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Anti-Semitism on College Campuses
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Replies to: Anti-Semitism on College Campuses
A ray of hope has been the outpouring of support for vocally pro-Israel students at various colleges from a range of alumni, media, social media, etc., along with some fellow students and professors. Word spreads fast! They may be a minority on campus, but they are not alone.
A tragedy of the current era is the divisions among students belonging to various minority groups, who should be natural allies trying to make the world a more accepting place for ALL peoples. I liked the Tower article link I shared above, because it delves into some of the origins of this surprising division between Jewish liberals and other liberals that has left Jews on the outside, as the one ethnic group that the far-left and the far-right both hate.
It's being tried in America right now and failing miserably, so I'm quite dubious it would be successful on a global scale. I just can't imagine Chinese, Russians, Americans, etc submitting to global governance.
She also did study abroad in Indonesia and the most sweet and lovely people in an mostly Muslim country. They are pro Palestinians causes but not necessarily against the Jewish faith.
For what I read the pro Bds is Iran controlled and supported. The ambassor of Israel was at our shul last year and said as much about this topic.
It amazes me that antisemitism is being normalized in our society.
were the days we talked to each other! I cannot remember if Muslim students were attending but they would have been welcome by these two learned men at MIT, who were great teachers.
I couldn't disagree with this statement more.
What I remember in the 1980s was that the loudest voices on Israeli - Palestinian politics were the most bigoted ones.
SJPers at elite colleges will be working side by side with Jews of all ages in banks, government, consulting companies, etc. They'll be attending graduate or professional schools with Jews. How will the harassing behavior fly in those settings? It would be troubling if they attempted to grab the microphone away from a Jewish colleague giving a presentation, or interrupted a Jewish doctor giving grand rounds, or if they slipped eviction notices under the doors of their Jewish colleagues' offices or homes. Or if they vacated a corporate lunch table when a Jewish colleague came over to join them (as was done repeatedly at Oberlin, according to reports). What about affinity groups or cultural groups at work? Google is famous for this. Are SJP/BDS activists at Google disrupting the "Jewglers'" (that's what they call themselves!) activities? Jewlgers around the globe build a Sukkah inside the offices. Passover services were disrupted by BDS activists at University of Michigan. Do the activists dare do that at Google?
I wonder if there are reports of what happens with these SJP/BDS activists after college?
ETA: Actually, I answered my own question. There was the medical resident who stated she would sabotage Jews' medical treatment at her hospital in Ohio. She was fired.
https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Cleveland-Clinic-medical-resident-says-she-will-give-Jews-wrong-medicines-575972
But yes, the College Council’s singling out of WIFI, as the only group in at least the last recorded decade of the college’s history not to be accepted as a registered student organization, was very disturbing.
It is a real learning experience to see that, as a student, your voice can make a difference. The students who spoke up for their beliefs and did not back down when faced with opposition, soon received an outpouring of support from media, alumni, etc., from throughout the U.S. and even in Israel, that changed the dynamic and allowed WIFI to be recognized.
Evidence of the power of a free press in preserving people’s rights in a democracy: twice in the past few weeks, the press and the alumni were updated by the college sooner than the students were. Today was the second time that the college sent a message to alumni on this topic, which indicates how concerned the college must be about perceptions of it following this incident.
For anyone reading this thread with any anxiety about whether to apply to Williams, please be reassured that it is a great place to go to college. In addition to the fact that there has been similar anti-Israel sentiment at many other colleges, it is also true, as the rabbi at Williams wrote in the letter to alumni, that “Williams continues to be a school that supports the flourishing of Jewish life, as the vibrancy of programming run at the JRC and across campus, run by student leaders in WCJA and in other groups, amply demonstrates.”
https://jewishjournal.com/news/nation/297574/pro-israel-students-file-complaint-against-nyu/
Here is a quote from a recent college discussion:
Source of quote: https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/284998/separate-and-unequal-on-campus
Between these quotes, and experiences recounted above by students in other colleges, including the exclusion of a Jewish student from a UC council solely because she was Jewish, eviction notices slipped under Jewish students’ doors at some colleges, and the physical assault of a Jewish student at NYU, it is obvious that anti-Semitism is a growing problem on college campuses.
Interestingly, these include colleges where otherwise students preach acceptance of minority groups and awareness of microaggressions against members of those groups. Much of the anti-Semitism is being perpetrated by students who consider themselves progressive. Jews: the one group the far-left and the far-right can agree to hate.
I wonder if it would be worthwhile for prospective students to investigate the percentage of Jewish students on campus before deciding if a college is a good fit. Some of the elite colleges have noticeably lower percentages of Jewish students than others (e.g. Penn has 10 times as many Jewish students as nearby Swarthmore, 17.4% vs. 1.8%).
It sounds like many of the students in the quotation above need a good history class.
Something is off in your numbers. Swarthmore has much, much more than 1.8% Jewish students. Swarthmore is quite small -- only about 1,600 students total. If its Jewish population were 1.8%, that would amount to fewer than 30 Jews. Trust me, there are many more than 30 Jewish students at Swarthmore (and lots more Jewish faculty, too).
For that matter, 17.4% seems awfully small for Penn, but I can't say it's completely wrong. The presence of lots of Jewish graduate and professional students (and faculty) means that there is a large, vibrant Jewish community there -- actually multiple large, vibrant Jewish communities. In the past 50 years, Penn has only had one non-Jewish president!