As we head back into a new school year, we know that our American Jewish students will be on the front lines of the battle against rising antisemitism. Many of our students, whom we have taught to cherish and protect their Jewish identity, their Zionism, and their deeply nurtured connections to the state of Israel, may face much hostility from both their anti-Zionist peers and their professors.
As they head back to their campuses, over the course of the year, many will be confronted with chants of "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free." They may have to endure mock "Apartheid walls" or "die-ins." Many professors, particularly in Middle East Studies, will libel Israel as "an apartheid state.", "a colonial state" or a "racist state." Jewish students may see swastikas drawn somewhere on the campus and might have their mezuzah ripped down from their doorposts. They might be excluded from certain clubs or extra-curricular activities if their peers discover they are Zionists or even Jewish. Their professors might single them out for ridicule if and when they find out that they are Zionists. One recent graduate had told me his professor said, "Had I realized you were a Zionist when grading your paper, I would have given you a lower grade."
As students head back to Princeton, they might be taking a humanity course featuring a book, "The Right to Maim: Debility, Capacity, Disability" by Jasbir Puar, where she argues that Israel harvests Palestinian organs. Or they might be unfortunate enough to have her as a professor at Rutgers University, where she is the Director of the Women's and Gender Studies Program.
Jewish students might be unlucky enough to go to Oberlin College, where Islamic Studies Professor Mohammad Jafar Mahalati has argued that the Iranian massacre of over 5,000 of its citizens is simply "a minor detail." Or they might be unfortunate enough to go to Columbia University, where Joseph Massad calls Israel "a racist and colonizing state." Or George Saliba, who once notoriously said to a Zionist student, ': "You have no voice in this debate. You have green eyes. You're not a Semite. I have brown eyes. I am a true Semite. You have no claim to the land of Israel." Or Hamid Dabashi, who recently posted on Facebook, "Every dirty treacherous ugly and pernicious act happening in the world just wait for a few days and the ugly name of 'Israel' will pop up as a key actor in the atrocities..."
Some may attend the City University of New York, where Marc Lamont Hill, who was fired from CNN because of antisemitism, now holds an endowed chair in urban education. This is the same Marc Lamont Hill who says that "justice requires a free Palestine from the river to the sea."
These sentiments are nearly ubiquitous. From professors in the classrooms who hold the very hopes and dreams of the future of their Jewish students in their hands to peers who have been filled with anti-Israel propaganda, the line between hateful ideology aimed at eliminating the one Jewish state and antisemitism is frequently crossed. All of this makes our Jewish or Zionist students feel alienated from their fellow students, angry or, at its worst, ashamed over who they are, at the very core of their beings.
Our educational settings have certain protections for every other minority group, whether they be black or Hispanic. LGBTQ or handicapped. These are protections that are aimed at making students feel welcome, all aimed to make students amenable to learning in a comfortable, educational environment.
Not, however, if you happen to be Zionist or Jewish.
There are First Amendment protections for what might be said in the town's square. As disgusting and wholly unacceptable as it is, it is considered protected free speech under the Constitution to say "F" using the "N-word" on the town's square. It is NOT acceptable to say it in the college quad or the classroom. A student or professor who says anything mildly resemblant to that would most probably be expelled or immediately removed from his position in the university. That is because there are certain protections that students have that are made to ensure that no student feels demonized or ashamed of their very identity.
Again—Not if you happen to be Zionist or Jewish.
However, EMET is doing everything it can to rectify this.
There is one "Gold Standard" definition of antisemitism, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition that is employed today by 42 nations and over 1,000 organizations, including Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres and Special UN Rapporteur for Religious Freedom, Ahmed Shaheed, as well as the Council and Parliament of the European Union.
At any moment now, a bill will be introduced in the House, led by Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY), recommending consideration of only the IHRA definition.
EMET is the ONLY organization that has been on Capitol Hill almost every day for the last nine months, trying to codify---across the United States-- the International Holocaust Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism as the one, unambiguous definition of antisemitism employed by our US Department of Education, to protect our Jewish and Zionist students.
We have been leading the charge here.
As opposed to the President's National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism, this legislation does not recommend other definitions, including the Nexus Definition, which states that "Even contentious, strident or harsh criticism of Israel for its policies and actions, including those that led to the creation of Israel is not per se illegitimate or antisemitic."
Israel is the only nation in the world whose very existence is called into question almost every day on scores and scores of college campuses throughout the United States.
Not Iran, Not Russia, Not China, Not Venezuela. But Israel is the one Jewish state in the world.
If that is not antisemitism, I ask you, what is?
And that is one of the many reasons why, as our kids go back to school this September, you must support the extremely important work of EMET.
EMET, on a daily basis, takes the ideas that you cherish and hold dear and meets with our nation's lawmakers to turn those ideas into policy.
We are your emissaries on Capitol Hill.
Support EMET
