1930s and 1940s. It is alarming and shocking, yet the political leaders in Europe and the police don't know what to do about it. It is largely swept under the rug. Why? Because the fires of anti-Semitism are being stoked largely by Muslim immigrants who have brought their old hatreds with them to their adopted countries, countries in which many of them have absolutely no respect for western values and traditions.  In addition, they are reinforced by neo-Nazis and skin-heads.

Well, that's Europe you say. While the US has experienced anti-Semitism in the past, our Jews are well-established and assimilated here in America. They are Americans. They are our compatriots.

Yet, this scourge is increasing here as well. Why now? A large factor, perhaps the largest, is the Israel-Palestinian conflict, in which the PR forces of the Palestinian cause have become large and sophisticated. In most countries in Europe, Israel is viewed as the bad guy, the oppressor, as they struggle to survive as a nation in the face of terrorism. Here as well, many have come to view Israel as the inconvenient nation. "If only Israel would go away, there would be peace. There will be all the oil we need. The terrorists will lay down their bombs."

"If only for Israel."

"And if only for the American Jews, who control our government from behind the scenes, control the banks, control Wall Street-and who, to the last man, woman and child, support Israel."

"And don't forget how they use the blood of non-Jewish children to make matzo. Plus their harvesting of organs of the Palestinians they kill. That's why they sent that rescue team to Haiti-to harvest organs to sell on the international market."

"It's the Jews."

Sadly, this madness is creeping back into the minds of many in the US. The question is-who is propagting this trash? To start with, we have to go to the pro-Palestinian forces in this country. I'm not talking about terrorists and suicide bombers here. No, I am talking about mostly educated people, many from the Middle East, many who are teaching in our universities-like Indiana University. These people are spreading the message that Israel is an evil state supported by the US and those so-called "Zionists" (code word for Jews).

These are not just Muslims. There are also the folks on the far-left who have spent their lives trashing the US-their own country. Since the US is Israel's ally, they have found common cause with the pro-Palestinian crowd. It's sort of like killing two birds with one stone. You can trash both Israel and the US in one sentence-while speaking in front of a microphone or standing in front of a class teaching.

Which brings us back to our universities-like IU. The American university is the focal point for the pro-Palestinian-anti-Israel movement. Muslim Student Associations and their leftist, radical allies-including many Jews who hate Israel. Many of these allies are radical-left students like the Students for Justice in Palestine. Many others are leftist professors, who are about as  prominent and visable on campuses as black on a coal minor's lung.

The side result is a resurgence in anti-Semitism in this country. In January 2009, pro-Palestinian protesters in Ft Lauderdale chanted, "Jews back to the ovens" while protesters in Los Angeles yelled, "Long Live Hitler".

You want to talk about hate crimes in this country? Today, the Jews are number one on the "hit list".

Now, the latest incidence at IU should remind us just where this virus should be attacked-on our campuses. My university, the University of California at Irvine, has acquired the reputation of being the campus where the situation is the worst in the nation. This is where a buffoon like George Galloway was able to speak in a packed hall of some 800 people and pass collection boxes around the room for his Viva Palestina convoy- so that he could deliver supplies and cash to the Hamas leadership of Gaza.

This is the campus where Muslim Student Union members stood up and disrupted the speech of the Israeli ambassador to the US.

Yet, there is a sliver of hope for UCI. The Oren event woke up an entire community. They suddenly realized that in spite of everything they had been told by the university and some of their own Jewish "leaders", there was indeed a problem at UCI. Last May, some 200-300 community members (Jewish and Christian) came to the campus to show the Israeli and US flags together and to confront and challenge the speakers-in an orderly way. Many of the speakers who came to UCI that week went away looking like utter  boobs. In the future, they will know that if they come back to UCI, they can no longer assume they are on friendly territory. If UCI has become known as the worst of all US campuses, hopefully, it will one day be known as the campus where the resistance to the hate and indoctrination began.

As things stand now, that will have to come from the community. The university will not change because of their institutional culture and timidity. Certain Jewish organizations will need to change. Instead of trying to bury the problem so that Jewish students will continue to come to UCI and Jewish donations will keep flowing, certain leaders in the Jewish community have actually tried to stand in the way of those of us who are trying to bring public attention to the problem. Try as they may, there are some of us who just walk right through them. The numbers are growing.

Going back to what happened at Indiana University. Had it happened to a Muslim mosque, it would be just as wrong. Yes, Islamophobia (however you define it) is rampant. As it affects innocent, peaceful Muslims, it is regrettable. But to the radical Muslims and those who have visions of creating an Islamic America, I say that you can't complain about being victims of prejudice if you are the ones stoking it. When hate goes around, hate comes around. Nevertheless, nobody should resort to vandalism or violence. What we need to do is stand firm for our values and our freedoms. Right now, in my view, that means fighting back against a resurgence in anti-Semitism on our shores.

Whether we choose to face it or not, it is 1938 all over again.