How protests against civilian deaths in a war led to an epidemic of anti-Semitism
Many who have looked closely at the college campus demonstrations in America this spring have identified moral outrage among students regarding the deaths in Gaza as the primary cause of what is going on.
Although the protesting student groups are diverse, the unifying force among them is the death rate in Gaza caused by the Israeli military attacks – and never mind that the attacks were brought on by the government of Gaza, which invaded Israel on October 7, 2023. Also, never mind that the government of Gaza (Hamas) launched the invasion because it wanted Israel to counter-attack, knowing that such an attack would unleash a worldwide pro-Palestinian thunderstorm.
Hence, the college campus demonstrations in the United States – a kind of side event to the war.
The problem is that like every side event connected to every war in history, the campus demonstrations have had unplanned consequences.
One of the most disturbing is that they have become a tool for letting loose an anti-Semitic demon in America and through much of the world.
The fact that this wave of anti-Semitism involves only a portion of the protestors does not make it any less disturbing. Neither is it surprising.
This anti-Semitic demon has existed in the world for millennia, beaten down on occasion, but never far from the surface, always ready to awaken, full of venom and evil. Few brands of hatred have been around as long, have proved so harmful, have been broadcast so widely, have demeaned so many generations of a people, and have resulted in the murder of so many people.
From the Jewish perspective: Many non-Jews are far more likely to take on an issue in the world when Jews can be blamed.
There are several long-term wars going on in the world with civilian fatality tolls far greater than what has been happening in Gaza. But Gaza seems to be the only war that the demonstrators care about.
There are issues in that might seriously affect the lives of college students in America – and their children’s futures – if widespread support cannot be gathered to effect change. The list includes gun control, the right to abortion, and reliance on fossil fuels. Why are the campus demonstrators virtually silent on these issues while rallying so aggressively in defense of Palestinians in Gaza? Perhaps, for some of them, it has something to do with being able to blame Jews?
An argument can be made that it always has been this way. Considering only the twentieth century, Jews have been targeted because they are believed by non-Jews to control _____________. Fill in the blank: Banking. Media. Hollywood. Science. Retailing. Higher education. The liberal agenda – whatever that may be at the moment.
And so, it was no surprise that the campus demonstrations prompted by a moral outrage soon manifested as anti-Semitic actions:
At Northwestern University in Chicago, protesters made signs reading “We don’t want no Zionists here.”
At the University of Chicago, they carried posters: “Globalize the Intifada,” a reference to the Second Intifada in Israel, a reign of Palestinian suicide bombings from 2000 to 2005 in which about 1,000 Israelis were killed, mostly civilians. At Columbia University in New York, there was a similar call, a large banner that unfurled down the front of a multi-story building. One word:” Intifada.”
At many universities, protesters chanted “From the river to the sea,” a line that Jews and many others see as calling for Palestinians to forcibly take control of the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, also known as Israel. The Jewish-democratic State of Israel would cease to exist in this scenario.
Also at Columbia, protesters targeted Jewish girls, shouting “Nazi bitches,” and Jews in general with “Go back to Poland,” The Guardian reported. One girl encountered a masked pro-Palestinian protester who came frighteningly close to her as she was walking on campus; he asked forcefully if she was a Zionist. In fear, she stopped wearing her Star of David necklace, the newspaper’s Chris McGreal reported. The necklace is commonly worn by Jews as a badge of pride, just as Christians often wear crosses around their necks. Think about that for a minute: How would America react if Christian women had reason to be afraid to wear their Christian identity necklace?
At UCLA, some Jewish students were denied entry to certain places on campus as protesters demanded to know whether they were Zionists, Salon.com reported.
These are not protests calling for an end to a war and civilian deaths in Gaza. They are protests calling for an end to Jewish existence.
It has happened before.
The tragic voyage of the S.S. St. Louis
Coincidentally, it was 85 years ago next week — May 13 — when the S. S. St. Louis sailed from Hitler’s grasp in Hamburg, Germany for Havana, Cuba, with 937 passengers on board, mostly Jews. They thought they were heading to freedom in the West. Instead, they were charting a course that ultimately would lead to death by Holocaust for almost one in every three of them.
Most of the passengers had applied for visas to the U.S. and planned to stay in Cuba only for a short time until they received their visas.
But hostility against the Jews had arisen in Cuba even before the ship left Hamburg. A spokesman for a former Cuban president urged Cubans to “fight the Jews until the last one is driven out.” An anti-Semitic demonstration in Havana while the St. Louis was en route drew 40,000 attendees with thousands more listening to it on the radio.
Upon arrival, the passengers of the St. Louis learned that the Cuban government had canceled their entry permits. Only the two dozen or so passengers, who had valid entry documents for Cuba, were allowed to disembark. After seven days in the Havana harbor, the St. Louis was forced to leave.
It sailed northward, toward Miami, slowly.
Some of the passengers cabled President Franklin D. Roosevelt seeking refuge. Roosevelt never responded.
The State Department sent one passenger a telegram. Passengers would have to “await their turns on the waiting list and qualify for and obtain immigration visas before they may be admissible into the United States.”
Roosevelt could have issued an executive order admitting the Jews. However, a recent public opinion poll in 1939 had shown that 83 percent of adults in America opposed the relaxation of the restrictive immigration laws enacted in 1924. For whatever reason, Roosevelt was in no mood to challenge public sentiment.
On June 6, 1939, with no remaining options, the St. Louis set sail for its return to Europe with more than 900 Jewish refugees still on board.
Jewish organizations negotiated for the returning Jews to be admitted to countries other than Germany – specifically, Great Britain, Holland, Belgium, and France. Ultimately, 87 of them did end up getting to America and the 288 admitted to Great Britain turned out to be in relatively safe harbor.
Tragically, however, more than 500 of the St. Louis passengers, more than half, were trapped in the clutches of the Holocaust after Germany invaded Western Europe in 1940.
Some survived, but 287 German Jews, who had been close enough to freedom to see the night lights of Miami, were murdered in the Holocaust.
The story of the St. Louis has been adapted from the Holocaust Encyclopedia of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C. If you have not been there, you need to go.
Well said, Arnold. The Holocaust Museum is a must visit for all school groups visiting Washington DC. On their bus trip, required reading should be “Holocaust” by Sir Martin Gilbert ( no relation), an incredibly well-researched work. And, when they tour the museum, they will never, ever forget the most powerful rebuttal to the rantings of any Holocaust “denier”: The Shoes.
the solution is simply stop killing. your problem is people see this as murder, so now, you murder