Diaspora Affairs Committee Holds Urgent Meeting on Antisemitism on University Campuses Abroad

By Aryeh Stern

The Knesset’s Committee for Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs, chaired by MK Oded Forer (Yisrael Beitenu), held an emergency meeting on Tuesday on the topic of “Antisemitism on university campuses abroad – monitoring the government’s measures to combat antisemitism on university campuses and social networks.”

During the meeting, students from universities in the United States described the antisemitism they have been experiencing on their respective campuses. Amanda Silverstein, a student at Cornell University, said Jewish students are physically assaulted, and the word “Zionist” has become a curse word that is synonymous with genocide. “Students here believe there is one solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that is intifada against Israel. I was called a ‘Zionist pig,'” she said.

Jacob Herman, a student at University of Southern California, said a fellow student at the university who openly called for the abolition of the State of Israel was not penalized​ or condemned by the university. Jews on campus have been referred to as “Dirty Zionists” and “baby killers,” and Jewish faculty, students and staff were harassed during anti-Israel protests on campus, he said, adding, “Chabad on campus has received numerous death threats; emails saying ‘Hitler was right,’ and the on-campus pro-Israel groups also received similar death threats.”

Jack Landstein, a student at University of Michigan, said, “The university is not a safe place for Jewish students at this time. It is imperative that the university begins enforcing [its] policies.”

Columbia University student Elisha Baker said Jews on campus hear calls for violence against Jews and are told to “go back to Poland.” Jewish students, he said, are thrown out of social groups if they do not agree to change their position.

Committee Chairman MK Forer said, “The emergency meeting we are holding today is taking place in the midst of a large tsunami wave of antisemitism across the world. The writing was on the wall. The State of Israel has to invest significant funds and resources to neutralize the threat of antisemitism on campuses. The fight against antisemitism is the responsibility of all the government agencies. We tried to obtain information as to how much money the State of Israel has invested in campaigns in the United States, but we have not been able to obtain these figures. The Government of Israel must formulate a government program for combatting antisemitism, including budgets and distribution of responsibility. The situation has significantly deteriorated since the outbreak of the war. Worldwide, displays of antisemitism against Jews in general, and particularly against Jewish students on campuses, have increased. The universities’ administrations should be the first line of defense in the control over the wave of protests. Freedom of speech should be allowed, but antisemitism must be repelled. The State of Israel is committed to, and is able to, act in the fields of public relations and foreign policy. Antisemitic content and denial of the massacre are disseminated on the social networks. In the State of Israel there is no legislation that places responsibility on the social networks, on content that is published on them.”

Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli said the ministry was taking measures against antisemitic groups that operate on the various campuses. “There are radical groups of anti-Israel Jews who defame Israel around the world, and we are acting against them as well,” he said. “Even prior to the current wave of protests, we turned to academic institutions in Israel in an effort to make it easier for Jewish students around the world who want to study in Israel. We allocated NIS 5 million on behalf of the ministry toward this end. We are carrying out research-based activity in order to track down the sources of funding of the antisemitic organizations on the various campuses in North America. The crisis on the campuses creates a great opportunity, as Jewish students on the campuses want to get closer to Judaism because of the antisemitic pressure. The assaults on the campuses are not just against the Jewish people, they are against the values of the entire democratic West. The nation of Israel is in its homeland not because of the Holocaust, but because this is the Land of Israel. The minister for Diaspora affairs dedicates NIS 60 million to the fight against antisemitism on university campuses, and we plan to demand additional resources in order to complete the mission.”

William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said Jewish students do not feel safe on campuses across the US. Jewish students are being prevented from entering class, professors are fully accepting Hamas’s position, and there are calls to renew the intifada in Israel, he said. The purpose of the pro-Hamas protests is to intimidate Jewish students and faculty, and the Conference is working diligently to keep Jewish students safe, Daroff told the committee. Universities that violate the anti-racism law must be penalized, he stated. “The nation of Israel is not alone, and we here in the United States thank the citizens of Israel. We will get through this difficult period together,” he said.

Eric D. Fingerhut, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), said that following the outbreak of the war, the organization launched two of its largest campaigns with the goal of supporting the citizens of Israel. The organization wants to make sure that Israel continues to receive support so that it will be able to destroy Hamas, he said. Fingerhut told the committee that the anti-Israel protests are organized and funded by external sources from around the world, and the JFNA views with severity the participation of faculty members in these demonstrations. “Those who hate Israel also hate the United States. We are very concerned about the studies that show that the younger generation supports Israel less and less. The younger generation gets its news on the social networks, where the positions are predominantly anti-Israel,” Fingerhut said, adding that the JFNA was making every effort to protect Jewish students on U.S. campuses.

MK Forer said in summation, “The fight against antisemitism is filled with the good intentions of the Government of Israel, but if there will not be a clear government plan with a budget, we will not be able to eradicate the phenomenon of antisemitism on campuses.” He said one specific ministry should lead the fight against antisemitism on university campuses, and budgets must be found for the activity of relevant Israeli embassies and consulates around the world. “We must cooperate with the Jewish communities around the world. There is an urgent need to pass legislation, similar to legislation in Europe, that will allow the state to impose sanctions on the social networks in cases where antisemitic content is disseminated,” MK Forer said.