For over a month, our higher education institutions have been overrun with so-called “Palestinian solidarity encampments.” Pro-Palestinian protests on campuses are not a new phenomenon, but in many instances, these protests have gotten out of hand and disrupted university life, for Jewish and non-Jewish students alike.
At Columbia University Jewish students were harassed, a Jewish professor was denied entrance to the campus, and the semester was finished online due to the unrest on campus.
At UCLA the library was blocked, denying access to Jewish students.
Across the country, students have glorified and called for the Antifada, violent resistance against Israel, its civilians, and its supporters.
While each of these encampments has called for their universities to divest from Israel, among other demands are breaking ties with the organizations that facilitate Jewish life on campus, Hillel and Chabad. At Drexel University and the University of California, Santa Cruz, these “pro-Palestinian” protesters showed their true colors and revealed what has been obvious for so long: anti-Zionism is anti-semitism. Calling to “terminate” the institutions for Jewish life on campus will not pave any pathways to better lives for the Palestinian people, but it will alienate and instill fear in young Jewish students.
We are thankful for our congressional leaders who have not only made statements but taken action to protect Jewish students. Passing H.R.6090 to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, is one example of how Congress can use the rule of law to protect against antisemitism. On May 23rd the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on antisemitism on college campuses, led by Rep. Virginia Foxx. We must stand against discrimination and antisemitism in all forms, especially in the places that are meant to be a beacon of light in our society.