Antisemitism and the Radical Anti-Israel Movement on U.S. Campuses, 2019
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Antisemitism and the Radical Anti-Israel Movement on U.S. Campuses, 2019 Sections 1 Executive Summary 6 Funding for Anti-Israel Student Groups 2 Introduction 7 Conclusion 3 The Radical Anti-Israel Movement on US 8 Policy and Action Recommendations Campuses 9 Endnotes 4 Antisemitic Themes 10 Donor Acknowledgment 5 Condoning Terrorism 1 / 54 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In recent years, criticism of Israel has become endemic on college campuses across the U.S. While it is very likely that most of that criticism is a legitimate form of political discourse, some of the more radical expressions of anti-Israel sentiment can create an environment in which Jewish students, many of whom say they have a personal or religious connection with Israel, may feel besieged or threatened. Radical expressions of anti- Israel sentiment may include Israeli flags being removed from their displays, calls by student activists to boycott all pro-Israel groups on campus, the heckling of pro-Israel speakers and calling Israel a settler-colonial state. Radical anti-Israel activism on campus is driven primarily by Students for Justice in Palestine, a network of pro-Palestinian student groups across the U.S. that disseminate frequently inflammatory anti-Israel propaganda. These groups sometimes ally with campus chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace, a radical anti-Israel activist group, whose Jewish origins and membership help shield its activism and rhetoric from charges of antisemitism. Radical anti-Israel rhetoric and activities on campus often emerged from Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaigns against Israel; the implementation of annual Israeli Apartheid Week programs; the convening of conferences and lectures featuring all or almost all pro-BDS speakers; and events featuring Israeli or pro-Israel speakers, to which activists sometimes responded with heckling. Such activities can undermine efforts to normalize relations between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian movements and can contribute to broader efforts to delegitimize Israel as a sovereign state. Anti-Israel rhetoric on campus can become antisemitic when it demonizes Zionism, thereby implicitly demonizing many American Jews. Throughout 2019, claims that Zionists are racists or white supremacists were expressed by radical anti-Israel activists in a variety of forums, including anti-Israel exhibits, social media and official student newspapers. 2 / 54 Antisemitism can also manifest in the radical anti-Israel movement when Zionist or pro-Israel students are targeted or excluded from elements of campus life. Such targeting, which took place on a number of campuses in 2019, inevitably results in discrimination and disenfranchisement directed at significant numbers of Jewish students. Some radical anti-Israel groups expressed support for terrorism against Israelis in 2019. Sometimes this support took the form of promoting the terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, applauding convicted terrorists Leila Khaled and Rasmea Odeh, condoning violent tactics of the terrorist group Hamas, or honoring Palestinians who were killed in clashes with Israel despite the fact that many of them were members of terrorist groups. Funding for radical anti-Israel groups came from a number of prominent charitable foundations. Most notable is the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), an ostensibly mainstream charity but one that knowingly provides significant funding and symbolic support to Jewish Voice for Peace, a radical anti-Zionist organization. RBF also donates to the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, the Institute for Middle East Understanding and Grassroots Jerusalem, all of which have engaged in radical anti-Zionist rhetoric. Another notable funder is the Westchester Peace Action Committee (WESPAC), which provides significant funding to Students for Justice in Palestine. WESPAC’s own website includes antisemitic content. SJP is also funded by American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), some of whose members have a history of making antisemitic remarks. INTRODUCTION In recent years, criticism of Israel has become endemic on college campuses across the US. This trend continued in 2019. While most anti-Israel activism ostensibly took the form of legitimate political expression, a significant segment contributed to an atmosphere in which Jewish students felt under attack – and 3 / 54 from which antisemitism often emerged. At a time when antisemitic incidents have increased across the country, including acts of harassment, violence and murder, campus antisemitism has a demonstrable impact on the morale of Jewish students and campus communities. It has contributed to the sense of siege felt by many Jewish college students. Colleges nevertheless overwhelmingly remain safe places for Jewish students, and panic around this issue is unhelpful. The anti-Israel organization that engaged in antisemitic activity most frequently, by far, was Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). With its singular focus on the Arab-Israel conflict, SJP is the most visible anti-Israel group on campus in the U.S. According to SJP’s website, it includes approximately 200 chapters nationwide. 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This ThisThisThis contributescontributescontributescontributes t tttoooo th thththeeee m mmmoooovvvvemememementententent t tttoooo delegitimiz delegitimizdelegitimizdelegitimizeeee Israel IsraelIsraelIsrael as asasas a aaa so sososovvvverererereigneigneigneign state. state.state.state. While the state of Israel can and should be criticized like any other country, the demonization of Zionism and the isolation of anyone who supports or feels affinity with it frequently feels like an attack on Jewish students, a sizeable percentage of whom, like the majority of all American Jews, view a relationship with Israel[1] to be an important part of their religious, cultural or social identities. [2] It also undermines efforts to normalize relations between diverse groups of students with differing political views. Another inflammatory and antisemitic phenomenon involved student activists calling for discrimination against Zionist or pro-Israel students or the expulsion of Zionists or pro-Israel students from campus, which has a disproportionate impact on Jewish students and could result in the exclusion of large numbers of Jews 4 / 54 from campus activities. Despite SJP[3] officially stating its opposition to antisemitism on its website, members of the group frequently engaged in the aforementioned activities. At times, radical anti-Israel activists on campus expressed support for terrorism targeting Israelis, which includes many American Jewish students’ family members. In some cases, anti-Israel and anti-Zionist rhetoric on campus incorporated classic antisemitic tropes and images. Although anti-Israel activists often insist that this rhetoric targets Israelis, Zionists or supporters of Israel, and not Jews, swapping out the term “Jew” for the term “Zionist” does not absolve anti-Israel activists when they infuse their rhetoric with longstanding antisemitic images of Jews as greedy, controlling, bloodthirsty or hateful towards non-Jews. Indeed, this tactic of interchanging words frequently is used by hate groups that engage in antisemitism, including white supremacists. It’s worth noting that some Zionists are not Jewish; however, Zionism is inherently linked to Jews, and the use of anti-Jewish tropes when expressing critiques of Israel and talking about Zionism is antisemitic. Throughout 2019, there also was a significant tendency among some anti-Israel activists to blame all pro-Israel students for every action taken by the Israeli government. Holding all Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the Jewish state is a classic antisemitic trope. Indeed, many activists knowingly ignore the fact that pro-Israel students have diverse opinions on Israeli politics and actually may hold critical views of Israeli policies. Zionism and/or a connection to Israel is not monolithic. The connection that many Jewish students feel with Israel may include a pride of peoplehood and history, religious heritage, celebrations of