[Peace-discuss] An Israeli Perspective on U.S. College Campuses

[David Green]

Tour of U.S. Schools Reveals Why Zionism Is Flunking
on Campus
> >
> >
> >
> > By Natan Sharansky
> > Forward Magazine
> > October 24, 2003
> >
> >
> >
> > When I got to Rutgers University in New Jersey
last month, I almost forgot I was on a college campus.
The atmosphere was far from the cool, button-down
academic reserve typical of such institutions. It was
more reminiscent of a battlefield.
> >
> > My arrival was greeted by a noisy demonstration of
Palestinian and Jewish students holding signs reading
"Racist Israel" and "War Criminals," together
with black-coated Neturei Karta members calling for
the destruction of the blasphemous Zionist entity.
Faculty members, predictably led by a former
> Israeli
> > professor, had sent out e-mails protesting the
granting of a platform to
a
> > representative of the "Nazi, war-criminal" state.
Of course, there was
the
> > famous pie incident in which a member of a campus
Jewish anti-occupation
> group
> > made his way past my security guards and plastered
me in the face with a
> cream
> > pie while shouting "End the Occupation."
> >
> > Opposed to them were hundreds of no less rowdy
Jewish students, full of
> > motivation to defend Israel and give the
protesters back as good as they
> got.
> > After the pie incident, when I returned to the
hall and mounted the
stage,
> the
> > atmosphere was so electric, so full of adrenalin,
that the Palestinians
> and
> > their supporters who had come to disrupt the event
had no choice but to
> abandon
> > their plans for provocation.
> >
> > Things were not much calmer at Boston University:
An anonymous bomb
threat
> > brought swarms of police to the lecture hall and
almost forced a
> cancellation of
> > my appearance. But here, too, some good resulted
when the bomb threat
> caused the
> > lecture to be moved to a larger hall, which was
quickly filled with some
> 600
> > listeners who were unwilling to accept the violent
silencing of
pro-Israel
> > views.
> >
> > These moments - the pie throwing, the bomb threat,
the demonstration -
as
> > raucous, threatening and contentious as they were,
are among the more
> pleasant
> > memories from my 13-campus tour of the United
States. Perhaps it is
> because at
> > these moments I felt that there was some point to
my trip, perhaps
because
> the
> > violent hostility had stirred the students and
motivated them to want to
> fight
> > and win - which I, of course, was delighted to
see.
> >
> > There were other moments during my tour, difficult
moments when I felt
> fear,
> > sadness and worry. During a frank and friendly
conversation with a group
> of
> > Jewish students at Harvard University, one student
admitted to me that
she
> was
> > afraid - afraid to express support for Israel,
afraid to take part in
> pro-Israel
> > organizations, afraid to be identified. The mood
on campus had turned so
> > anti-Israel that she was afraid that her open
identification could cost
> her,
> > damaging her grades and her academic future. That
her professors, who
> control
> > her final grades, were likely to view such
activism unkindly, and that
the
> risk
> > was too great.
> >
> > Having grown up in the communist Soviet Union, I
am very familiar with
> this fear
> > to express one's opinions, with the need to hold
the "correct opinions"
in
> order
> > to get ahead, with the reality that expressing
support for Israel is a
> blot on
> > one's resume. But to find all these things at
Harvard Business School?
In
> a
> > place that was supposed to be open, liberal,
professional? At first I
> thought
> > this must be an individual case, particular to
this student. I thought
her
> fears
> > were exaggerated. But my conversations with other
students at various
> > universities made it clear that her feelings are
widespread, that the
> situation
> > on campuses in the United States and Canada is
more serious than we
think.
> And
> > this is truly frightening.
> >
> > To most Israelis, what happens on the world's
campuses hardly seems a
> > life-and-death concern. The world is against us in
any case. And as for
> Jewish
> > students, why should we care? They've got
troubles? Let them move to
> Israel. In
> > my own view, however, this is a fateful issue for
the State of Israel
and
> the
> > Jewish people.
> >
> > Israel has few strategic assets as critical as
American Jewry. The fact
> that the
> > world's leading superpower is a steadfast ally of
Israel is due in large
> measure
> > to this proud and activist community. But nobody
can guarantee that the
> current
> > state of affairs will continue indefinitely. I
have been in close
contact
> with
> > the American Jewish community for more than 30
years, and its leadership
> is
> > largely unchanged. I entered a Russian prison, I
got out, I moved to
> Israel, I
> > became a Cabinet minister and the people I work
with are mostly the same
> people.
> > The leadership is getting old, and the younger
generation is not
stepping
> > forward.
> >
> > The continuing support of American Jewry depends
on this younger
> generation. If
> > it chooses to affiliate actively with the Jewish
people, if it supports
> Israel
> > and acts on its behalf, then we will continue to
have a strong backbone
of
> > support in a world that is turning more and more
hostile. But if this
> younger
> > generation were to disappear - whether through
assimilation or an
> unwillingness
> > to be identified - Israel would find within a very
few years that it
faces
> an
> > entirely different United States.
> >
> > This younger generation is growing up on the
university campus. That is
> where
> > the core of future administrations is taking
shape. The students I met
at
> > Princeton, Columbia and Harvard will be the
decision-makers of the
coming
> > decades. Will they be as pro-Israel as today's
decision-makers? Will
they
> stand
> > up fearlessly for Israel? Given the level of
anti-Israel sentiment on
> today's
> > campuses, where being "in" means being hostile or
at least apathetic
> toward
> > Israel, I have grave doubts.
> >
> > The transformation of campuses into hothouses of
anti-Israel opinion did
> not
> > happen by itself, nor did it occur overnight. In
the 1960s, 1970s and
> 1980s, the
> > mood on campus was completely different. Jewish
students then were at
the
> center
> > of student activism, leading movements for human
rights, including the
> Soviet
> > Jewry freedom movement. Demonstrations, hunger
strikes, mass rallies -
all
> this
> > combined to form a massive army that was largely
made up, as the Soviet
> secret
> > police used to put it sneeringly, of "students and
housewives." These
> struggles
> > were an inseparable part of the Jewish identities
of those young people.
> They
> > were certain of themselves, certain of the justice
of their cause and
> certain
> > that they were on the side of the angels. The goal
was clear, the enemy
> was
> > defined and their pride in themselves, their
Jewishness and Israel was
> > boundless.
> >
> > When I sat for Sabbath dinner with 300 Jewish
students at Columbia
> University in
> > New York - together with Glenn Richter, who in
1964 at the university
> launched
> > the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry - and I told
them about those
days,
> the
> > events seemed to them all but unimaginable. Today,
when Jewish activity
on
> > campus is directed almost entirely inward, when
Jewish student
> organizations
> > feel like walled fortresses in enemy territory,
when pro-Israel students
> hardly
> > dream of taking leadership positions in campus
struggles for human
rights,
> those
> > days seem like a distant dream.
> >
> > Years of massive investments of money and effort
by Arab states and the
> > Palestinians have changed the picture. One after
the other, departments
of
> > Middle Eastern studies have been set up on
university campuses, with
> generous
> > Saudi funding - departments that worked to
establish pseudo-scientific
> theories,
> > presenting Israel as the last colonial state, a
state whose very
existence
> is
> > immoral regardless of borders, a state that should
not exist. Differing
> views
> > are as a matter of course not tolerated. When
Jewish community leaders
> decided
> > in the last few years to begin investing funds to
create chairs in
Israel
> > studies, they discovered there is no one to teach
them. There are no
> experts, no
> > writers. The field has been abandoned.
> >
> > Not only in the intellectual arena have we
abandoned the field. In the
> public
> > relations field, too, the Palestinians have
learned, unlike the
Israelis,
> to
> > appreciate the importance of the university as the
shaper of the next
> > generation, and to concentrate their efforts
there. Articulate,
effective
> > speakers have been dispatched to campuses to
mobilize the idealistic
> students
> > for their own political interests.
> >
> > They have been sent to explain that despite the
fact that in the Arab
> nations,
> > as in the autonomous areas of the Palestinian
Authority, there are no
> rights for
> > women, minorities, gays or nearly anyone else,
that despite all this
they
> are
> > the true bearers of the banner of human rights;
that all true seekers of
> justice
> > should act on their behalf, and against Israel's.
> >
> > The absurdity cries out to the heavens, but no one
seems to notice. The
> banner
> > of human rights, once identified to a great degree
with Jews, has become
a
> > weapon against them. Liberal and democratic
discourse on human rights
> serves
> > mainly as a vehicle for attacks against Israel,
and increasingly against
> Jews.
> >
> > In the last three years the process has greatly
intensified. Students,
> young,
> > idealistic and naturally tending to see the world
in black and white,
have
> been
> > greatly influenced by daily media reports about
"human rights
violations"
> > carried out by Israel, by pictures of Palestinian
children, by
unbalanced
> > reportage. Lacking a serious "other side," lacking
any real information
> about
> > the roots of the conflict, lacking any serious
Israeli public relations
> effort,
> > the campuses have become more and more hostile.
> >
> > When I assumed my current position as minister for
Jerusalem and
Diaspora
> > affairs, it was clear to me that this issue of
campuses as centers of
> > anti-Israelism and their influence on the young
Jews of the world must
be
> at the
> > center of my agenda. It is a matter of critical
importance for the State
> of
> > Israel and the Jewish people. And so I decided to
travel, to learn the
> facts
> > first-hand and to try to begin a process of
change.
> >
> > Before I left Israel my daughter said to me, "Dad,
if they throw eggs at
> you,
> > duck." My other daughter countered: "Why duck?
Catch them and throw them
> back."
> > You may laugh, but that is how I felt. After
ducking for so long, while
> Israel
> > was under constant attack for supposedly being a
"war criminal," a "Nazi
> state"
> > and the "embodiment of evil," I felt the time had
come to throw back a
few
> eggs.
> > Especially on campuses, especially on the topic of
human rights. Not to
> > apologize, but to try to show the true picture -
who is the only
democracy
> in
> > the Middle East and who are the dictatorships,
where are human rights
> honored
> > and where are they trampled.
> >
> > I wanted to show that even during a cruel war
against terrorism, Israel
> was
> > showing great sensitivity to human rights -
certainly in comparison to
> other
> > democracies at war: the United States in
Afghanistan, NATO in
Yugoslavia,
> Russia
> > in Chechnya. I talked about the battle of Jenin,
when we decided not to
> use
> > airplanes that could hurt the Palestinian civilian
population, and
instead
> sent
> > our soldiers hunting house to house for weapons
and terrorists.
> >
> > I wanted, as someone who had spent a considerable
part of his life
> struggling
> > for human rights, to bring the human rights
struggle back to its proper
> context.
> > To return it to its true owners. To explain that
support for terrorists
> and
> > dictators like Yasser Arafat and his gang cannot
be considered support
for
> human
> > rights.
> >
> > For six days I traveled across the United States.
I did not meet with
> > administration officials or do any politicking.
Just campuses. Meeting
> students,
> > instructors, Jewish and non-Jewish activists. A
marathon of 13 campuses
in
> six
> > days. I discovered an enormous thirst for
knowledge, for straight
answers
> about
> > these supposed "human rights violations" and "war
crimes." I learned
that
> > combining human rights, a popular, burning issue
among students, and
> Israel, a
> > very unpopular issue, works to Israel's advantage,
because even the most
> > pro-Palestinian students, including Arab students,
had to back down when
> the
> > discussion centered squarely and honestly on human
rights and democracy.
> >
> > But I also learned that every such victory was a
limited one, like
> capturing a
> > single hill in enemy territory. The overall
picture is deeply worrying.
On
> every
> > campus I visited, Jewish students make up between
10% and 20% of the
> population,
> > but no more than a tenth of them, by my estimate,
take part in Jewish or
> > pro-Israel activity. Another tiny but outspoken
fraction serves as the
> spearhead
> > of anti-Israel activity, for there is no better
cover for hiding the
> racist
> > nature of causes like an anti-Israel boycott than
a Jewish professor or
> student
> > eager to prove that he is holier than the pope.
And the rest? The rest
are
> > simply silent. They are not identified, not
active, not risk-takers.
> Nearly 90%
> > of our students are Jews of silence.
> >
> > To the credit of the activists, it must be said
that they do impressive
> work.
> > But they are few, and many are tired and
discouraged. One student who
was
> active
> > in pro-Israel organizations told us that at a
certain point he could no
> longer
> > stand the peer pressure of those around him who
viewed him as a
pro-Israel
> > obsessive. He now pours his idealistic energies
into an organic farm he
> started.
> > Now that he is involved in environmental activism
everyone is happy with
> him.
> > Having myself grown up in a place where those
around me barely tolerated
> my
> > Jewish involvements, I know that this sort of peer
pressure will drive
> most
> > people to flee, just as we - most of us - in
Russia tried to run away
from
> our
> > Jewishness to the ivory towers of science or the
arts. We thought that
> > scientific excellence would save us from the mark
of Cain on our
> foreheads.
> >
> > Can the trends be reversed? Can we recapture the
campus? I believe we
can.
> But
> > it will require a concentrated effort and a
genuine change of
> consciousness and
> > direction in Israel's informational efforts. We in
Israel and in Jewish
> > communities around the world must combine our
efforts and work together.
> In the
> > United States things have begun to stir, and
various organizations are
> active on
> > campus. Now it is time for Israel to do its share.
> >
> >
> > This article first appeared in Ma'ariv and is
reprinted with permission.
> > Translated by J.J. Goldberg.
> >
> > * Find this article at:
> >
http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.10.24/oped1.html


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