This article first appeared in Times of Israel Blogs.
Hat tip Algemeiner
On July 25, a Knesset committee heard testimony from
American Jewish leaders on the issue of rising anti-Semitism on US university
campuses. Testifying before the Knesset were Kenneth Marcus and Alyza Lewin of
the Louis D. Brandeis Center, and Ofek Preis, a Jewish student who experienced
anti-Semitism first-hand at the State University of New York at New Paltz. I
welcome this testimony, and feel strongly that it is something that the Knesset
needs to hear. This is certainly more important than the complaining of some
American Jewish groups about the recent Israeli Supreme Court controversy.
After teaching part-time at the University of California at
Irvine (1998-2016) and seeing first-hand how the organized pro-Palestinian
movement all-too-often spilled over into outright Jew hatred, I have long
maintained that the focal point for the resurgence in anti-Semitism in the US
was on our university campuses. That was due to the agitation by groups like
Students for Justice in Palestine and the various chapters of the Muslim
Student Union/Association. Now it has metastasized into American society at
large.
Yet, I have been dismayed at how many leaders in the
universities, the media, and even some Jewish organizations prefer to lay all
the blame on the right, MAGA supporters, white nationalists, neo-Nazis etc. To
be sure, white nationalists and neo-Nazis share in fomenting the problem.
However, they are not the majority of the problem in my view. They certainly
have no sway or influence on our university campuses. The major reason for this
reluctance to identify the major perpetrators is, in my view, that those on the
left do not want to admit that much of the problem in our universities is
coming from parts of the Muslim community. I reiterate that no matter who
engages in anti-Semitism is to be condemned, but it serves no purpose to
mischaracterize the true nature of the problem. As in France, Sweden, and other
parts of Western Europe, much of the problem is Islamic anti-Semitism. And just
as in the US, European leaders are loathe to acknowledge it.
I have long believed that pressure must be brought upon our
universities to protect their Jewish students from harassment and bullying. Too
many university administrators have shown cowardice in the face of this campaign
of harassment. They refuse to confront the above-mentioned groups. President
Trump had put public universities on notice that if they refused to protect
their Jewish students, federal funding would be at risk. Of course, President
Biden has failed to continue that pressure.
American universities have fallen into disrepute for a host
of reasons. Left-wing indoctrination and stifling of free speech are now front
and center in front of the American public. In addition, the various
departments of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) have attracted recent
notice for their divisive influence on behalf of certain ethnic groups on
campus to the detriment of other groups, like whites, Asians- and Jews as well.
The issue of campus anti-Semitism must also be exposed to the American public,
and the main perpetrators identified. It
is clear that our universities are in dire need of reform, and the American
public is finally getting the message in spite of so many to deny it-including
among certain major Jewish organizations.
For these reasons, I welcome the appearance of the
above-mentioned Jewish figures before the Israeli Knesset.
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