LOS ANGELES (Press Release) — In just the first few weeks of the new academic year, a pattern has emerged indicating a new malicious strategy by anti-Israel activists to paint Zionism, the liberation movement of the historically oppressed Jewish people, as being the equivalent of “White Supremacism” and “Fascism.”
Specifically, this campaign has been seen at Tufts University, New York University (NYU) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The goal is clear: to create a toxic campus atmosphere for students, faculty and staff who support Israel’s right to sovereign equality among the family of nations.
At Tufts, radical left wing students released a “Disorientation Guide” which defines Israel as a “white supremacist” state. The Tufts “Disorientation Guide” defines Tufts Hillel as “an organization that supports a white supremacist state,” thereby singling out the campus’ main Jewish organization as a pariah.
At NYU a similar guide was just released that mentions Israel fifty-five times, more than the words “alt-right,” “fascism,” and “white supremacy” combined. “This attempts to make Israel out to be the premier evil in the world. This obsessive fixation on the world’s only Jewish state is unambiguously anti-Semitic,” said Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs, an international Israel education organization.
The UUIC chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, (SJP) in a social media post promoting a protest titled “Smashing Fascism: Radical Resistance Against White Supremacy,” stated that, “[t]here is no room for fascists, white supremacists, or Zionists at UIUC.” They followed this up with a statement saying that, “violent resistance whether it is a black bloc or full-scale armed conflict – also has its place. The struggle for liberation must exist on multiple levels and scales – it cannot, and will not, be confined.”
“This is a clear call for violence against Jews and others who support Israel,” Rothstein said. “As such, it is a clear physical threat and should be treated as such by universities and law enforcement. A clear red line needs to be drawn.”
“What makes this campaign particularly insidious is it is piggy-backing off the anti-Semitic and racist neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville last month that ended in tragedy. It also seeks to intimidate pro-Israel students and faculty with physical force on these and other campuses,” Rothstein added.
StandWithUs calls on the administrations of NYU, Tufts and UIUC to use its own First Amendment rights to issue a clear condemnation of those attempting to silence Jewish and other pro-Israel students or faculty who have the Constitutionally protected right to free speech, religious and academic freedom, including a safe learning environment at the university. We specifically call upon the UIUC administration to take action to ensure the safety of pro-Israel students and Jewish campus organizations, in the wake of SJP’s support for violence.
Ron Krudo, Executive Director of Campus Affairs at StandWithUs, said, “Comparing Zionism – the movement for Jewish liberation and self-determination – to ideologies that support oppression and genocide against Jews is grotesquely racist. This rhetoric also silences the voices of countless Jews of color, like my family who found freedom in Israel after centuries of oppression in Iraq and Turkey. Groups like SJP conveniently dismiss the fact that over 50% of Israel’s citizens would not be viewed as “white” in America.”
“StandWithUs unequivocally stands against white supremacy and fascism. The Jewish people were a principle victim of both before and during World War Two. We have six million reasons to oppose Nazism. I am a child of Holocaust survivors, and I don’t need a lesson on white supremacy and why it is so dangerous,” said Rothstein.
“We will continue to work with our partners to support students and Hillel’s at these three and other campuses, as they stand up to racist hate,” Rothstein said.
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Preceding provided by StandWithUs