Reset button. Photo courtesy of Jose Antonio Gallego Vázquez/Pixabay.
By YISRAEL MEDAD
JNS
Jewish students, know that you are now in the “Free Palestine!” period. There’s no escaping the milieu and negative atmosphere that those words—and the anti-Israel actions behind them—have created for you. This is your challenging moment. Most of you are certainly attempting to find solutions that will allow you to be free of the riots and vitriol associated with this now two-year-old university-wide campaign.
You deserve your rights, you deserve to be protected, and you, too, deserve to be free. Free to study and learn, and free to be as Jewish as you wish.
Escalating Anti-Semitism
However, as we have witnessed this past decade and certainly since the 2023-24 academic year, Jew-hate has been emboldened. It is not just about Israel and Zionism; it is a mutated strain of Judeophobia.
I recently read a book review in The Spectator, and it caught my interest. The work is called Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian and was headlined: “Campus Antics.” One blurb read that it “breathes new and mesmerizing life into the campus novel.”
From my corner, my mind immediately went to scenes of violent riots at universities, anti-Zionist professors inculcating their students with anything but the facts while instructing them to traipse solely through the byways of woke Marxist progressivism in their thinking processes. It would include Jewish students besieged, banned and bamboozled as Jews-cum-Zionists as well as cowardly; treacherous university administration officials; and meddling, unhelpful politicians, including some spineless Jewish ones.
There is also an escalating pattern of extreme political stances at professional academic associations with declarations of academic boycotts, partnering with radical anti-Israel organizations, and false charges and inflammatory terms as “scholasticide.” Alas, one additional minute of perusing the magazine piece revealed that it was a “marriage-in-crisis novel” with “double infidelity.” Nevertheless, I am not averse to describing what happens in colleges and other post-graduate institutions, as well as research centers and international study forums, as being a result of intellectual seduction and not a little infidelity of the truth.
You’ll be confronted by voices that are harsh and hateful, like Noura Erakat, a Palestinian American activist and professor of international studies at Rutgers University, who posted on X: “Being an anti-Zionist is hardly a radical position. It is basic decency and commitment to humanity based on the conception of dignity, bodily integrity and equality of all people.”
Welcome to the return of 1984.
Preparation?
Now that you are aware of what lies ahead, how can you prepare for these academic antics? How can you defend against the results of their seductive ploys on your fellow students, as well as avoid being sucked into campus quicksand? It is said that most Jewish university students come to campus after five years of little Jewish education—that is, since bar/bat mitzvah age. And, of course, many have never visited Israel.
Below are some bullet points that may be of assistance. The recommendations supplement and balance other facts so that you can make your own judgments and not depend solely on what is the campus bon mot. Be aware of the alternative voices as well.
- Read a few books. Suggestions include books by Einat Wilf, Benny Morris, professor Cary Nelson and Checkout AndrewPessin, who has been on the frontlines. Hot off the presses: 10 Things Every Jew Should Know Before They Go to College by Emily Schrader and Blake Flayton. Hear stories of real-life college experiences, get the basics of the conflict in this illustrated handbook and learn about some of the tools to fight back with accurate information.
- Follow the Elder of Ziyon Prof. Richard Landes(who is currently in abeyance but has good material archived; he coined the term “Pallywood”). On X, follow Eitan Fischberger, David Collier and my writing.
- News of Israel sites include: Israel Hayom, Israel National News, The Algemeiner. And, of course, JNS.
- Instagram: StandWithUs, CAMERA, Rachel London.
- Deep facts sources: Myths & Facts(The Jewish Virtual Library), CJA (Canadian Jewish Advocacy) and ECF (Economic Cooperation Foundation).
- If you haven’t been to the Jewish state, sign up for a free, 10-day Taglit-Birthright Israeltrip (most colleges have information and even group travel, much of which takes place during winter, spring and summer breaks).
- Legal issues: The Louis D. Brandeis Law Centerand Saidoff SWU Law.
Try not to be persuaded by IfNotNow, Jewish Voice for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine or the other non-Zionist groups that tour Judaism or have anti-Israel, anti-Zionist Jewish members. My columns at JNS, going back eight years, explain why they are bad news.
Don’t disregard self-defense courses if your campus is attended by SJP ruffians and revolutionary allies. For sure, hook up with legal aid services.
Seek out students who have just recently graduated for hands-on advice.
Be Proactive
Some additional suggestions:
Take into consideration that the Jewish establishment organizations seem to be failing on campus anti-semitism. Do not be fearful of being Jewish. Besides Chabad and Hillel, and the Jewish fraternity AEPi, find a campus Jewish group to join. Independents operate, like StopAntisemitism and AMCHA. The atmosphere you might face has been described as romanticizing “resistance to occupation” and opposition to colonialism, to “globalize the intifada.” But you can get through this.
A last word: All the above is by far not an exhaustive list. It’s a foretaste. A start. An introduction. A lifeline. There is support, but you will need to reach out for it.
One more thing: Don’t ever be embarrassed to speak out for yourself and your fellow co-religionists. You’re not expected to represent all of Judaism, Israel or Zionism. Still, you should feel that whatever your identification is, never feel ashamed or imperiled, and always feel proud to be associated with a forward-thinking people.
Be who you are, but also realize that you are part of a people, a tradition, a culture, a religion and a history that goes back more than 3,000 years. That’s something to be proud of and worth defending.
NY state law beefing up Title VI compliance on campus ‘about concrete action’
JNS
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, signed a bill into law on Tuesday, Aug. 26 placing Title VI coordinators on every college campus in the state. The coordinators will ensure that the schools are adhering to Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination on the basis of religion, the governor’s office stated.
The state’s human rights division will also provide training to schools to ensure they have the proper resources to comply with federal anti-discrimination laws.
“New York is combating anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination head-on,” Hochul stated. “No one should fear for their safety while trying to get an education.”
“It’s my top priority to ensure every New York student feels safe at school, and I will continue to take action against campus discrimination and use every tool at my disposal to eliminate hate and bias from our school communities,” she said.
Nily Rozic, a Democratic state representative who co-sponsored the bill, told JNS that it sends a “powerful message.”
“New York will protect its students, uphold civil rights and demand that our institutions live up to the values of safety and respect for all,” Rozic, who is Jewish and Israeli, told JNS. “This is about concrete action—not rhetoric, not grandstanding.”
Jewish groups lauded Hochul’s signing of the bill.
“Too often, students on campuses feel the need to hide parts of their identity to avoid intimidation and harassment,” stated Scott Richman, an Anti-Defamation League regional director. “This legislation offers a crucial solution to ensure that colleges and universities are properly resourced to address and combat discrimination and hate on campus.”
Josh Kramer, an American Jewish Committee regional director, stated that the bill “creates real accountability and ensures that colleges take swift, serious action.” Eric Goldstein, CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York, stated that “Jewish students have faced unacceptable discrimination and hate on campuses throughout New York” and that the bill will allow students in the state to “experience a safer and more inclusive learning environment.”
