I feel like you are spot-on. As someone who's lived in the Middle East and spent time in Israel and "Arab" countries, things are more nuanced than the students know. What a missed opportunity to distinguish Hamas from Arabs/Palestinians, Israel's current government from the Israeli people... etc.
A very passionate article which raises some really good issues. You raise an excellent point that anti Israeli government attitudes are not to be conflated with antisemitism. They're not. I revile the obscene behaviour of the Netanyahu government but have no animus towards Jewish people, culturally, ethnically and spiritually. It's a sad story when the two aren't differentiated so as to make life unsafe for Jewish students. I deplore that and will always deplore such behaviour.
But more interestingly is your discussion of the role ascribed to do higher education. I have had quite a bit of experience of this sector in the 90s. My only conclusion was that universities were sheltered workshops for the socially inept.
Dunning Kruger proved their point with university teachers. Academics are generally highly intelligent people who lack social awareness. Hence we come to your comments. What you describe is intelligent people doing incredibly stupid stuff. Unfortunately stupid people don't realise that they are stupid.
There's a short YouTube video with John Cleese discussing this very point.
Much to my horror and dismay the House of Representatives passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act on Wednesday 1 May, a bill that now defines criticism of the Israeli government as antisemitism. This is the conflagration that will inspire a new wave of antisemitism because not many people agree with the hideous Netanyahu government. Now vilifying it is to become a crime. At the end of the day, in an act of pure irony Elise, your reportage of the Gaza conflict paints you as anti-Semitic. The newspaper Haaretz could be outlawed as anti-Semitic as their headlines openly excoriates Netanyahu. Hopefully common sense will prevail and this bill dies in the Senate or the corrupt Supreme Court might rule against it under the 1st Amendment. Just saying.
Screaming from the river to the sea means murdering 7.5 million Jews. Murdering Jews is NOT antisemitic? Hindering Jews from entering the universities they study in is NOT antisemitic? Physically attacking Jews is NOT antisemitic? You mean only putting Jews into the gas chambers is antisemitic? All the rest is justified criticism of Israel? How would you have reacted to October 7? How? Tell us!!
I do think that the legislation can be broadly interpreted as limited any protest of Israel and its actions in Gaza. We respectfully disagree on this but - even as a Jew, I do not feel all criticism of Israeli policy is antisemitic and believe there are legitimate questions as to how they are conducting this campaign. That doesn't make me antisemitic or a self-loathing Jew.
Hi Henry, I've read your impassioned plea and iterate classic talking points which have nothing to do with my comments, indeed it's the classic strawman predicated on conflation.
The Antisemitism Awareness Act relies upon the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism or IHRA definition encapsulated by its troubling 11 examples, seven of which relates to criticism of the Israeli government.
In contrast, we'll now compete with the misery Olympics. My parents were in the Netherlands during 1944-45 when there was a deliberate policy to starve the Dutch. 150,000 died. Yet you remain silent.
Maybe Elise could talk to Dr.Larry Arn, president of Hillsdale College, and get his advise on keeping and promoting a respectful environment on campus.
I feel like you are spot-on. As someone who's lived in the Middle East and spent time in Israel and "Arab" countries, things are more nuanced than the students know. What a missed opportunity to distinguish Hamas from Arabs/Palestinians, Israel's current government from the Israeli people... etc.
So true, Steve. And now the violent protests are eclipsing their cause.
A very passionate article which raises some really good issues. You raise an excellent point that anti Israeli government attitudes are not to be conflated with antisemitism. They're not. I revile the obscene behaviour of the Netanyahu government but have no animus towards Jewish people, culturally, ethnically and spiritually. It's a sad story when the two aren't differentiated so as to make life unsafe for Jewish students. I deplore that and will always deplore such behaviour.
But more interestingly is your discussion of the role ascribed to do higher education. I have had quite a bit of experience of this sector in the 90s. My only conclusion was that universities were sheltered workshops for the socially inept.
Dunning Kruger proved their point with university teachers. Academics are generally highly intelligent people who lack social awareness. Hence we come to your comments. What you describe is intelligent people doing incredibly stupid stuff. Unfortunately stupid people don't realise that they are stupid.
There's a short YouTube video with John Cleese discussing this very point.
https://youtube.com/shorts/55sMMBwqv0k?si=ENL9e-SrCnhlJFRv
Thanks for weighing in Bill.
Much to my horror and dismay the House of Representatives passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act on Wednesday 1 May, a bill that now defines criticism of the Israeli government as antisemitism. This is the conflagration that will inspire a new wave of antisemitism because not many people agree with the hideous Netanyahu government. Now vilifying it is to become a crime. At the end of the day, in an act of pure irony Elise, your reportage of the Gaza conflict paints you as anti-Semitic. The newspaper Haaretz could be outlawed as anti-Semitic as their headlines openly excoriates Netanyahu. Hopefully common sense will prevail and this bill dies in the Senate or the corrupt Supreme Court might rule against it under the 1st Amendment. Just saying.
Well at the very least it would make me a self-loathing Jew
LOL 🤣🤣🤣
Screaming from the river to the sea means murdering 7.5 million Jews. Murdering Jews is NOT antisemitic? Hindering Jews from entering the universities they study in is NOT antisemitic? Physically attacking Jews is NOT antisemitic? You mean only putting Jews into the gas chambers is antisemitic? All the rest is justified criticism of Israel? How would you have reacted to October 7? How? Tell us!!
Henry of course. physically attacking Jews and blocking them from the university is antisemitic. And of course I know what "from the river to the sea" means - and wrote about that very topic here. https://www.cosmopoliticsbyelise.com/p/quelling-the-tentifada?r=tziy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I do think that the legislation can be broadly interpreted as limited any protest of Israel and its actions in Gaza. We respectfully disagree on this but - even as a Jew, I do not feel all criticism of Israeli policy is antisemitic and believe there are legitimate questions as to how they are conducting this campaign. That doesn't make me antisemitic or a self-loathing Jew.
Hi Henry, I've read your impassioned plea and iterate classic talking points which have nothing to do with my comments, indeed it's the classic strawman predicated on conflation.
The Antisemitism Awareness Act relies upon the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism or IHRA definition encapsulated by its troubling 11 examples, seven of which relates to criticism of the Israeli government.
In contrast, we'll now compete with the misery Olympics. My parents were in the Netherlands during 1944-45 when there was a deliberate policy to starve the Dutch. 150,000 died. Yet you remain silent.
Conflagration = conflation
Well said Elise. I agree totally
Maybe Elise could talk to Dr.Larry Arn, president of Hillsdale College, and get his advise on keeping and promoting a respectful environment on campus.
Good idea, David. Thanks for the suggestion.