End this moral distortion: Academia has lost its way if Jews are not safe

If we fail to act now, we will find ourselves in a reality where Jews fear openly expressing their identity. Now is the time to act decisively, to set boundaries, and to ensure that this ends here.

By SIVAN KOREN DECEMBER 25, 2024 03:06

Joseph Massad, Columbia University website (photo credit: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY)

In a world where antisemitism transcends borders and disguises itself as critical discourse, academic campuses have become perilous battlegrounds. Jews worldwide, particularly in the Diaspora, face daily encounters with hatred, boycotts, and threats. Academia, which should symbolize openness and respectful dialogue, has in many cases transformed into an arena where hate is legitimized.

The disturbing case at Columbia University serves as a stark warning. A professor who praised Hamas’s brutal attack – which led to the deaths of over 1,200 Israelis – was allowed to teach a course on Zionism. How can someone like this be entrusted with teaching the history of the Jewish people? This decision is not only a moral affront but also evidence of a profound ethical distortion and irresponsibility on the part of the institution’s leadership.

This is not an isolated incident. The latest report from the Anti-Defamation League reveals a sharp rise in anti-Israel and antisemitic activity in academic institutions. Between June 2023 and May 2024, there were 2,087 documented anti-Israel incidents, including 28 physical assaults – a staggering 477% increase compared to the previous year.

Columbia University led the list with 52 incidents, followed by the University of Michigan, Harvard University, UC Berkeley, and UCLA. These events – ranging from vandalism to harassment, protests, and divestment campaigns – highlight the hostile environment Jewish students are forced to endure.

Academic institutions, which should serve as beacons of universal values such as tolerance and equality, have largely failed to enforce policies against antisemitism effectively.

Institutional Silence Cannot Go Unanswered

A pro-Palestinian demonstrator holds a sign that reads ''glory to the martyrs, victory to the resistance'', on the campus of Columbia University, on the one-year anniversary of Hamas' October 7 attack, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, in New York City, US, October 7, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR)

With incidents of vandalism, harassment, and even physical attacks recorded, institutional silence sends a clear message: Not only is there no punishment, but there is also no will to confront this growing issue. This neglect is a betrayal of the institutions’ fundamental duty to protect all students and ensure a safe academic environment.

This reality cannot go unanswered. Those entrusted with fostering safe spaces for all students must recognize that expressions of concern or condemnation are insufficient. Fundamental change is required.

In collaboration with the World Zionist Organization and CAMERA on Campus, we organized the first-of-its-kind conference in Israel, aimed at encouraging academic institutions to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism. This definition, already endorsed by over 1,600 institutions worldwide, provides a clear framework for identifying and combating antisemitism on campuses.

Rather than addressing the harsh reality where professors praise terrorists and support acts of terror, university leaders chose to label efforts to address the issue as a “witch hunt” and “McCarthyism.” Critics even claimed that these measures infringe on fundamental rights, threaten academic freedom, and jeopardize the global standing of higher education institutions.

Let us be unequivocal: Freedom of expression does not equate to freedom to incite hatred, and supporting terror is not an academic right.

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While Jewish and Israeli students feel unsafe on campuses and IDF soldiers – many of whom are students – sacrifice their lives for the state, some choose to defend faculty members who glorify the state’s enemies and challenge its right to exist.

Antisemitism does not dissipate on its own – it spreads and intensifies, turning global discourse into a tool for collective gaslighting. Reports accusing Israel of pogroms and genocide demonstrate how hate not only distorts the narrative but also enables the victims to be blamed.

Israelis land at Ben-Gurion Airport following the antisemitic attacks on Israelis and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam, November 8, 2024. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

For example, recent events in Amsterdam saw Jewish individuals attacked in the streets by lawless mobs – yet instead of condemning the violence, media discourse shifted the blame onto the victims, accusing them of “provoking” the attacks. This is nothing less than an inversion of moral values: The victim becomes the accused, and violence against them is legitimized.

The global discourse is shifting, along with the moral standards meant to protect basic rights. Instead of calling antisemitism what it is – a dangerous force fueling hate and violence – we encounter narratives that cloak this hatred in terms like “human rights” or “legitimate criticism.” This is an open deception, designed to obscure the truth and undermine the Jewish people’s right to live in security.

If we fail to act now, we will find ourselves in a reality where Jews fear openly expressing their identity. Students will hesitate to enter campuses, and academia, instead of being a place of knowledge and inclusion, will become a space where hatred is permitted under the guise of freedom of speech.

We stand against a tide of lies, incitement, and antisemitism. Now is the time to act decisively, to set boundaries, and to ensure that this moral distortion ends here. For an academia where Jews are not safe is an academia that has lost its way.

The writer is chairwoman of the National Union of Israeli Students.