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6 | JANUARY 30 • 2020 

G

rowing concern about 
anti-Semitism locally, 
nationally and global-
ly drew approximately 1,000 
people to a community infor-
mational event Jan. 23 at Adat 
Shalom Synagogue. The sense 
of solidarity was palpable in the 
packed sanctuary as people lis-
tened attentively to two panels 
of speakers who gave views of 
anti-Semitism from their van-
tage points as educators, rabbis, 
security experts, community 
relations professionals and a 
historian.
Rabbi Jen Lader of Temple 
Israel drove home the point that 
anti-Semitism is affecting us 
all by saying she recently asked 

a class of 60 teens if they have 
experienced anti-Semitism and 
45 raised their hands. Several 
years ago, she says, only a hand-
ful responded affirmatively.
Time for action is now. 
Suggestions at the event 
included reporting incidents 
of anti-Semitism to the FBI, 
law enforcement and the ADL; 
confronting bigoted remarks as 
they are experienced; support-
ing organizations combating 
hatred; working person-to-per-
son with non-Jews to dispel 
stereotypes; and backing other 
communities also facing dis-
crimination. 
Rabbi Yisrael Pinson of 
Chabad in the D raised a point 

that must be part of commu-
nity action. In his opening 
remarks, he said he didn’
t think 
the room should be filled with 
Jews, but with non-Jews. “We’
ve 
done nothing wrong,” he said 
repeatedly, implying that others 
need to become better edu-
cated about Jews to stem the 
ignorance that often prompts 
anti-Semitism.
In this spirit, there was 
applause as non-Jewish law 
enforcement officials and legis-
lators were introduced. 
Outreach to other commu-
nities, beyond the usual leader-
ship partners in the Christian, 
Muslim and African American 
communities, can reveal com-

monalities and banish stereo-
types. With understanding 
come strength and compassion. 
It is incumbent on the spon-
sors of the event — the Jewish 
Federation of Metropolitan 
Detroit, ADL and the Jewish 
Community Relations Council/
AJC — plus other Jewish com-
munity organizations, including 
the JN (which will begin a year-
long series on anti-Semitism in 
February), to stretch beyond 
usual outreach efforts to be 
inclusive of a broader Southeast 
Michigan community. 
This will require a tremen-
dous effort, but the rewards 
now and for future generations 
will be worth it. 

Editorial
A Call to Action on Anti-Semitism

Editor’
s Note: This op-ed is 
abridged from a report by 
the Institute for the Study of 
Global Antisemitism and Policy 
(ISGAP). The report can be read 
in its entirety at isgap.org.
J

ustice is an end for which 
all people strive, and the 
Palestinian people deserve 
it no less than any other. Yet 
no understanding of justice is 
worth the name 
if, in advancing 
the aims of one 
group, it disallows 
the legitimate 
cause of anoth-
er. Thus, when 
an organization 
denies Israel’
s 
right to exist as a Jewish and 
democratic state; when it 
demonizes Israel by compar-
ing the Jewish state to Nazi 
Germany or South African 

apartheid; and when in making 
demands of Israel it applies 
double-standards that are not 
applied to any other country in 
the world, this organization is 
not seeking justice. Rather, it is 
promoting anti-Semitism, plain 
and simple.
The reason for this is that 
demonization, delegitimization 
and double-standards against 
Jews were the main tools of 
anti-Semites for thousands 
of years. Now, they are being 
applied to the Jewish collective 
in the State of Israel.
Indeed, after ongoing 
debates, the international com-
munity has agreed upon a set of 
criteria for determining when 
criticism of Israel is anti-Semit-
ic. Applying these criteria, the 
following report analyzes the 
officially proclaimed aims of 
Students for Justice in Palestine, 
and the views of its central 

figures, and unmasks them as 
fundamentally anti-Semitic — 
in nature. The findings herein 
can certainly be used by those 
on campuses seeking to com-
bat the pernicious influence of 
this group. More than that, I 
hope they will open the eyes of 
everyone who sincerely wants 
to better the world. The way to 
justice is, clearly, not through 
this organization.
According to studies con-
ducted by the Anti-Defamation 
League, for example, anti-Se-
mitic propaganda, attacks, 
campaigns and other incidents 
in the United States have been 
sharply on the rise over the last 
several years. 
Among the places that have 
seen an increase in anti-Sem-
itism are college campuses in 
the U.S. and Canada, where 
movements such as the 
Boycott-Divestment-Sanction 

Movement (BDS) against Israel 
have become more accepted.
One of the most active 
anti-Semitic forces on North 
American campuses is National 
Students for Justice in Palestine 
(NSJP). ISGAP has compiled 
a comprehensive analysis of 
NSJP and its anti-Semitic dis-
course, its ideological origins 
and its terrorist connections. In 
addition, the report examines 
the ideology of Students for 
Justice in Palestine (SJP) and its 
anti-Semitic roots, as defined 
by the International Holocaust 
Remembrance Alliance 
(IHRA). The report also shows 
SJP’
s connections to violence 
and terror.
The findings of this report 
are important to understand-
ing the problem of growing 
anti-Semitism on campuses in 
North America. NSJP annual 
conferences continue to take 

Natan 
Sharansky
ISGAP Chair

essay
The Threat to Academic Freedom

continued on page 10

