Now is the right time for university heads get off the fence and start speaking up for Israel.
All summer long university administrators have been mulling over policies and responses thinking about how to deal with another round of pro-Palestinian protests and encampments, including the threat of a national student strike, which is being advocated by the campus-oriented section of Young Democratic Socialists of America. Most administrators still struggle to know how to respond.
Last year we saw three basic responses. Some presidents basically enabled the protesters: tolerating the intimidation of Jewish students, allowing protestors to create encampments or occupy and even vandalize buildings. However, most university heads remained silent about the war and tried to maintain a position of neutrality. So they either issued no statements, or gave moral equivalence statements (i.e. that Israel is just as bad as Hamas). Why? Because, they said, taking sides would be “too divisive,” or it would “undermine campus debate.” The third and rarest response of university leaders was to speak out clearly against antisemitism and in favor of Israel. This was the response of about 100 colleges and universities that singed the “We Stand Together With Israel Against Hamas” statement last October. Our university was one of those schools.
While university leaders cannot and should not speak out on every issue, I contend that some issues and events rise to a level of importance where moral clarity is desperately needed. In 1941, many university leaders in the U.S. denounced the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. There are times when institutional neutrality is not appropriate. I believe they can do this in a way that still fosters open dialogue without disallowing dissent or protests. Now is one of those times. Why?
First, because we are witnessing the biggest outbreak of antisemitism in generations. University leaders should speak to this. I grew up in a time when the world said, “Never Again.” Now here we are 79 years after the end of World War II, and antisemitism is erupting all over the world. Calls for Israel’s destruction or saying that it has no right to defend its citizens, is tantamount to antisemitism. The attack of October 7th was motivated by such a sentiment and stands now as the worst attack on the Jews since the holocaust.
Second, they should speak out because Israel is America’s best ally and the sole democracy in the Middle East. More important, it is the guardian of most of the world’s Jews today. Calls for its destruction are morally wrong with outcomes that would be catastrophic.
Third, they might also remind their constituencies that the U.S. government has designated Hamas a foreign terrorist organization. Its name is an acronym which stands for “The Islamic Resistance Movement.” Its charter declares that Islam will destroy Israel because Palestine is Islamic, and it is the duty of every Muslim to liberate it. They will never recognize Israel’s right to exist. It launched the current war with a massacre. Since then it has vowed to repeat October 7th again and again. We must reject this extremist ideology.
Fourth, university heads might also acknowledge the multi-front assault on the Jewish state. Israel faces an existential threat to its very existence. We must not lose sight of this big picture. Hamas started the recent attack on October 7th, inspired by Iran. Since then Hezbollah, another U.S. State Department designated foreign terrorist organization, which also unlawfully stores missiles in civilian facilities, has fired over 7,500 rockets into Israel. Other attacks have come from Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Iran itself. We also now know that Egypt has allowed 50 secret supply tunnels dug into Gaza. These groups are committed to bringing about the end of Israel. Nor should we forget that Iran backed groups are targeting and killing U.S. troops as well. If the United States ever faced threats like this on our border, we would not stand for it. And yet many continue to call for Israel to make concession after concession to its sworn enemies.
University leaders should also rebut the idea that Israel is a colonialist, occupier state. This narrative simply does not hold. Settler colonialist theorists ignore two salient facts. First, they ignore Israel’s deep historical claim to the land. This is their ancestral, historic homeland. It can be traced back to David 3000 years ago, and even further to Abraham. The creation of the state of Israel was to help them reclaim land they were displaced from. Second, the colonialist claim ignores that Islam itself has one of history’s longest and worst records of colonizing and settling other countries far from their historic place of birth.
Sometimes it is incumbent on university leaders to speak clearly on upside-down moral narratives. This is one of those times. They should not only protect Jewish students and allow debate and yes, even protests, on campus. But they should also stop being silent, stop the moral equivalency, stop giving in to the post-colonial narrative, and stop letting their schools become hotbeds of antisemitism.
Dr. Donald Sweeting (@DSweeting) serves as chancellor of Colorado Christian University.
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