3 reasons antisemitism is swarming college campuses
How is it that in the United States, a country dedicated to protecting the rights of every minority and where hate speech is a crime, antisemitism is surging on college campuses?
Three reasons:
- In recent decades, our educational institutions have drifted far to the left, encouraging and sometimes aligning with ultra-liberal groups who despise the foundational values of the United States. Young people today study gender politics (search Yale University’s courses for “gender” and find 191 offerings) but are taught little about World War II or the Holocaust (16 courses); they know almost nothing about the foundation of Israel and the history of the Middle East. In a vacuum, they are easily misled.
- Rising antisemitism has been underway for some time in the U.S. and in Europe, but been largely ignored by our political leaders.
- Joe Biden is a coward. He should be standing tall and commanding Hamas-loving thugs barring Jews from campuses and “occupying” schools to stand down. He should demand that university authorities and local leaders call out the National Guard if necessary to arrest and jail those creating chaos and acting illegally. It can be done, but Biden is terrified of losing the Arab-American vote — in particular not winning Michigan, a critical swing state, so he will not do it.
The protests roiling some of our most prestigious campuses may have started organically, with students genuinely concerned about the fate of Palestinians in Gaza, but the unrest now appears increasingly guided by professional agitators.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams noted that the tents in the so-called “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” at different schools look remarkably alike, suggesting that some central group may have distributed them to campuses. In addition, arrests at Yale in recent days included students but also suspected outsiders, apparently there to encourage mayhem. Also, ABC News reported that school administrators are describing the protests as “largely peaceful’ while “some officials” and the NYPD are “blaming unaffiliated individuals for instances of violence and offensive rhetoric.”
This is not surprising. There are those who, like George Soros, are happy to fund protests that suit their progressive causes and that challenge the bedrock ideals and values of our country. Soros money was linked to the anti-capitalist group Adbusters that started the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011; he’s now been tied to the pro-Palestinian demonstrations on our college campuses. Since Soros is a Jew, his backing of pro-Hamas outfits is mystifying.
U.S. campuses are ripe for anti-American causes. Since the Oct. 7 massacre of Jews in Israel, Americans have been shocked by the rise in antisemitism and enthusiasm for left-wing activism at universities like Harvard and University of Pennsylvania. They should not have been. The Harvard Crimson’s annual survey of almost 500 faculty members’ political leanings in 2023 showed nearly 80 percent described themselves as “liberal” or “very liberal.” Less than 3 percent said they were conservatives.
Worse, Harvard’s faculty does not see diversity of opinion as a worthy attribute, with only a quarter of respondents supporting (and almost one-third opposing) hiring more conservative-leaning professors. Imagine pretending to be an intellectual and not supporting open debate.
It isn’t just Harvard. Surveys have found a notable shift leftward in academia writ large over the past few decades. This political bias produces an incomplete education. A nationwide survey of millennials and Gen Z conducted in 2020 revealed that almost two-thirds did not know the basic facts about the Holocaust. They were unaware that 6 million Jews had been murdered in concentration camps. This is appalling, and perhaps explains why so many young people have drifted to the pro-Palestinian cause.
Today we are witnessing the fruits of this political shift. Jews are attacked and reviled on campuses, schools are shutting down and young people are supporting extremist organizations. Some are actually aligning with Hamas, that just months ago killed hundreds of Israelis, including children and pregnant women.
What can be done?
In May 2023, the Biden White House unveiled a “U.S. national strategy to counter antisemitism.”In the announcement, Biden says, “Six years ago, Neo-Nazis marched from the shadows through Charlottesville, Virginia, chanting, ‘Jews will not replace us.’ With torches in hand, they spewed the same antisemitic bile and hate that were heard across Europe in the 1930s.” He says that “the horror of that moment … drove me to run for President.”
The initiative includes numerous educational efforts by different departments and agencies, including about the Holocaust, and also calls upon members of Congress, state and local leaders, the media, influencers and sports teams — everyone under the sun — to speak out against antisemitism.
And yet the one person who should be speaking out forcefully about the abhorrent anti-Jew demonstrations on campuses today, and has failed to do so, is Joe Biden.
He put out a written statement commemorating Passover, appropriately noting “the alarming surge of antisemitism – in our schools, communities, and online.” But the very next day he equivocated, saying, “I condemn the antisemitic protests” and “I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
Biden wants it both ways; he wants to maintain the financial and political backing of Jews but also hopes to appease Arab-American voters angry about his support of Israel. Without those pro-Palestinian voters, he might not win in Michigan and could consequently lose the election.
The president needs to deliver an Oval Office address making it crystal clear that antisemitism on college campuses and violence against Jews is completely unacceptable and that perpetrators will be punished. Say it. Mean it. And no more equivocation.
Liz Peek is a former partner of major bracket Wall Street firm Wertheim & Company.