Antisemitism on U.S. college campuses is in the news again, and this time, most of the media are contradicting themselves.
Harvard University’s final report by the Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias was released amid pressure by the U.S. administration on Harvard and other universities to crack down on antisemitic violence and bias.
The task force conducted 50 listening sessions with some 500 people, with the aim of collecting testimonies and an insight into the antisemitism occurring on campus.
Using Anti-Zionist Jews as Fuel to Diminish a Report on Antisemitism
Despite the report’s publication, NBC continued to invalidate the Jewish experience on Harvard’s campus.
Out of all of the Jewish students and faculty members this reporter could have spoken with, she chose Violet Barron, a self-proclaimed anti-Zionist Jew and founder of Jews for Palestine on campus. She was, unsurprisingly, unhappy with the Harvard report, having been heavily involved in anti-Israel campus protests.
Other anti-Zionist Jews also gave testimonies. Perhaps NBC might have been interested in the one who reported on how uncomfortable they were when they heard their peers glorifying terrorism.
There are some people who have glorified what happened on Oct 7th. That was triggering and harmful for me. [Undergraduate involved in anti-Zionist campus organizing]
The Guardian Tokenizes Anti-Zionist Jews
The Guardian acknowledged the findings of the Harvard report. However, the UK outlet is nothing but consistent. In 2024, at the peak of campus clashes, it published an opinion piece by Jewish anti-Zionist Arielle Angel, which referred to protests as “non-violent” and antisemitism as Jewish “discomfort” that has “justified a powerful attack on academic freedom and First Amendment rights.” Angel also insisted that “crackdowns” on the illegal encampments are part of a right-wing agenda.
Continuing the trend, The Guardian published another op-ed, this time by anti-Zionist Jewish Harvard professor, Atalia Omer on Friday — just a week and a half after the Harvard antisemitism report was released.
Omer writes, “Harvard is conflating Jewish identity with political loyalty to Israel. That’s a dangerous mistake.”
Omer continues:
The report was compiled and published in response to widespread pressure from donors and pro-Israel advocacy groups. It claims to document a crisis of antisemitism on campus. But what it actually reveals is Harvard’s willingness to redefine Jewish identity in narrow, ideological terms: to exclude and erase Jews who dissent from Zionism.
Finding an “under-represented” point of view doesn’t change the reality for the majority of Jewish Americans and Israelis at Harvard and other universities. It is also bold and offensive to invalidate the official IHRA working definition of antisemitism.
But it seems to fit The Guardian’s narrative — that the antisemitism “crisis” is alleged. It accuses the university of giving in to “pressure” to allow anti-Zionism to be included under the umbrella of antisemitism as the IHRA defines it.
If anti-Zionsim isn’t antisemitism, then why are we witnessing Nazi swastikas and Hamas’ red triangles tagged on Jewish homes and institutions? Why are visibly Jewish students being harassed by pro-Palestinian demonstrators? Why are Jewish students being forced to defend their identities and their connection to Israel in the face of politics and war out of their control? Why are we being told that Zionism is racism?
Other Coverage of the Harvard Antisemitism Report
Outlets like The New York Times and CNN wrote in-depth articles on the report. They detailed its findings, along with its recommendations for how to encourage a more tolerant atmosphere on campus.
They did a pretty thorough job this time, but it’s worth remembering that when chaos and clashes were at their peak, the media attempted to “both side” the events and significantly minimize what Jewish students endured.
Jewish students have been targeted by pro-Palestinian activists on US campuses yet @nytimes attempts to portray two equal and morally equivalent sides.
Let’s be clear: Pro-Israel students confronting pro-Palestinian students isn’t the problem.https://t.co/WrZduKEIW2 pic.twitter.com/I1tmgIcgvk
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 12, 2023
There should be no doubt, antisemitism ran rampant on Harvard’s campus. It still does. The media just refused to accept it at face value, and news consumers may have been misled.
Unfortunately, what was missing in these in-depth pieces was a reminder that Harvard is just one school out of many across the country (Columbia University being a significant one) that suffered a massive spike in antisemitism and violence against Jews and Israelis.
Related Readings: Empowering Encampments: NYT Article Sugarcoats Campus Antisemitism, Why Are Ivy League Schools Quietly Rewarding Student Anti-Israel Protest Leaders?
Media were often concerned with “free speech” and “censorship.” This has gone beyond that.
Here are some of the more disturbing occurrences testified to by Harvard’s students and faculty, which took place over the last year and a half. The media failed to report on it last year.
This included online bullying via a Harvard social discussion board on the Sidechat platform:
The comments were so awful, along lines of “Israel deserved what they were getting,” many people in support of Hamas. There was no room for conversation because of the anonymity… People in support of Jewish identities got downvoted. Anything in support of Hamas would be upvoted. – [Undergraduate student]
This testimony describes the true intentions of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) groups:
The strategy used by BDS groups involves encouraging students and faculty to avoid normalizing relations with Jewish students. This involves social shaming, which is a particularly harmful tactic in academia. [Undergraduate student]
This frightening testimony concerns fear of harassment and ostracization reminiscent of 1930s Germany:
I feel lucky I don’t look Jewish. I know if I do the “wrong thing” I might get the antisemitism. So, put your headphones in, make sure you’re not outwardly Jewish, and just walk to class. [Undergraduate student]
First Amendment rights and free speech should also hold a different weight at private institutions. Students should feel safe to hold an Israeli flag on campus, just as pro-Palestinian students hold the Palestinian flag and express their opinions.
We shouldn’t need a 300-plus page report to get the media to report on it correctly. More than 300 pages of evidence are also more than enough to understand the connection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.
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