Editor's Letter

Countering Campus Hate

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people mired in squalor and poverty, but on the rise of the
quating Israel's strategic defensive strikes against the
Jewish state on May 14, 1948. Palestinians trace their Nakba,
Palestinian people with Nazi Germany's systematic
their Catastrophe, to that day; the result has been "60 years of
murder of European Jews continues to be in vogue
dispossession, statelessness and ethnic cleansing!' The Nakba
among Palestinian apologists here in America.
not only has created the largest group of refugees in the world,
Another egregious example took place on the Irvine campus
but also "has left thousands of innocent, men, women and
of the University of California (UCI) a few weeks ago. Anti-
children dead, and has shattered the livelihood of millions of
Semitism punctuated the Muslim
people facing the scourge of the longest, most brutal occupation
Student Union's anti-Zionist parley,
in modern history') according to an event promotion.
not surprisingly dubbed "Never Again?
Free expression is one thing. Thoughtful, rigorous debate is a
The Palestinian Holocaust!' Event co-
step up. But anti-Semitic rants go beyond the limit of reason.
sponsors included the Society of Arab
As reported by Sherman, one of the event lecturers, Amir
Students and Amnesty International.
Abdel Malik All of Masjid al-Islam in Oakland, Calif., said
Rhetorical hate can turn volatile if
in a speech at UCI in May 2006: "The truth of the matter is,
the conditions are ripe. And despite
[Israel's] days are numbered. We will fight you
a 3-year decline in
until we are either martyred or until we are
anti-Semitic activity
victorious!'
as tracked by the Anti-
"It should be of concern:' Sherman wrote,
Defamation League, U.S.
"that a speech given at UCI calls for 'martyr-
campus incidents are
dom, the euphemism for suicide bombing."
down just slightly. So American Jewry can't let
Such bombings are a favorite tool of
down its guard.
Palestinian terrorists.
Last week, I received a copy of a letter writ-
A look at the Web site of another event lec-
ten by U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat
turer, Norman G. Finkelstein, a Princeton-edu-
representing California's 27th District, which
cated independent academic firmly ensconced
encompasses UCI. The Jewish congressman had
on the political left, spotlights his take on
sent the letter to UCI Chancellor Michael Drake
Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people
in protest of the May 7-15 event. Getting right
and why he felt Israel warranted an economic
to the point, Sherman, first elected to Congress
boycott. In January 2006, the son of Holocaust
in 1997, wrote, "This event appears intended to
survivors wrote: "It is an incontestable fact that
encourage violence against the State of Israel and Rep. Sherma n: seeks
Israel
has committed a broad range of human
propagate the spread of anti-Semitism!'
accountabillt
rights violations, many rising to the level of war
The problem starts with the event title. I
crimes and crimes against humanity."
understand the desire for something catchy, but did it have to
be inflammatory? Sherman is right: Comparing Israel's political
policies, born from constant Arab terror since Jewish statehood Staying Vigilant
Rep. Sherman didn't close his letter by suggesting that the UCI
in 1948, to the Holocaust, the unprovoked genocide attempt of
event should have been censored. Rather, he urged Chancellor
the Nazi Germany regime, certainly reeks of anti-Semitism.
Drake to denounce speech "that is clearly and unambiguously
Like Sherman wrote, "It wholly demeans the Jewish victims
hateful in nature'
of the Holocaust and vilifies the Jewish citizens of Israel!'
"As an American:' Sherman wrote Drake, "you have a right
to speak out. As chancellor, it is your duty to condemn anti-
Official Line
Semitism, especially when it occurs at the UCI campus!'
The U.S. Department of State officially declared such a com-
Drake hadn't done so by press time, according to Sherman's
parison to be a "prototypical" example of anti-Semitism. In
press secretary, Roger Lotz.
a March report to Congress, the State Department defined
In a May 13 letter to fellow Jewish students, the leaders of
anti-Semitism as "a certain perception of Jews, which may be
UCI Jewish organizations condemned the hate, but "agreed to
expressed as hatred toward Jews!' Anti-Semitic acts may be
be respectful and peaceful in accordance to Jewish values."
directed toward people as well as property, including Jewish
The Jewish community must counter each lie and deception
institutions. They also may target the State of Israel, according
to the Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism Report prepared by with truth and resolve if it is to combat Palestinian apologists,
who scoff at our collective capacity to persevere and fight back
the State Department's Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor
in the exhausting war of words.
and Combat Anti-Semitism.
We Jews who cherish our ancestral homeland and believe in
That official government report cites drawing comparisons
it, even if we disagree with selected government actions, are los-
of contemporary Israeli policy to that of Nazi Germany as a
ing the public relations battle — the 71/2-year reign of terror the
contextual example of anti-Semitism. Consider some of the
Palestinian world has inflicted upon Israel notwithstanding. 0
lecture titles at "Never Again? The Palestinian Holocaust!' They
were unsettling in their own right: "Death to Apartheid: A
Farewell to ZionismrSilence is Consent: Stop the Palestinian
When does hateful speech rise to the level
Holocaust" and "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine!'

of anti-Semitism?

The Undercurrents

The event essentially blamed the Palestinian plight not on
Palestinian leaders who, as a matter of strategy, keep their

Zi Should university presidents condemn
0 01 campus events clearly anti-Semitic?
a. 0-

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