College response to terrorism in Israel

Pretty sure things are going to get far worse for some on college campuses before they improve. Natural and probable consequences and all that…

Of course, at many schools the vast majority of students remain uninvolved and even uninterested.

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I feel like this gives a good picture of the situation for Jewish students at Berkeley (I am not affiliated with the University).

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“Shiva-worthy” :cry:

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Thanks for posting! My kid participated, so I tried to spot him in the video, but I see that they did a good job of obscuring most of the participants by not showing their faces (this is understandable).

Well, it’s complicated. I don’t know how it is at other universities and cities, but the Jewish community here is very politically diverse.

The level of anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric has caused some Jewish students (like mine) to feel a lot more passionate about being Jewish, more emotionally connected to Israel, more involved in Hillel and Jewish life on campus, etc.

On the other hand, there are also many Jewish students who support (and participate in) the anti-Israel protests, and choose not to interpret anything that is happening as antisemitism.

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Isn’t the DoE investigating dozens, maybe hundreds of schools by now for both anti-Jewish and/or anti-Muslim events?

This is just recent news on UC Berkeley as this particular school had been referenced and discussed in the immediately preceding posts.

What antimuslim events have occurred at colleges?

You can look up the complaints made to the DoE. In addition, you may recall earlier when 3 Muslim students were shot, one paralyzed. And of course in separate anti-Muslim hate crimes, a little boy was killed, ( was that Chicago?) and a pediatrician stabbed to death near Houston

They were shot in Vermont, not at their university (Brown).

I know that. Only 1 attended Brown, by the way. There are both investigations and lawsuits alleging anti-Muslim activities on college campuses. Regularly reported in our papers.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/17/nyregion/universities-antisemitic-anti-muslim-investigation.html.
Harvard has both lawsuits and investigations pending, for example
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/07/us/harvard-palestinian-discrimination-complaint.html#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Education%20Department%20said,from%20harassment%2C%20threats%20and%20intimidation.

There is some arrogance here. As person of South Korean heritage whose parents experienced served in the military and experienced horrors beyond imagination during the war, I can’t understand why there is an expectation that every business, institution and school has to affirmatively support a foreign country’s policies here - ally or no. South Korean women by the hundreds of thousands (comfort women) suffered sexual violence, and millions were slaughtered over centuries of Korean history by our neighbors, China and Japan. And Japan has showed almost no willingness to acknowledge nor apologize for these atrocities.

Now, Seoul is 35 miles from the DMZ. And there is ongoing violence including tunnels, raids and murders. Tens of thousands of North Koreans march to denounce the South. Not to mention, North Korea is nuclear. Anyone who has been to the DMZ can easily learn about this.

If North Korea launched an attack on Seoul, it would be nice if the US assisted militarily and if there were public support. If Yale didn’t issue an official statement, I wouldn’t feel entitled to one. I also wouldn’t be in favor of doxxing anyone who wrote about the famine conditions in North Korea due to sanctions. I, and most South Koreans, would be horrified to see the South Korean government level the North. Any government that caused mass civilian casualties in North Korea would be removed.

I certainly would not feel that every university, business and person who questioned all-out war followed by unending occupation to be a Korean-hater. That’s the arrogance.

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I agree that colleges should not have to take a political stand (and maybe shouldn’t). but I thought this thread was about colleges having an obligation to protect their students and make sure they all feel safe, and to put a stop to aggressive, borderline-violent pretests that disrupt events and destroy property and actually hinder free speech rather than demonstrate it.

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What does it even mean to ensure adults feel safe? The school can minimize the risk of violence and take action if it occurs, but adults should expect to be exposed to opinions that make them uncomfortable and with which they strongly disagree.

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I fully agree that students (and everyone) should be exposed to opinions that make them uncomfortable, but an opinion does not have to be given by screaming it in your face and pounding on windows and forcing events to be cancelled. I don’t really know what the schools should do but civil discourse is part of it.

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Unfortunately I think some object to differing opinions even being expressed, regardless of the manner of expression.

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I agree people need to have thicker skins. hypersensitivity isn’t helping. but there is a line somewhere that shouldn’t be crossed.

As an undergraduate at Harvard, I experienced multiple racist incidents by classmates as well as regularly by local Cambridge and Boston residents. My son, who is 12 years old, and the other minorities in his top 20 in NYS / Blue ribbon school at least weekly endures racial epithets like “rice farmer, sand n-er”. In the hallway. Around all the other students. That behavior is well known to the administration, but a single pro-Palestinian episode on a bus went to the school board for full discussion of expulsion of that student. That’s the double standard. My son, much more vulnerable than any 18 year old, knows he has to endure and is learning to handle himself. Just as I did. Why do some demand more? Billionaire donors? There are plenty of hefty Asian donors. It’s not really about safety. It’s about thickness of skin and entitlement. And color of skin. To be scolded by some about realities that I have endured my entire life is patronizing, arrogant and entitled.

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