Battling anti-Semitic rhetoric

A rise in anti-Semitism on college campuses, fueled by a hatred of Israel and its policies toward Palestinians, has propelled groups such as the National Council of Jewish Women to offer college-bound students the facts they need to respond to what is perceived as misinformation about the Jewish state.

On April 13, from 7 to 9 p.m., the NCJW-Peninsula Section is co-sponsoring a free interactive panel discussion on anti-Semitism on college campuses at the Hewlett-East Rockaway Jewish Centre, at 295 Main St. in East Rockaway. The synagogue is also co-sponsoring the event, which will feature Linda Scherzer, a former Middle East correspondent for CNN who is now the director of the Write On for Israel program, and two college students speaking about their encounters with anti-Semitism. WABC-TV reporter N.J. Burkett will moderate the discussion.

“Unfortunately we can’t get rid of all the haters, but we hope to minimize its damaging effects,” said Abby Fox, a former NCJW president who organized the event. “The students are vulnerable when away from home. They have been confronted, and at times it has turned violent. The whole climate is getting worse, and we want to empower the students.”

Scherzer said that the increase in anti-Semitism on college campuses has been a “gradual thing” since the second Intifada, a period of intensified Israel-Palestinian violence from September 2000 to February 2005. The climate has become “even more toxic” with the introduction of the Boycott Divest Sanctions movement, according to Scherzer, which has anti-Israel groups pushing colleges, companies and governments to stop doing business with Israel and curtail the importing of Israeli products.

Pro-Palestinians groups have also become more vocal and visible throughout the U.S., especially on college campuses, promoting their belief that Zionism equals racism, and opposing the two-state solution that envisions an independent Palestine alongside Israel, west of the Jordan River. The movement is calling for the reclaiming of all of what is considered historic Palestine.

“Many people in the Jewish state didn’t have the confidence and clarity to stand up and defend Israel,” Scherzer said. “We discovered that many students were conflicted about Israel.”

The Write On for Israel program was begun in 2002 by Gary Rosenblatt, publisher of the New York Jewish Week, and in addition to the metropolitan area is located in Chicago, Cleveland and San Francisco. It is a two-year program that educates high school students, beginning in their junior year, on complex issues so they are prepared to defend the Jewish state against verbal attacks from such groups as Students for Justice in Palestine, which has nearly 130 chapters at American and Canadian colleges.

The program provides a historical overview of the Jewish presence in the Middle East. Scherzer said it focuses mostly on contemporary events, from Israel’s creation in 1948 to the Six-Day War in 1967 to current news. “We need to actively engage in forging relationships in an intelligent, informed way about what Israel’s position is and make our case to campus leaders,” she said.
Students for Justice in Palestine has a New York University chapter. On the organization’s website, members describe themselves as “A diverse group of NYU students, faculty, staff, and community members organized on democratic principles to promote justice, human rights, liberation, and self-determination for the Palestinian people.”

A glimpse of the group’s Facebook page makes clear that it does not pull any punches in its war of words against Israel. “Palestinians around the world suffer from media propaganda machines silencing them from exposing Israel’s atrocities,” it states. “Political silence about these atrocities allow the Israeli Defense Forces to continue on in their murders of vulnerable Palestinians every day.” The group could not be reached for comment as of press time on Tuesday.

Laura Cusack, program director of the Jewish United Fund’s Israel Education Center, which supports the Write On program, explained why battling anti-Semitism on college campuses is important. “I’ve been there with the community as Jewish students have experienced hate, isolation, harassment, intimidation and anti-Semitism,” Cusack wrote in a blog about her experiences. “I’ve been continually exposed to those whose sole mission is to fight a battle intended to tear down and destroy a people and a special place.”

Have an opinion about anti-Semitism on college campuses or a story to tell? Send it to the editor at jbessen@liherald.com.