The events unfolding at Columbia are a troubling sign of the weaponization of leftwing antisemitism.
Sometime after my son and I were blown up by a Palestinian Authority (PA) policeman on King George Street in Jerusalem, I had some time to think about the 5-second event that changed our lives forever. The bomber was Mohammed Hasheikeh, a young officer from the Nablus area. We had never met. I can say with absolute certainty that I never harmed him or his interests or those of any person he might have known. If one wants to go to the more general anti-Zionist trope, then I can say that we live in a house built by my wife’s grandfather on land that he purchased from its Arab owner over eighty years ago, before the founding of the state of Israel.
I bring up these recollections in light of what is going on today at Columbia University. I have to note that at my alma mater, Dr. Alan Garber has done his job of at least getting Harvard out of the headlines if protests still continue there. I am certain that he will be promoted from his temporary role as president to full president. When that happens, then Penny Pritzker and the Harvard Corporation will have successfully gone around the DEI gatekeepers who delivered his horrific predecessor, Claudine Gay. A rabbi at Columbia affiliated with the Orthodox Union (that U in a circle that you see on so many food products is a worldwide symbol of their kosher supervision) told several hundred Jewish students to simply leave campus and not come back until things get better. This is a terrible development in the devolution of Jewish life at Columbia and in the US.
The Jews who were advised to leave campus and the ones who suffered threats such as a “10/7 every day” or 10,000 times 10/7 may have nothing to do with Israel. I know many Jews who have never visited Israel and many others who came on vacation and have never been back. Dr. Martin Luther King and many others have pointed out that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, and the behavior of the Jew-haters cum Hamas lovers is proof positive of this axiom. Let’s imagine that the protesters and thugs made an effort to figure out who was Israeli or was a real card-carrying Zionist. Any “regular” Jew would be given a pass and would not be threatened, pushed around, or attacked. They would only go after Israelis. Though one could argue that any Israelis in or around Columbia probably have played no direct role in Israel’s response to the pogrom, the terrorist wannabes could charge guilt by association as many did to Russian artists and athletes after the invasion of Ukraine. All of the pleadings of being opposed to Putin’s actions did not help them when their recitals were canceled or they were kicked out of sports competitions. Just as Russians were all considered guilty, the hooligans of Morningside Heights could simply single out Israelis and make their lives miserable.
But we are clearly seeing that the brutes are associating the actions of the state of Israel with every Jew, independent of his or her relation to Israel or level of religious observance or opinions on the war. This is pure antisemitism and it is out of control As the O-U rabbi noted in his WhatsApp message, Columbia security and NYPD cannot guarantee the safety of Jews around the Columbia campus. The hatred has gone to criticality, well beyond slogans and keffiyehs to threats of violence and actual violence. Any debate about being against Israel but not being antisemitic is over, as there are no brakes that can stop the slide from the former into the latter. One of course may vehemently oppose the actions of the Israeli government, but the question is if he is consistent in his views. I am still trying to find BDS movements for Russia, Turkey and other oppressive governments. Anti-Zionism is generally a fig leaf to cover for antisemitism. Period.
So where do things go from here? Will Jews have a future at leftwing Ivy League schools and the like? Will the hatred move from the schools and make living in big cities difficult or unpleasant for Jewish communities? The lights should be flashing red in the White House with the brazen behavior of the protesters at Columbia; many probably could be thrown out on visa violations or arrested for infractions of civil rights laws. Unfortunately, the only red lights at the White House are from the ice cream truck on the south lawn.
Donald Trump, should he return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, will need to deport more than the millions who have entered the US illegally through the open southern border. He will need to deport Muslim visa holders whose actions are in violation of the terms of their being legally in the United States. The president of MIT, the third of the Three Stooges to testify before the House Education Committee, actually blurted out that they do not want to throw out agitators because they may be deported immediately thereafter. That is called aiding and abetting.
Last Friday, I stood for half an hour in a blazing sun in order to deliver three US passport renewal applications to the embassy in Jerusalem. I have never taken Israeli citizenship in my thirty years here. I am so grateful to the US for taking in my legal immigrant parents (and grandparents) and giving me educational and other opportunities that I would never have had anywhere else in the world. I know that the vast majority of Americans have no ill will towards Jews or anyone else. Unfortunately, that is cold comfort. A few thousand cancer cells out of thirty trillion can wreak havoc on one's health. So too, the thousands who have moved from protests to acts of violence or threats of the same can change the face of American Judaism going forward. The time to stop their acts of hatred is now. I came to Israel because I wanted to; I would hate to see many of my compatriots come here because they felt that they had to.