More on the anti-Israel ("pro-Palestinian") college protests
9 May 2024
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Bret Stephens, in his recent New York Times column, agreed with my recent essay that these anti-Israel / pro-Palestinian campus protests may be counterproductive to any rational Palestinian agenda:
… what if your [Palestinian] protests had focused on Israel’s policies, whether in Gaza or the West Bank, rather than demanding the complete elimination of Israel as a Jewish state? What if you had avoided demonizing anyone who supports Israel’s right to exist — which includes a vast majority of Jews — as modern-day Nazis?
In that case, I told my friend, I would have disagreed with your views but I wouldn’t have despised them. Nor would a broad plurality of Americans, including many to my left. The result could have been a movement that would have had stronger arguments and greater impact. You would have been able to win over undecideds to your cause. And I would have had to fight harder to make my case that Israel must get rid of Hamas.
. . .
And for every commencement ceremony whose cancellation you’ve effectively forced, or which you intend to spoil, thousands of apolitical students — who didn’t get to have a proper high school graduation thanks to Covid — have taken an intense and permanent distaste to you and everything you stand for. Source
Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press also commented on these protests:
Imagine, if you are Christian, that there is only one nation in the world where you are the majority (instead of more than 150). And nearly half the Christians on earth live there.
Or if you are Muslim, and there is only one country where you are the majority - instead of nearly 50 - and half the world's Muslims live within its borders.
If you are Black, imagine just one country where you are the dominant race, and half of the world's Black population shares the space. Same thing if you are Latino or Asian.
Now imagine if college campuses across America were screaming for your country's elimination. Your one country. Your only country. And you watched those protests grow in size, in hate, in violence, and wondered why so few people were defending you?
Then you can begin to sense how Jewish people felt these past few weeks.
. . .
No, today the subject is the antagonism toward Jews, subtle and outright, in these recent college protests, And let's be clear. That is the endgame desire of many angry students, faculty and outside agitators who, wearing masks, erecting barricades and occupying buildings, turned college campuses into theaters of the absurd these past few weeks.
They would like Israel eliminated. From the river to the sea. Half the Jews in the world left to find someplace else to go, or worse, if Hamas has its way, eliminated altogether.
Many people, journalists included, seem to tiptoe around what these protests were about, afraid of offending one sensitivity or the other. Joe Biden went nine days without personally commenting on them, and he's the president!
But in the face of hate and destruction, it is no time to be timid. So let's be clear about what's really going on here. History is owed at least that much, right?
As a Jew and Zionist, I think it is important to stay in touch with the news about antisemitism and to support organizations that protect our rights. For that reason, I support the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the World Jewish Congress and my local synagogue. I also support organizations working to establish a viable, non-terrorist Palestinian state (ROPES). I have also signed up for many related newsletters.
Some of my related essays:
Does Israel have the right to exist? 1 May 2024
Effective action that citizens can take to fight off threats to Jews, 29 April 2024
Why I am grateful that Joe Biden is our President, 21 April 2024
A unilateral Israeli ceasefire is a surrender, 19 April 2024
Palestinians need to hold their government accountable, 11 April 2024
ROPES: Hope for the Palestinians and the Middle East, 2 April 2024
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