THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume IX, Issue # 173, September 18, 2007
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
A NEW ANTI-SEMITISM TAKES ROOT ON CAMPUS
By Asaf Romirowsky
THE GROWING ANTI-SEMITISM BEING EXPOUNDED IN AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION:
INDOCTRINATION OF STUDENTS IN ANTI-SEMITISM (DISGUISED AS ANTI-ZIONISM) IN UNIVERSITY CLASSROOMS & ON
UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES -- THE DEMORALIZING CHALLENGE WHICH CONFRONTS PRO-ISRAEL STUDENTS DEFENDING
ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO EXIST AS A CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC JEWISH STATE, AS WELL AS EXPRESSING CONSERVATIVE
POLITICAL VIEWS -- THE DIRE NEED FOR A BALANCED REPRESENTATION OF ISRAEL & THE MIDDLE EAST IN AMERICA'S
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
FULL STORY:
Today, pro-Israel students confront a demoralizing challenge on campus defending Israel's right to exist as a democratic
Jewish state, as well as expressing views that would be labeled as "Conservative."
Some examples:
Natana DeLong-Bas, a lecturer in Theology at Boston College, as well as in the Department of Near East and Judaic Studies
at Brandeis University, says:
[I do] "not find any evidence that makes me agree that Osama
bin Laden was behind the attack on the twin towers. All we
have heard from him was simply praise and commendation of
those who had carried out the operation."
Joseph Massad, a Columbia University professor of Modern Arab Politics and Intellectual History, writes that "all those in
the Arab world who deny the Holocaust are, in my opinion, Zionists."
Hatem Bazian, a senior lecturer in Islamic Studies at University of California, Berkeley, states that "it's about time that we
have an intifada in this country that changes fundamentally the political dynamics in here."
ON THE HORIZON
You might think these statements were made somewhere in the Arab world or, perhaps, in 1930s' Europe. Yet they are found
today in U.S. classrooms. Tellingly, these scholars represent what is happening in the halls of academia and illustrate the
type of scholarship used to mold future generations.
Moreover, with the release of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt,
students face another challenge, as it relates to the American-Israeli alliance. The authors contend that that there are no
genuine or compelling motives for America's support for Israel, which they refer to as a "strategic burden."
In addition, they argue that U.S. foreign policy has been hijacked by the pro-Israel camps and works against the interests of
America itself. They even went as far as claiming that one of the results of the American Israel Public Affairs Commiiiee's
work was to start the war in Iraq.
Their narrative recounts every colorful report of Israeli "cruelty" toward Palestinians as an indisputable fact. But
conveniently, they leave out the rise of Palestinian terrorism before 1967, as well as the 1972 Munich Olympics, Black
September, and countless cases of suicide bombings against Jews and Israelis.
In an attempt to defuse this, the Jewish Policy Center has organized a panel of experts -- including Daniel Pipes, Cliff May
and David Horowitz, and moderated by radio commentator Michael Medved -- to address "The Fight Against Radical Islam
and the New Anti-Semitism on Campus." The event will take place at 7 p.m.Wednesday, Sept. 19, at Temple Beth Hillel/Beth
El in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.
"A FULL-BLOWN CRISIS"
When asked about the reason and the importance for holding such an event, Dick Fox, Chairman of the Jewish Policy Center,
stated:
[The Center "has been addressing the problem of radical Islam
and anti-Semitism on campus for several years. Organizationally,
this issue has been a top priority for us. Now, it has become a
full-blown crisis."
The brouhaha over the "Israel lobby" as a Jewish conspiracy controlling America has been challenged; unfortunately, that
has produced even more virulent rhetoric against Israel.
Academia has unconsciously exposed Jews and Israelis as the canaries in the coal mine. If universities are indicators of social
trends, then anti-Semitism is becoming more acceptable in the guise of anti-Zionism. The thesis of Israel-bashers is basically
that only Jews are unworthy of having a sovereign state.
These attitudes are pervasive on university campuses and are protected by what's called "academic freedom." But, if we are to
become better advocates for Israel, then we deserve to hear a balanced representation of Israel and the Middle East in our
educational institutions.
We can start by seeking out those voices that, until Sept. 11, 2001, had been predominantely marginalized by the academy.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Education & America's Schools
Jews & Anti-Semitism
Europe, Europeans, & Anti-Semitism
Israel & the Arabs -- The Israeli-Arab Conflict
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
Islamism & Jihadism -- Radical Islam & Islamic Terrorism
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
International Politics & World Disorder:
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Asaf Romirowsky is an associate fellow at the Middle East Forum and the Manager of Israel & Middle East Affairs for the
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.
The foregoing article by Asaf Romirowsky was originally published in the Jewish Exponent, September 13, 2007,
and can be found on the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum,
a think tank which seeks to define and
promote American interests in the Middle East, defining U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam, working for
Palestinian Arab acceptance of the State of Israel, improving the management of U.S. efforts to promote constitutional
democracy in the Middle East, reducing America's energy dependence on the Middle East, more robustly asserting U.S.
interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia, and countering the Iranian threat.
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
September 16, 2007
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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