An Open Letter to University Presidents

The past two weeks have seen an eruption of anti-Israel protests on university campuses across the United States – starting at Columbia University and spreading to Yale, Northwestern, UCLA, and beyond. As a leader and decision-maker at a university, I am sure you are being bombarded by passionate voices on many sides of this issue. Here are five crucial issues for you to consider.

1. Isn’t it paramount that we support free speech and allow students to protest?

Free speech is a pillar of American belief and law. Even if one does not agree with another’s views, protecting one’s right to express them is axiomatic to the American ethos.

But speech that is threatening to another person or group of people is not protected as free speech. There is no doubt that much of the rhetoric on university campuses has crossed that line. Protestors have called for Israeli cities to be bombed and for Jewish students at Columbia to be attacked by terrorists. Additionally, individual Jewish students have been targeted, physically intimidated, and even violently attacked. All of this puts much of the anti-Israel protests beyond the protection of free speech.

Additionally, private universities, such as Columbia and Northwestern, can create their own policies and rules. While protecting free speech is part of the equation, creating an environment that condemns and protects against racism and discrimination is also crucial. Imagine if the KKK wanted to protest in the middle of Columbia University chanting that “blacks are not welcome here” or if anti-gay groups were calling for homosexuals to be targeted and harassed. Would any university leader stand for this? Would anyone want to attend a university that allows this?

Of course not. But yet this is happening on University campuses targeting Jews.

2. Aren’t these protests against Israel, not Jews? We should not equate the two.

The stated reason for the protests is to condemn Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Additionally, protestors are calling on the United States government to discontinue supporting Israel. Isn’t this legitimate? Why are people saying this is antisemitic?

Sadly, much of the rhetoric of the protests has veered into antisemitism against Jewish students. While the intensity of the protests increased dramatically since April 17, they have been raging since Hamas’ terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Almost immediately after the attack happened, anti-Israel protests surfaced across the world and on university campuses. As Israel responded and many Palestinians have been killed, the protests grew. Since October 7th, a study by the ADL found that 73% of Jewish college students stated they have experienced or seen antisemitic incidents, ranging from antisemitic vandalism to threats of physical violence. Additionally, 44% of non-Jewish students also stated they have seen antisemitism on campus. These are astonishing numbers and show that anti-Israel hate has crossed the line to antisemitism.

The core of the connection between anti-Israel hate and antisemitism is the centrality that Israel plays in Jewish identity. One cannot separate Israel from Judaism. The vast majority of the Jewish Bible describes the Jewish people’s exit from slavery in Egypt to enter Israel, their “Promised Land”. After over 1,000 years of Jewish control, the Jews were exiled from this Land by the Romans and found themselves in exile for approximately 2,000 years. During this time of exile, Jews always stayed connected to the Land of Israel, praying to return. The Land of Israel is central to Judaism’s sacred texts, prayers, and religious observance. Israel cannot be separated from Judaism – it is integral to it.

Thus, for so many Jews, an attack on Israel is an attack against the Jewish People. This doesn’t mean that one can’t disagree with specific policies of Israel. In fact, most Jews who support Israel also disagree with many Israeli policies! But once Israel is denied the very right to exist and is threatened, Jews see that as a personal and hateful attack on the Jewish People.

A common term used today for supporters of Israel is “Zionists.” Zion refers to a mountain in Jerusalem that is adjacent to the location of the Holy Temple that stood thousands of years ago. Zion has also often been used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole. “Zionism” is a 19th-century movement advocating for the return of the Jewish People to their ancient homeland of Israel. While it is a modern political movement, it is deeply rooted in the millennia-old Jewish sources and beliefs. Thus while not identical, Zionism is deeply rooted in Judaism.

A common refrain heard at anti-Israel protests is “Zionists not allowed”, “Zionists not welcome” and as seen in this video at Columbia – “we don’t want no Zionists here”. For many Jewish students, a ban on Zionists is a ban on Jews - i.e. antisemitism.

3. Since there are Jewish students also protesting, this can’t be antisemitism, right?

Amongst the anti-Israel protesters are self-identified Jews. In truth, these individuals represent a small percentage of American Jews. In a recent Pew study, 89% of American Jews said that Israel’s reasons for fighting Hamas are valid, and only 7% said they are not valid. While the percentage decreases when asked if how Israel is fighting the war is acceptable, American Jews still respond in support of how Israel is conducting the war by a 2 to 1 margin.

The anti-Israel protestors have a varied make-up. Many are Arabs and/or Muslims who side with the Palestinians against Israel. Many are members of other minority groups who have bought into the concept of “intersectionality” – that anyone who feels they are persecuted must stand together with others who claim they are persecuted. And some are even Jews who strongly oppose Israel’s war in Gaza. But the presence of Jews in the protests doesn’t mean that others involved and often leading them are not antisemitic.

Sadly, there are also organized Jewish groups who have been active in demonizing Israel. Jewish Voices for Peace is probably the most well-known. The ADL has noted that Jewish Voices for Peace has promoted “messaging that descends into the antisemitic vilification of “Zionists,” the group has expressed support for violence and, occasionally, classic antisemitic tropes”. So yes, sadly, even Jews can be anti-Semitic.

4. How do I know when a protest against Israel’s actions becomes antisemitism?

Soviet dissident and human rights advocate Natan Sharansky has defined when criticism of Israel crosses the line to antisemitism. He calls it the “3 D’s”: delegitimization, demonization, and double standards.

• Delegitimization – when Israel’s very existence is called into question, that is anti-Semitism. One is no longer advocating for policy change but for the Jewish State’s destruction. Similarly, as described above, when one advocates to ban Zionists from campus instead of disagreeing with specific beliefs they have, this is delegitimizing and is antisemitism.
• Demonization – Israel is fighting against an enemy who openly calls for its destruction, attacks civilians, and then hides amongst Palestinian civilians. This is the main reason Palestinian civilians have been killed, injured and displaced in Gaza. Israel is forced into incredibly difficult moral decisions in this war against an immoral enemy. To accuse Israel of indiscriminately killing innocent people, or committing genocide and other war crimes is demonization that is antisemitic.
• Double Standards – Israel is often criticized for actions that other nations are not. While all loss of innocent life is tragic, one has to wonder why there are protests against Israel across all of these campuses when nothing was done for so many other horrible situations. There were no protests when Syria was using chemical weapons against its own people. There were no protests when Nigerian Christians were slaughtered by Islamists. There were no protests standing up for the brave Muslim women marching in the streets against the Iranian regime. There were no protests to stand up for the Kurds or the Yazidi women and children that were used as sex slaves by ISIS. Why not?

5. What do these protestors want and how can we end this?

Hearing from the protestors themselves, it seems like they have many conflicting agendas. Some are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Some are calling for the United States to stop funding Israel. Many are calling for the destruction of Israel like this protest at Northwestern University. And some have no idea why they are protesting in the first place.

Many are also calling for protest and hatred of America. It seems these protesters are not only infested with antisemitism, but they hate everything about liberal, western culture. Maybe this is why Hamas and Iran have publicly supported their protests.

So how do we end this? Certainly not by giving in to haters and those intimidating, harassing, and threatening others. All university leaders must stand strong against this hatred and make it loud and clear that these hate tactics will not succeed.