"I want to speak about a difficult matter—about a concern I have regarding the risk of a rising anti-Semitism on our campus."
Lee Bollinger, President of Columbia University, has issued an important campus-wide statement regarding the problem of anti-Semitism on his campus. While I applaud Bollinger for this statement, I take issue with a part of it.
"No single issue is an island. When a swastika appears on campus, it is not just an isolated event. When there is a rising anti-Semitism in this country and around the world, even a single instance of it in any context is more alarming than it might otherwise be."
"I can say that Jewish students are feeling this, and it’s wrong. I feel it, and it’s wrong. We all feel it, and it’s wrong."
Many universities have experienced rising anti-Semitism in recent years and Columbia is one of the worst. The statement was issued March 6 as Columbia was gearing up for yet another student government vote on the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement against Israel scheduled for next month. (It failed last year, but they keep coming back.) In fact, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the biggest issue affecting the problem of anti-Semitism on US campuses. It is specifically the pro-Palestinian forces, such as Students for Justice in Palestine and numerous Muslim Student Association chapters that have been feeding the flames. Last spring, SJP was criticized by Columbia's Students Supporting Israel after they (SJP) put out a flyer showing an Israeli soldier with horns in his head, an old stereotypical depiction of Jews in general.
Again, I applaud Bollinger for this statement, but I do disagree-at least partially- with the below paragraph:
"Furthermore, there are often, as here, excessive claims of hostility that one does not want to legitimate by referring to lesser but still very real problems. With respect to anti-Semitism, there are now assertions by outsiders that Columbia is an “anti-Semitic” institution with systemic bigotry. This is, of course, preposterous. No Jewish student, faculty member, or staff I know believes this to be the case; nor do I. But the absurdity of the claim does not and should not stop me or us from speaking out against instances and episodes of anti-Semitism that do exist."
I have no reason to believe that Bollinger or anyone on his staff is anti-Semitic. However, for too long, Jewish students at Columbia have been subjected to expressions of anti-Semitism that go way beyond any legitimate criticism of Israel. Let us not forget that it was Columbia where Edward Said taught and put out his anti-Israel, anti-West poison in the form of what he called Orientalism, the center-piece of what is called Post Colonial teaching. In short, it blames the West (and Israel) for the dysfunction and violence that goes on the the East-specifically the Middle East. (Said died in 2003.)
Today, two of the most prominent anti-Israel agitators in the country teach at Columbia, Joseph Massad and Rashid Khalidi. In 2007, then-Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to speak at Columbia though Bollinger, in his opening remarks, made news when he referred to the Iranian leader as a "cruel and petty dictator".
It should also be noted that the Jewish publication, Algemeiner, after a four month study, listed Columbia as the worst campus in the country for Jewish students in 2016, thanks primarily to the antics of SJP. Thirty two anti-Semitic incidents were counted at Columbia for that year. And it has continued. Here is the page on Columbia compiled by the AMCHA Initiative including swastikas on campus in February 2020.
President Bollinger denies that there is institutional anti-Semitism on his campus, but when so many incidents pile up over the years, and no meaningful action is taken, that denial is open to question. This is all too typical of so many American universities. I do not believe that we have a problem with anti-Semitic administrators in our universities. The problem, as I see it, is that there is no will to confront the purveyors of campus anti-Semitism directly-to name them, and to make it clear that they are not welcome on campus. Many universities need to take a very close look at their Middle East Studies departments-and who funds them. Columbia is right at the top of the list in that area.
Bollinger's statement is welcomed and is a good start, but he has much work to do if he wants to restore the university's reputation.
It should also be noted that the Jewish publication, Algemeiner, after a four month study, listed Columbia as the worst campus in the country for Jewish students in 2016, thanks primarily to the antics of SJP. Thirty two anti-Semitic incidents were counted at Columbia for that year. And it has continued. Here is the page on Columbia compiled by the AMCHA Initiative including swastikas on campus in February 2020.
President Bollinger denies that there is institutional anti-Semitism on his campus, but when so many incidents pile up over the years, and no meaningful action is taken, that denial is open to question. This is all too typical of so many American universities. I do not believe that we have a problem with anti-Semitic administrators in our universities. The problem, as I see it, is that there is no will to confront the purveyors of campus anti-Semitism directly-to name them, and to make it clear that they are not welcome on campus. Many universities need to take a very close look at their Middle East Studies departments-and who funds them. Columbia is right at the top of the list in that area.
Bollinger's statement is welcomed and is a good start, but he has much work to do if he wants to restore the university's reputation.
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