Universities must get rid of antisemites, return to teaching the basics - opinion

Free speech should be sacrosanct, and incitement should be vilified. Yet when it comes to supporting Jews, free speech has been stifled, while incitement to Jew-hatred is permitted.

 Students take part in an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University in New York City last month. Many students demonstrating against Israel likely do not know basic facts about the Mideast, the writer argues. (photo credit: JEENAH MOON/REUTERS)
Students take part in an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University in New York City last month. Many students demonstrating against Israel likely do not know basic facts about the Mideast, the writer argues.
(photo credit: JEENAH MOON/REUTERS)

Antisemitism is running amok on US college campuses. There are marches calling for the eradication of Israel, email death threats to Jewish students, hateful posters on campuses, and even physical assaults on Jewish students. While this malady has been percolating just below and above the surface for years, the horrific October 7 massacre in Israel and the ensuing war have led to an unprecedented explosion of Jew-hate across the Western academic world, from both students and faculty, leaving many Jewish students feeling unsafe.

The reactions of many university administrations to this frightening phenomenon were initially tepid and noncommittal. There have been proclamations of establishing committees, declarations that the institutions will fight Islamophobia, and promises that Jewish students will be safe. And how will that final assurance be fulfilled? In some instances, it was suggested that Jewish students avoid kosher dining halls and that Jewish Studies classes move online, along with promises to provide security for Jewish events.

These “solutions” are an attempt at dealing with the symptoms, but having Jews led around campuses with armed guards is not solving the underlying issue. The disease of antisemitism is a malignancy that has spread and become acceptable on US college campuses. This tumor needs to be rooted out from its source. 

Since the administrators at universities that are charging students with malleable minds upwards of $70K/year are not coming up with solutions, here are some ideas.

THE LOCUS of this disease is institutions of higher education, so why not start with, surprisingly, education? There needs to be a return to teaching facts, both historical and current. This includes history, geography, classic literature, and Holocaust education. Students should have the ability to discern fact from fiction and to differentiate legitimate sources from biased reporting.

 Columbia University student Jessie Brenner, class of 2026, speaks to members of the media during a press conference calling for the University's administration to support students facing antisemitism, in New York, U.S., October 30, 2023.  (credit: REUTERS/JEENAH MOON)
Columbia University student Jessie Brenner, class of 2026, speaks to members of the media during a press conference calling for the University's administration to support students facing antisemitism, in New York, U.S., October 30, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/JEENAH MOON)

Surveys show that students lack basic knowledge of the world

A 2016 survey commissioned in part by the National Geographic Society polled college-educated individuals aged 18-26 and found serious deficiencies in their knowledge of geography, the environment, demographics, US foreign policy, recent international events, and economics. Among the findings was that fewer than a third could locate Israel on a map.

A 2019 report by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni highlighted a lack of basic knowledge of US history and civics among Americans, yet only 18 percent of universities require a foundational course in those subjects.

Indeed, education can help. A study published in 2019 in the Journal of Political Science Education found that university students had significant bias regarding issues related to the Middle East but that targeted lectures were effective in lowering both explicit and implicit biases. Furthermore, a 2020 survey of 1,500 college students revealed a significant impact of Holocaust education, with those who had Holocaust education not only possessing greater knowledge about the Holocaust and how it relates to current events, but also having more pluralistic attitudes, being more likely to challenge incorrect or biased information and to stand up to negative stereotyping, and showing a greater sense of social responsibility.

Many of the students demonstrating against Israel likely do not know basic facts about the Middle East. Do they realize that the phrase “from the river to the sea” is calling for Israel’s destruction? (Do they even know which river and sea are being referenced?) Are they aware that the terrorist Palestine Liberation Organization was founded in 1964, before Israel controlled the “West Bank” and before there were any “settlements”; that Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East; and that Israel does not “occupy” Gaza? Indeed, Israel unilaterally withdrew its population and troops from the Strip in 2005, and Gaza has been self-governing ever since.

Do they know what genocide and apartheid mean? And if yes, do they realize that Israel’s “genocide” has obviously been a massive failure, with the West Bank Arab population growing under Israeli rule from 1967 to present from about 600,000 to 2.7 million – and similar increases in Gaza? Do they know about the 800,000 Jewish refugees evicted from Arab countries at the same time that Arab refugees left Israel but who, unlike their Arab counterparts, have built productive lives and were not kept in refugee camps? Are they aware of the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Israelis since October 7? Do they have any idea about the oppressive, homophobic, misogynist philosophy of Hamas?


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There should be a return to teaching the history of Western civilization, classic philosophy, timeless literature, Western morals, and Judeo-Christian values. Good, old-fashioned playground rules of being nice, caring about others, sharing, tolerance, civil discourse, etc. seem to be lacking among today’s college students. With the right foundation, students can be exposed to new ideas and grapple with them intelligently and civilly. The proof is in the pudding – the educational system was overhauled, and the result is that students who are ignorant become intolerant, violent anti-Semites.

IGNORANCE IS not bliss. As 12th-century Muslim philosopher, physician and judge Ibn Rushd wrote: “Ignorance leads to fear, fear leads to hatred, and hatred leads to violence.” And that is what is taking place today.

But education alone is insufficient. As 19th-century Saint John Henry Newman wrote: “Knowledge is one thing, virtue is another… Philosophy, however enlightened, however profound, gives no command over the passions, no influential motives, no vivifying principles.”

Antisemitism is a disease that is deep and visceral. It is irrational and inexplicable, and there will always be antisemites. Therefore, in a civilized society, additional measures are required.

Zero tolerance for expressions of antisemitism

Rather than hiding the Jews, remove the antisemites. Expressions of antisemitism must not be tolerated. Until now, the presence of antisemites who express mild forms of hate has been tolerated, and that has mushroomed into organizations and individuals who are not hesitant or embarrassed to openly call for the destruction of the State of Israel and the murder of Jews.

Universities stand on their heads to protect students from any form of perceived micro-aggression, anything that may possibly cause someone to feel uncomfortable, but they tolerate antisemitism in the form of massive macro-aggressions. Any expression, no matter how subtle, of hatred of Jews, a desire to harm Jews or Israelis, or lack of acceptance of Jews should be shut down, just as it would be if directed at any other group. 

And for anyone who cannot abide by the rules, there should be zero tolerance; such students should be expelled and faculty removed from their positions. Free speech should be sacrosanct, and incitement should be vilified. Yet when it comes to supporting Jews, free speech has been stifled, while incitement to Jew-hatred is permitted.

Zero tolerance also means that organizations that are inherently antisemitic have no place on college campuses. It is unlikely that too many campuses have a student chapter of the KKK. So too, there should be no campus chapters of organizations that support Hamas, advocate for the destruction of the State of Israel, or are in any way antisemitic.

The proximal cause of the surge in antisemitism on campus is not about the Israel-Arab conflict or land or refugees. It is about civilization vs terrorism, about democracy vs dictatorship, about humanity vs evil.

THE DEMONSTRATIONS/RIOTS on college campuses are neither pro-Palestinian nor expressions of true concern for human rights. Where was the outcry over the 4,000 Palestinians killed in the Syrian civil war? Or for the tens of thousands of Muslims killed in Yemen, Myanmar, and Nigeria? Or for the hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees who, at this moment, are being expelled from Pakistan? No one cares about them – because Israel is not involved. These demonstrations are simply antisemitic.

The initial reaction of all civilized people on October 7 should have been revulsion at the deeds of Hamas and identification with the victims. If there are those who support Hamas, the equivalency of supporting ISIS, they should be roundly condemned, educated, or distanced.

Those who threaten Jews and, in particular, Jewish students do not share the same values as the America that I once knew. I urge you – and it will take courage – to help teach the younger generation of students the difference between right and wrong, morality vs barbarism, Western democracies vs ISIS. And those not interested in learning – be they faculty, staff, or students – have no place in institutions of higher learning and must be removed. Be firm, take a stand, and make us proud to be part of a civilized Western democracy.

The writer, a professor of neuroscience at Bar-Ilan University, holds degrees from five US universities.