Challenging the Right, Advancing Social Justice
CONSTRUCTING CAMPUS CONFLICT Antisemitism and Islamophobia
on U.S. College Campuses, 2014 MAY 2007–2011
Senior Editor Chip Berlet Managing Editor Debra Cash Associate Editor Maria Planansky Political Research Associates (PRA) is a social justice think tank devoted to supporting movements that are building a more just and inclusive democratic society. We expose movements, institutions, and ideologies that undermine human rights.
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CONSTRUCTING CAMPUS CONFLICT Antisemitism and Islamophobia on U.S. College Campuses, 2007–2011
Senior Editor Chip Berlet Managing Editor Debra Cash Associate Editor Maria Planansky INTRODUCTION
ON CAMPUSES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, there are Jewish and Muslim students who experience bigotry. At times they feel intimidated and do not express their actual political, religious, or philosophical views in the classroom. In some cases, they do not feel safe when crossing the campus commons. At the same time, these are not the daily experi- they places where physical threats are commonplace. How can we explain these apparently contradictory realities? That was the challenge behind this study. Politi- cal Research Associates believes both antisemitism and Islamophobia as phenomena exist on campuses, and in this Antisemitism and Islamophobia on college campuses are manifested in a complex set of interactions among a - the Middle East. Campuses, of all places, should be environments that invite open dialogue. Nonetheless, at times debates about the Middle East escalate into confrontations laced with Islamophobic or antisemitic statements. These confrontations sometimes boil over from rhetorical debates to physical confrontations. News accounts can bigotry in these situations. We have attempted to trace many of the historical tendencies that have converged on - have turned to a number of scholars for their perspectives on the broader meaning of these debates and on the ways has played out in campus life, with often distressing results. PRA had researchers conduct face-to-face, telephonic, and e-mail interviews with students, faculty, adminis- - als, not composites. Even a cursory glance at this report, however, reveals it to be a composite in the sense that it is a montage. We highlight a range of voices and opinions. This is intentional. - sentence or sentiment and claim it represents (and therefore discredits) the entire report. That would be unfortu- -
CONSTRUCTING CAMPUS CONFLICT, 2007-2011 <<< PAGE 4 >>> WWW.POLITICALRESEARCH.ORG Rashomon - - appear that two or more unrelated incidents had occurred. administrators feel about it. In an arena of intense ideological, political, religious, and philosophical struggle we of- further research. This study argues that antisemitism and Islamophobia can and should be challenged on college a way that, in the long run, will ameliorate aggression, intimidation, and assaults on campus—which are never ap-
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CONSTRUCTING CAMPUS CONFLICT, 2007-2011 <<< PAGE 5 >>> WWW.POLITICALRESEARCH.ORG CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...... 4
SETTING THE SCENE ...... 8 Exploring Antisemitism ...... 11 Exploring Islamophobia ...... 29 How Islamophobia and Antisemitism Interact on Campus ...... 37 Paths Forward ...... 41
PROFILES AND PORTRAITS ...... 42 Campus Pro!les University of California at Berkeley ...... 43 Boston College ...... 51 Brandeis University ...... 53 Columbia University ...... 57 University of California at Irvine ...... 61 McGill University ...... 64 Temple University and George Mason University ...... 66 University of Massachusetts at Amherst ...... 70 University of Miami ...... 73 University of New Mexico ...... 75 University of Oregon ...... 79 Wayne State University...... 82 Pro!les of Key Organizations Anti-Defamation League ...... 86 American Jewish Committee ...... 87 Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) ...... 88 College Republicans ...... 89 Hillel Foundation for Jewish Campus Life ...... 90 Islamic Society of North America ...... 92 Muslim Student Association (MSA) ...... 93 Young America’s Foundation ...... 93
CONSTRUCTING CAMPUS CONFLICT, 2007-2011 <<< PAGE 6 >>> WWW.POLITICALRESEARCH.ORG Pro!les of Individuals Je"rey Blankfort ...... 95 Alan Dershowitz ...... 96 Norman Finkelstein...... 97 David Horowitz ...... 99 Amir Abdul Malik Ali ...... 100 Daniel Pipes ...... 101 Alison Weir: If Americans Knew ...... 103
Interviews with Leaders in Challenging Campus Bias Talking to Student Leaders Joel Pratt, Hillel President, University of Colorado at Boulder ...... 105 Mohammad Azimi, MSA President, University of Colorado at Boulder ...... 106 Faith on Campus: Bridge Builders Eboo Patel ...... 107 Charles Cohen...... 108 April Rosenblum ...... 112 Mohammad Ja`far Mahallati ...... 114
THE CAMPUS DILEMMA ...... 117 The Middle East as Flashpoint ...... 117 The Distortions Of The Media Lens ...... 117 Is There A Role For The U.S. Government? ...... 118 Timeline: The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights ...... 119
RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 123
ENDNOTES ...... 125 SETTING THE SCENE
There is no hierarchy of oppressions. however, shaped by life experiences, family traditions, peer —Audre Lorde interaction, education, and media expression that lead to ac- tions that should not be acceptable anywhere in civil society, including on campuses. By ChiP Berlet WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THE TERMS - HISTORICAL CONTEXT & BACKGROUND Without a struggle, there can be no progress. Islamophobia and antisemitism, each in its way, are —Frederick Douglass imprecise terms we could well do without but it is doubtful whether they can be removed from our politi- cal lexicon.1 are constructed on college campuses by some students we and historical dynamics. As Pam Chamberlain observed in in 2006. We use these terms as shorthand for more compli- her study of campus political activism for the Ford Founda- cated realities. In an overarching sense, we are referring to University campuses have long been the site of a range of ideological battles in this country and elsewhere. Because colleges are touted as the training locale for - tomorrow’s leaders and the central venue for academic tions of these beliefs. Antisemitism and Islamophobia can and should be debates on political issues. Colleges also have been the challenged on college campuses; if done carefully and con- focal point for issues related to what and how cur- ricular material is taught, and how students’ lives are Destructive and sometimes deadly forms of ethnocentrism regulated by their schools.6 and religious bigotry are not limited in history to Muslims or Jews, and we can learn much by studying the patterns and Campuses also have long been centers of antiwar activism 2 is the title of the classic 1954 study by Gordon Allport. war being debated. University classrooms and campuses be- come a place where debates over U.S. military actions in the pointed out in 1991, “Forty years of social psychological research have not provided strong support for Allport’s Israel and the Palestinians intersect. Some critics of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East explanation of the substantial long–term movement in the 3 Allport was a pessi- analysis. A number of critics of U.S. foreign policy accurately point out that a high level of Islamophobia in the United - States is enlisted to reinforce interventionist militarism and nium approached there was clear social science evidence that support for right–wing Israeli government policies. 4 Some of these critics of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle reduced. policy in the Middle East can be explained in monocausal by appropriate constructive practices, at least in some soci- etal settings. is clearly not the intent. Conspiracists may attribute military acts of discrimination, aggression, or violence. Sometimes people discriminate primarily as a reaction to peer pressure even if they consciously or unconsciously are troubled by 5 the scenes, pulling the strings. At the same time, some supporters of U.S. foreign policy whereas discrimination is an act. It is easier to change the - way people act than to change their beliefs. It is beliefs, lamophobic tropes. In some cases, they use incidents of anti-
CONSTRUCTING CAMPUS CONFLICT, 2007-2011 <<< PAGE 8 >>> WWW.POLITICALRESEARCH.ORG TOOLS OF FEAR - today’s U.S. college campuses, as this report will describe. - - tic aggression.12 ism or Jews on campus is Muslim or Arab. Not everyone who denounces Islam or Muslims on campus is Jewish. Not every- DUALISM one who denounces Israel or Israelis on campus is Muslim Dualism is a concept that divides the world into the forces or Arab. Not everyone who denounces Palestine or Palestin- ians on campus is Jewish. Nothing in this report should be Manichaeism, was broadly practiced between the third and construed to suggest otherwise. seventh centuries, and incorporated into many features of This report will include information about how the vari- tracing the way in which students obtain and consider in- formation obtained from a wide variety of media sources as well as conversations with friends, family, fellow students, professors, and more. 13 Richard Hofstadter noted that the SOCIAL SCIENCE INSIGHTS “fundamentalist mind…is essentially The tools of fear are 14 The United States has According to sociologists Doug McAdam - and David Snow, a social movement is the techniques found in tive fundamentalist Christian conser- frames and narratives vatives.15 a collectivity acting with some de- used to create a loathed gree of organization and continuity and/or feared “Other.” DEMONIZATION outside of institutional channels for the purpose of promoting or resist- is the process through which a group ing change in the group, society, or 7 of people target other individuals or world order of which it is a part. 16 groups as the embodiment of evil. 17 movements are psychologically dysfunctional or irratio- Typically, proponents claim that the target is plotting against nal. Sociologists see movement activists as people with appeals. Demagoguery has been used historically both by populists to denounce corrupt elites,18 and by government opportunities, develop their own cultures, and create 19 frames, narrative storylines, and slogans in ways that are In both instances, its 8 use is based on fears of conspiracies by real and imaginary both strategic and instrumental. 20 subversive elements. Demogogues are seen as charismatic movement leaders; otherwise, their performance is inter- 21 [For more on the character of demoniza- enclosed in a picture frame. Typically, framing is a process whereby movement leaders illustrate grievances and power for antisemitism later in this report.] struggles in terms that are accessible and highly resonant in multiple target audiences.9 SCAPEGOATING entire movement.10 expulsion of evil is a familiar theme across centuries and cul- 22 tures. in this report include Dualism and Apocalypticism. within a movement culture. Narratives have a plot, heroes On the Day of Atonement a live goat was chosen by and villains, and an instructive text or subtext that demon- lot. The high priest, robed in linen garments, laid both strates which ideas and actions are valued and which are his hands on the goat’s head, and confessed over it condemned. For a political or social movement, the shared the iniquities of the children of Israel. The sins of the understanding created by such narratives helps bind its people thus symbolically transferred to the beast, it was members together and is also attractive to potential move- taken out into the wilderness and let go. The people felt ment recruits. Narratives can support or challenge the purged, and for the time being, guiltless.23 privilege.11 The word scapegoat has evolved to mean a person or
CONSTRUCTING CAMPUS CONFLICT, 2007-2011 <<< PAGE 9 >>> WWW.POLITICALRESEARCH.ORG group wrongfully blamed for some problem, especially for 32 An apoca- some cases urge forms of apocalyptic aggression against the 24 scapegoated enemy. While apocalypticism and apocalyptic People redirect frustrated aggression or guilt over their own 33 misconduct onto the scapegoat.25 But scapegoating does not 34 within a family, as it does at a societal level where, in Susan M. Fisher’s words, “the scapegoated group serves more as a CONSPIRACISM 26 movements indicate mass mental dysfunction. circumstances, can move easily from the margins to the Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close For mainstream, as has happened repeatedly in the United Comfort, Matthew N. Lyons and I use the term scapegoating States.35 Historian Robert Alan Goldberg traces the concept to describe the societal form as the social process whereby the hostility and grievances scenario.36 Conspiracism is a particular narrative form of of an angry, frustrated group are directed away from the real causes of a social problem onto a target group a vast insidious plot against the common good, while it demonized as malevolent wrongdoers. The scapegoat 37 bears the blame, while the scapegoaters feel a sense of righteousness and increased unity. The social problem governance, and power, argues that persons who embrace may be real or imaginary, the grievances legitimate or conspiracy theories are trying to understand how power illegitimate, and members of the targeted group may is exercised in a society that they feel they have no control be wholly innocent or partly culpable. What matters is over. Often they have real grievances with the society, that the scapegoats are wrongfully stereotyped as all 38 sharing the same negative trait, or are singled out for defend unfair power and privilege. Conspiracism evolves 27 as a worldview from roots in dualistic forms of apocalypti- popular discourse as well as in various subcultures in the Scapegoating often targets socially disempowered or United States throughout its history.39 marginalized groups. At the same time, the scapegoat is often portrayed as powerful or privileged. In this way, SUBVERSION PANICS AND scapegoating feeds on people’s anger about their own COUNTERSUBVERSION MOVEMENTS disempowerment, but diverts this anger away from the Fear of subversion by sinister conspirators is woven into real systems of power and oppression. A certain level of many contemporary narratives about threats to the United scapegoating is endemic in most societies, but it more States posed by Jews or Muslims. According to the civil liber- readily becomes an important political force in times of social competition or upheaval. At such times, espe- The American obsession with subversive conspiracies of all kinds is deeply rooted in our history. Especially mass support and activism during a struggle for power. in times of stress, exaggerated febrile explanations of Rene Girard has examined scapegoating from a theopo- unwelcome reality come to the surface of American life and attract support. These recurrent counter- 28 subversive movements illuminate a striking contrast between our claims to superiority, indeed our mis- APOCALYPTIC AGGRESSION sion as a redeemer nation to bring a new world order, Apocalypticism involves the sense of expectation by individ- and the extraordinary fragility of our confidence in uals or groups that dramatic events are about to unfold dur- our institutions.40 change the world forever and reveal hidden truths.29 In this In the contemporary United States, certain instances of an- context, we are examining apocalypticism in the sociological tisemitism and Islamophobia are driven by apocalyptic ex- sense where it serves as a master frame.30 pectations and related conspiracy theories shared within 41 Members of apocalyptic movements believe that time global religious subcultures. This is better documented and accepted by scholars of antisemitism than scholars of Islamophobia. Some of this baggage accompanies students apocalyptic movements built around a theme involving a involved in campus confrontations in the United States. one-thousand-year span (or some other lengthy period).31 Robert J. Lifton observes that “historically the apocalyptic
CONSTRUCTING CAMPUS CONFLICT, 2007-2011 <<< PAGE 10 >>> WWW.POLITICALRESEARCH.ORG - EXPLORING ANTISEMITISM By ChiP Berlet FALSE AND DEROGATORY ALLEGATIONS a lengthy and sordid history.42 Historic tropes include antise- In both cases, mass social or political movements were mitic language, imagery, and ideas about Jews as an evil and built in certain historic moments that targeted Jews as scape- monstrous chimeric threat. Our research indicates that some goats and resulted in assault, expulsion, murder, and mass 48 murder. These acts were often prompted by fraudulent con- 49 outrageous claims that derive from historic antisemitic and apocalyptic aggression. - 50 supremacists and the forged hoax document, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.43 This study shares an important interview discussion of how both unwitting and deliberately provoca- 44 WHEN IS IT ANTISEMITIC? tive antisemitic language is deployed. - political struggles from a variety of on–campus and external - sources. What follows is a list of statements about the rela- tion between Jews and the State of Israel and the implications that are clearly antisemitic, that is, based in perceptions of of that relationship for American and international policy race, religion, and culture; those that blur the line between that, in their full form, have been labeled as antisemitic by some individuals and groups.57 We begin with each state- negative expressions of opinion about Israeli state policy and - on to discuss the context in which these statements origi- tions is a central aspect of this PRA report in the belief that nated. Only by exploring the complexity of these issues can increased clarity about these issues will support the develop- we ascertain where, exactly, comments critical of Israeli poli- cies cross the line into antisemitism. Understanding these expressions and attitudes is critical to evaluating the issue of antisemitism on campus. WHAT IS ANTISEMITISM? - 58 Israel’s settlements in the occupied territories have, for over forty years, been an obstacle to peace. They have drained Israel’s economy, military, and democracy and eroded the 59 Semitic speech or acts.