Ex e c u t i v e S um ma r y

Adapted POLITICS & PROPAGANDA from: IN AMERICAN EDUCATION

the U N CIVIL University

Gary A. Tobin Aryeh K. Weinberg & Jenna Ferer

Institute for Jewish & Community Reseasrch www.JewishResearch.org [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ...... 1

Academic Freedom and the Public Trust ...... 1

Un-Civility: Campus Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism ...... 3

Why Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism Are at Home on Campus ...... 6

Reclaiming the Civil University...... 8

Major Findings ...... 11

Policy Recommendations...... 15

Examples of Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism on Campus ...... 19

Methodology...... 27

Institute for Jewish & Community Research...... 30

Endnotes ...... 31 I N T R O D U C T I O N

Academic Freedom and the Public Tru s t Assigning extralegal status to the seal in Sproul Plaza is as misguided as the oft-cited At the University of California, Berkeley, notion that college campuses themselves are renowned both for its academic rigor as well untouchable spaces that must remain sepa- as for its progressive, if not radical political rate from the communities in which they history, there is a six-foot seal embedded in exist in order to protect their own rights of the pavement of the main walkway, Sproul free speech. Despite whatever desires stu- Plaza, the staging ground of legendary stu- dents and faculty may have to live within an dent protests in the 1960s and 1970s. At the imaginary seal of immunity from which they center of the seal is a six-inch ring of dirt, may disregard the rules of the outside world, around which lies the inscription, “This soil college campuses operate—or at least they and the air space extending above it shall not should—by a well-defined code that allows be a part of any nation and shall not be sub- for a greater level of freedom than in the non- ject to any entity's jurisdiction.” While many academic world and simultaneously requires wanted the seal to be a monument to the Free a higher level of accountability in exchange Speech Movement, which began on the for that freedom. When students and faculty Berkeley campus in 1964, the university dis- invoke the First Amendment to protect their avowed that connection. Nonetheless, cam- right to express unpopular ideas, they are pus folklore alleges that this spot is uniquely mistakenly conflating free speech with aca- protected and that anyone standing on the demic freedom. Free speech and academic seal may claim immunity from arrest or pros- freedom are not the same. Free speech is ecution. essential for academic freedom, but it is only one component. Overemphasis on free speech Despite the myth surrounding the seal and its hints at a trivial aspiration: the desire to ring of soil, it is not—it cannot be—an protest for the sake of protest, to remain on absolute sanctuary for those who wish to the outside purely for the status such a posi- abuse the right of free speech, because no tion confers. such place exists, not even on the grounds of the University of California, Berkeley. Both Academic freedom is part of a system unique the rules of the larger society and the social to the university. It allows for the unfettered norms of the campus require reasonable exploration of unpopular ideas, but only boundaries on what can be said. Perhaps the within the context of meaningful scholarship. campus has fewer constraints, but safety and Academic freedom, even more than free civility necessitate that some limits are speech alone, means that teachers and imposed. While universities encourage researchers can pose—without fear of reper- expansive speech, they tend to draw the line cussion and without their own biases cloud- on what they consider hate speech, even at ing their inquiry—every reasonable and hon- Berkeley. est hypothesis. Such a privilege exists only

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when scholars subscribe to the system of Total federal spending for university research safeguards set up to ensure both their own and development is around $20 billion, which immunity from politics (tenure, for example) amounts to over 50% of total higher educa- and the integrity and worthiness of their tion spending on research and development work (peer review in academic journals, nationally. among others). Grant money comes from a wide variety of From their early days in the United States, federal departments such as Health and universities were intended to be civil institu- Human Services, Defense, Agriculture, and tions in all senses of the word. Initially they Energy, as well as the National Science were places where young men could learn Foundation, among others. Federal financial the skills and knowledge necessary to teach support for higher education can be found in and preach Christian values and scripture, the most unlikely places. For example, the then considered the mark of a civilized per- Transportation Equity Act of 2005, for $286.4 son. As universities became secular institu- billion, included more than $500 million tions (with noted exceptions), their class- going to 142 colleges and universities. Some rooms and lecture halls evolved into models went for “National University Transportation of civil discourse, where professors and their Centers” and other funds for road improve- students could engage in respectful if heated ment and parking garages. discussion and debate about the most con- tentious topics. Federal student aid is similarly generous. General available aid includes Pell Grants, Free speech on campus has its origins in such Work-Study, Perkins Loans, and unfettered discourse. In the last half-century Supplemental Educational Opportunity or so, universities, both public and private, Grants. Designated aid includes Stafford have grown in size and influence and, as a Student Loans, Parents Loans for result, have become even more firmly woven Undergraduate Students, Veterans Loans, and into the civic fabric through their contribu- others. Total 2003-04 federal student aid tions to the greater society. Every member of amounted to over $80 billion, with Pell grants the populace, even those who never set foot and Stafford loans constituting about 75% of on a campus, benefits from the knowledge, the total. Federal student aid provides over research, innovation, and education that flow 40% of all undergraduate students with assis- from the halls of academia out to the commu- tance. nity at large. Colleges are contributors to the commonweal; they are institutional citizens. State appropriations for public higher educa- tion across the nation totaled more than $63 Higher education is an approximately $250 billion for the 2002-03 academic year, accord- billion-a-year enterprise, including a hefty ing to the Chronicle of Higher Education. This sum coming from public funds. Research con- amounts to just below 40% of total expendi- tracts, student loans, and tax subsidies pro- tures by public universities. Some state sys- vide the university with significant resources. tems are more and some less reliant upon TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N 3 IN T R O D U C T I O N state funding. California, for example, allo- my has become vulnerable to the very ills cates almost $10 billion, 60% of total expendi- that the deliberately rarefied university sys- tures. Public universities in Vermont, on the tem was meant to prevent. other hand, receive 21% of total expenditures from the state. In addition to state appropria- The uncivil university is an abrogation of the tions, state student aid totaled over $6 billion partnership agreement between American for the nation in 2003-04. Nationally, approxi- society and colleges and universities. The net mately 16% of undergraduate students result is a loss of the search for truth, a viola- receive some form of state financial aid. tion of the purpose of the university and ulti- Although state research grants are less com- mately of the public trust. In our analysis, we mon than federal support, 7% of total spend- detail a set of values and cultural norms that ing on research and development comes from no longer reflect their noble origins nor state governments. achieve their stated purpose. In many cases, a “butterfly effect” has taken place, so that, The combination of public university operat- with a small shift here and there, what were ing budgets, state and federal research grants, once well-intentioned and vital components student aid, and other government subsidies of the university system, such as an emphasis demonstrates that universities and colleges, on academic freedom, the willingness to whether public or private, are at least partial- question the established order, a love of rigor- ly government-sponsored. ous scholarship, and an embracing of multi- culturalism, have become twisted and some- Un-Civility: Campus Anti-Semitism and times barely recognizable versions of their A n t i - I s r a e l i s m former selves. It is in this unfortunate state that ideologies and practices antithetical to The public provides financial support for the civil university have flourished on some higher education because, in its ideal state, campuses, an indication of just how far they the university provides the public with new have diverged from their purpose. ideas, vital research, and productive citizens. However, something is amiss in higher edu- The UnCivil University examines one particu- cation. larly egregious and uncivil violation of the public trust—the ideology and expression of What was once an ethical arena in which anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism in higher young people came to exercise their minds, to education. We chose to examine these two practice thinking in a safe and invigorating closely related prejudices on college campus- environment, instead has become more of a es, because the presence of anti-Semitism in a stifling museum devoted to preserving itself. community has always been a reliable marker The core values that make the ideal universi- of its ill health. ty a singular place have been subverted. Moreover, the roles that university stakehold- Our analysis does not purport to say whether ers are supposed to play in how they execute anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism are rising or their various responsibilities have become declining, to count how many campuses in murky. The civil university, despite its good the United States experience anti-Semitism intentions, has lost its civility, and the acade- 4 TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N EX E C U T I V E SU M M A R Y

and anti-Israelism and to what extent, or to against the Palestinians. These accusations be a compendium of all of the incidents of are not only prejudicial against a specific anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism to have nationality, but often rely upon the use of tra- occurred in the last few years. Nor does our ditional anti-Semitic stereotypes to demonize analysis claim to be a survey of anti-Semitic those who support or represent the Jewish and anti-Israel attitudes on campus. Rather, state. Instead of Jews controlling the United this volume focuses on the ideology of anti- States government, economy and media, it is Semitism and anti-Israelism on campus and Israel and the Israeli lobby. Just as Jews have the ways that this ideology is expressed. historically been portrayed as caring more about money than people, Israelis are greedy Our analysis has three parts. We define anti- for resources and land hungry. They are bru- Semitism and anti-Israelism as an ideology. tal and conspiratorial, charges levied against Second, we provide evidence about the Jews throughout history. expression of anti-Semitism and anti- Israelism to understand how this ideology While anti-Israelism, in itself, encourages presents itself as behaviors as well as ideas. anti-Semitic sentiment, it also invites partici- And, third, we examine how the presence of pation by traditional anti-Semites who tailor anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism on campus their bigotry to focus on Israel in order to be reveals where reform is needed in higher acceptable on campus. The use of offensive education. imagery, such as the swastika to portray Jews, the rejection of opinion based on ethnicity, Our definition of anti-Israelism and anti- and demonization to the point where physi- Semitism as part of a combined ideology is cal threats seem justified, is not part of civil critical to understanding the growth of intol- discourse and legitimate critique. They are erance on campus. Criticism of Israel's gov- attempts to intimidate, to alienate and to ernment policies, along with all nation-states, silence Jews and others who support Israel. is legitimate and has a place on campus. One can disagree with anything from Israel's envi- This loss of civility should alarm all members ronmental policies to its strategies for nation- of society, not just the Jewish people, because al defense. However, such forms of critique the existence of bigotry and hatred is an indi- differ drastically from what has become cation of a deep gash in the fabric of the pub- acceptable discourse on campus, both in lic trust. The ideology and expression of anti- terms of content and how much attention is Semitism and anti-Israelism in higher educa- devoted to the subject. tion is not a Jewish problem; it is an American problem. Israel dominates not only discussions of the Middle East, but also unrelated subjects. It is Anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism are allowed common to hear that Israel is the worst to flourish because the loudest voices, which offender of human rights issues all over the embrace this bigotry, dominate the campus world. Israel is compared to Nazi Germany culture. It is symptomatic of what is happen- and apartheid South Africa. Israelis are called ing in American society as a whole, where, as brutal, racist murderers committing genocide Morris Fiorina said, “the extremes are over- TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N 5 IN T R O D U C T I O N represented in the political arena and the cen- the more curious in the context of the blasé ter underrepresented.” The campus, like response to the world's tragedies. American society, is less polarized than popu- lar image might have one believe. Those with Exposing anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism the most extreme views often dominate the includes the willingness to judge ideas: not ranks and decision-making processes of all ideas are good or of equal worth. many institutions and seem—-falsely—to rep- Universities should celebrate cultural differ- resent the majority. ences with the ability to discern right and wrong across cultural boundaries. Not all cul- Indeed, anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism tural practices are good, and not all are equal flourish on college campuses because of the in their contributions to the benefit of the energetic focus of a determined minority and human family. Moral strength means cele- their willingness to dedicate themselves to brating good teaching that helps students this cause. Anti-Israelists spend time and think, analyze, and distinguish sound ideas energy to promote their cause, while most from suspect ones. It means teaching, not everyone else is not all that engaged. Most preaching; exploration and rigorous examina- faculty do not endorse anti-Israelism as an tion, not propaganda. This includes anti- ideology. Many simply tune it out on their Israel propaganda, which cannot be framed campus or on other campuses around the as merely a clash of cultural ideas. country. Advertisers have long known that readers tend to ignore ads for washing This volume is a call for reform in higher machines unless they are looking to buy one. education. The university has all the struc- Most faculty are involved in their own disci- ture, mechanisms, and values to address anti- plines and their own social and intellectual Semitism and anti-Israelism on campus. circles. Occasionally, what they consider to be Formal systems include peer review, evalua- the “sideshow” of the Palestinian-Israeli tion of scholarship and teaching, committees debate may attract their attention, but fleet- for hearing student complaints, and discipli- ingly, and with no real impact. nary measures for inappropriate faculty or student behavior. These mechanisms are not The irony of the campus endorsement fully deployed in the case of anti-Semitism (through action or by default) of anti- and anti-Israelism. Israelism is that for the most part, campuses are not very active about most critical inter- They should be, however, because those who national issues. In spite of all the hype about support higher education expect colleges to social activism, embracing liberal causes, and use the formal tools in place to keep their fighting for the underdog, the campus com- own house in order. When it comes to preju- munity is disappointingly complacent about dice, propaganda in the guise of scholarship, genocide, slavery, abuse of women and chil- or the failure to execute teaching responsibili- dren, horrific criminal justice systems, and ties adequately, the full force of university other social and political tragedies around the controls should be exercised. This includes world. Taking up the anti-Israel cause is all creating a normative environment that ban- 6 TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N EX E C U T I V E SU M M A R Y

ishes anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism from East] and this world faith [Islam] through the accepted values of the campus and disci- educational outreach.” The Arab World plining those who violate those norms. Studies Notebook also says, “We hold that preparing our young people for their roles as Campuses also have informal guidelines that thoughtful, informed citizens of the next cen- prohibit campus sexism, racism, and other tury is our most important work.” forms of prejudice. Anti-Semitism and anti- Israelism have not been adequately con- Second, universities are complex bureaucra- strained by these norms. University presi- cies. There are a multitude of decision-mak- dents, deans, faculty, trustees, and all other ers, which include presidents, trustees, facul- stakeholders have not done their job in ty, provosts, deans, associate deans, vice pres- applying these norms to anti-Semitism and idents, and associate vice presidents. Like anti-Israelism. New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast following the devastation of Hurricane Anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism on campus Katrina, the victims of that horrible tragedy are symptoms of a much larger malaise. were less beleaguered by conspiracy than Reform is necessary to protect Jewish stu- they were by incompetence. Governments at dents, to be sure. Even more importantly, the all levels failed, most of all in their ability or failure to ensure the intellectual safety of willingness to communicate with one another Jewish students marks a corruption of the to ensure appropriate action. Anti-Semitism university as a civil institution. Colleges and and anti-Israelism flourish on college cam- universities should address anti-Semitism puses partially because of the paralysis of and anti-Israelism, not for the sake of the bureaucracy in dealing with student com- Jews, but for their own sake. The uncivil uni- plaints, monitoring conferences and events, versity must reclaim its civility. and so on. Everyone is in charge, so no one is in charge. Anyone who has been inside high- Why Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism er education knows that many colleges and A r e at Home on Campus universities are wrapped more in red tape then green ivy. Higher education is a fertile home for anti- Semitism and anti-Israelism for a variety of Third, higher education is conducive to anti- reasons. First, campuses have been targeted Semitism and anti-Israelism because many of by anti-Israel groups as an arena for the anti- the stakeholders abdicate responsibility. Israel agenda. Those who are committed to Trustees do not want to interfere for fear of anti-Israelism hope to capture the hearts and violating academic freedom. Faculty do not minds of young people in America's educa- want to appear overzealous criticizing other tional systems. Arab World and Islamic faculty. Most university presidents, provosts, Resources (AWAIR), an Arab-American advo- and deans look for stasis and avoid issues cacy group that promotes anti-Israel propa- that rock the boat. ganda, makes clear in its mission statement, “AWAIR's goal is to increase awareness and Fourth, universities are a fertile environment understanding of this world region [Middle for anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism because TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N 7 IN T R O D U C T I O N activists with the most energy and loudest partly from within. Like the United Nations, voices often capture organizational mecha- the campus has developed into a comfortable nisms. People in the middle tend to be disen- home for anti-Israelists. Moreover, it is a plat- franchised by the activists who are most com- form from which one can reach a large audi- mitted to a particular agenda. Research per- ence, not only of students, but also of the formed by the Institute for Jewish & many millions of Americans, and people Community Research revealed that, in fact, around the world, who regard the American most professors do not hold negative views university as the incubator of change and the regarding Israel. Anti-Semites and anti- leader in intellectual thought. Israelists triumph on campus not because of their large numbers, but because of the will- Some observers argue that levels of anti- ingness of the few to pursue their agenda. Semitism and anti-Israelism can be measured Those who may disagree with them tend to primarily by the number of events, the shrill- be silent, busy, or indifferent. The same phe- ness of the rhetoric, or the most egregious nomenon is seen in contemporary American expressions of either to take place in colleges politics in both the Republican and and universities. Because both anti-Semitism Democratic parties, and a number of NGOs, and anti-Israelism are myths and ideologies, including the Presbyterian Church. The vast and have become blended in both rhetoric majority of Presbyterians are neither anti- and activity, they exist beyond mere measure- Semitic nor anti-Israel. Yet, a few activists ment of incidences and the most visible were able to capture the institutional deci- expressions. These belief systems, as they sion-making processes to pass anti-Israel res- have in the past, take root in particular olutions supporting divestment from Israel. groups and institutions and express them- This phenomenon is widespread on campus- selves in different ways over time, but they es as well. are there, more or less dormant, more or less active. Fifth, the ideology of anti-Semitism and anti- Israelism fits within the larger campus The “Israel debate” is not a true intellectual themes that include anti-war (violence is debate at all, but rather a failure of the uni- never justified, war is bad, there is no just versity community at all levels to properly cause), anti-West, anti-American (Europe and protect its highest ideals. No institution of America are powerful and bad, Brazil and higher learning should allow Jewish students Algeria are good), white people are bad, all to be intimidated or attacked, or pro-Israel other people are good, power is bad, weak- speakers to be so physically threatened that ness is honorable. These themes appear over they cannot safely visit a campus. Such an and over again in the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel environment is antithetical to the mission of framework. America's universities. While we have, unfor- tunately, come to expect this kind of atmos- It is not surprising, therefore, that anti- phere from Wahhabi extremists from Saudi Semitism and anti-Israelism have found their Arabia or in the official dogma of Iran's dicta- way into America's educational systems, torial mullahs, this propaganda has no place partly from forces outside the university and on campuses. 8 TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N EX E C U T I V E SU M M A R Y

On campus, anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism Societal support for higher education is ideology has four primary components. First, grounded in the belief that democracy is rein- Jewish nationalism is characterized as racism. forced by a good liberal arts education. Because “Zionism=Racism,” Jews do not Stanley N. Katz, director of Princeton deserve to have a nation-state in Israel. University's Center for Arts and Cultural Second, the Holocaust is not a Jewish histori- Policy Studies, warned of the need to reform cal experience, but rather a Palestinian one. higher education: “A great deal is at stake for Third, violence against Israelis is justified, undergraduate education, and for the coun- even terrorism, and Americans cannot judge try. If we believe, as so many of the founders such actions by Western moral standards. of liberal education did, that the vitality of Fourth, Jews and Israel control America, the American democracy depends upon the kind American government, and United States for- of liberal education undergraduates receive, eign policy. we need to put the reimagination of liberal education near the top of our agenda for edu- Reclaiming the Civil University cation in our research universities.” Americans cherish their institutions of higher Social norms in society are as important as education and are rightfully proud of their the rule of law. Civilizations exist through a quality and world leadership. Students from combination of restraint by public authority, around the United States and the rest of the self-restraint, and restraint through social globe make great sacrifices to study at approval and disapproval. The politics of American universities, and they generally multiculturalism on campus abhor prejudice graduate well-positioned for successful based on culture, sexual identity, ethnicity, careers and poised to make important contri- gender, race, religion, and nationality, except butions to society. The “something amiss in in the case of anti-Semitism and anti- higher education” is not education itself, but Israelism. rather the inappropriate politics that colors too much of campus life. The solution is not Changing campus norms can help reclaim a to balance one biased ideology with another civil institution. Students or faculty who but rather to eliminate politics altogether, interrupt debates and lectures should be sus- except as a tool to teach students (and many pended or put on leave. Those who use vio- faculty) to think for themselves. lent messages or advocate violence should be expelled. Faculty who publish shoddy Without essential reforms, the academy risks research should not be promoted. A faculty further and further separation from the pub- member who intimidates students or evalu- lic that nurtures it and whom it serves. “What ates them on the basis of belief (the profes- is at stake is our future,” according to Brigitte sor's or the student's) should be censured— Gabriel, a Lebanese-born Arab reformer, “the and fired if they persist. Departments that students of today who will become tomor- discriminate on the basis of ideology either in row's leaders. If their minds are poisoned terms of hiring or promotion should be put in with irrational hatred and the hate is not receivership or shut down. combatted and eliminated, then academic TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N 9 IN T R O D U C T I O N freedom and free speech in an open market- place of competitive ideas is dead.”

The stream of goodwill directed towards the university is not endless. It must be renewed through the visible efforts of the stakeholders to take more responsibility for ensuring the safety and well-being of all members of the university community. The campus must reform not simply because the specific ideolo- gies of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism exist, but rather because any public institution that fosters expressions of hate is in need of dras- tic change. Anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism have found a harbor on campus, but they need not remain welcome there. It took four decades for the uncivil university to reach this point. It should not take another forty years in this desert for the civil university to find its way home once more. MAJOR FINDINGS

1. Anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism 2. Anti-Semitic behavior often cloaks are systemic in higher education and itself as "legitimate" criticism of Israel. can be found on campuses all over Pervasive anti-Israelism sets the stage the United States. for campus anti-Semitism. The distinc- tions between Israel and Jews The ideology and expression of anti-Semitism become increasingly blurred as the and anti-Israelism have taken root through- rhetoric becomes more uncivil. out much of the higher education system, even if embraced by relatively small seg- Analyzing or criticizing a policy of the Israeli ments of the faculty or student body. government is not de facto anti-Semitic, but much of anti-Israel rhetoric is subtly or bla- Although anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism tantly anti-Semitic. Anti-Semitism and anti- are national campus phenomena, they are not Israelism on campus have become entwined, equally distributed among colleges and uni- so that anti-Israel rhetoric draws from tradi- versities. Some universities may be relatively tional anti-Semitic stereotypes. The ideology free of the ideology or its expression, while of anti-Israelism transfers these stereotypes of others may be more problematic. The inci- traditional anti-Semitism onto discussions dence of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism about Israel. Israel is often substituted for may also vary on a particular campus over Jews as the primary source of the world's time. woes.

Our research covered hundreds of campuses. Anti-Semitism is a belief system, a prejudice In spite of the claims of some observers who against Jews as a mythical enemy. Jews are assert that anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism the origin or cause of the inexplicable prob- affect only a few select campuses, our lems of life and community—poverty, war, or research disproves this assertion. Moreover, even natural disasters. Jews are also enviable. anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism can be They are cast as rich, unusually clever, and found in both public and private universities powerful. Jews are “other”—people who are throughout all regions of the country and in not like me, some group that is external to both elite “Ivies” and community colleges. my group. Jews are stereotyped as having beliefs, values, and behaviors that are foreign, Anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism find expres- mysterious, and destructive. sion inside and outside the classroom, in course syllabi, student newspapers, campus Anti-Israelism on campus labels Israel as posters, rallies, lecture halls, and a host of Nazi Germany, claims the Holocaust never other ways within the university. Middle East occurred, that Israel is systematically commit- Studies departments and centers are particu- ting genocide, that Israel and the Jews control larly egregious in their promotion of anti- the United States government, and other ugly Semitism and anti-Israelism. charges.

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3. The assault on Jewish nationalism preneurial spheres, fail to appropriately exe- is embedded in the ideology of the cute their fiduciary duties both in the opera- left. tions of the institution and the mission. For example, they tend to rubber-stamp tenure The university has become a home to rhetoric decisions. Most of all, faculty and administra- from the left. As mystifying as it may be, the tors exhibit unawareness, indifference, and left sees no contradiction between its espous- sometimes even cowardice in their failure to al of racial and ethnic equality and its preju- exert moral leadership in condemning anti- dice against Jewish national identity. This Semitism and anti-Israelism. hypocrisy has been successfully transplanted to higher education. While anti-Semitism and 5. Anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism anti-Israelism also can be found on the are shielded by a wrongly defined extreme right, this connection is largely irrele- academic freedom and free speech. vant in higher education where the right has little legitimacy. University stakeholders often accept misuse of academic freedom as a way to excuse anti- This hatred of Israel does not exclusively Semitism and anti-Israelism. Some character- stem from anti-Semitism, but also includes ize the “Israel debate” as merely part of the the demonization of America and the West as free exchange of ideas. well. In this way, anti-Israelism from the left can be closely related to anti-Americanism. The discussion of Israel's faults and wrong Over time, coming full circle, anti- actions can be part of campus discussion, as Americanism endorses and devolves into should be discussions of all nations, cultures, anti-Semitism. And in cases where America is and societies. However, the red herring of framed as a proxy for Israel and Jews, anti- censorship is not at issue. Israel-bashing, Americanism and anti-Semitism become one demonization, double standards, hateful lan- in the same. guage, anti-Semitic images, and obsession with Israel more than any other country are 4. The failure to appropriately signs, indicators, and alarms that something address anti-Semitic and anti-Israel other than debate and honest criticism are at bigotry is an indicator of a frightening work. Universities cannot pretend that calling breakdown in a number of university for the destruction of Israel with the use of processes involving many stakehold- Nazi images is part of normal academic dis- ers within higher education. course. If they do, they are being untruthful with themselves. Donors are not paying enough attention (including Jewish donors who give billions of Clearly, those who support Israel can be dollars to higher education). They are not found on college campuses all over America. holding universities as accountable as they Students rally on behalf of Israel, books are do in other realms of their philanthropy. published that support Israel, and so on. Trustees, often successful business leaders Anti-Israelism does not signal the absence of who are much more attentive in their entre- pro-Israelism. Indeed, this is often the ration- TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N 13 MA J O R FI N D I N G S ale, or excuse, for anti-Semitism and anti- adhere to principles of truth, preserve civil Israelism in higher education. Advocates of discourse and provide freedom from intellec- free speech may say that clearly opposing tual intimidation. All of these affect academic forces can speak on campus and do. The freedom, and define academic responsibility. presence of pro-Israel speakers, classes, facul- ty, or materials on campus, however, does not 6. Universities, both public and pri- address the core issue. vate, are part of a public trust owned or financed by the American people. Having a pro-Israel speaker does not erase an anti-Semitic diatribe from some other speak- The deep reliance on public funds makes the er. Good Israel talk does not balance bad universities' almost religious adherence to the Israel talk. Indeed, the balanced approach is a concept of free speech in opposition to denial of the problem. Universities do not encroachment of the public and the govern- balance racism and sexism with “positive ment seem particularly misplaced. The uni- images” of blacks and women. They make it versity is the public; it is a part of the govern- clear that racism and sexism do not belong on ment. It is a civil institution. campus. Period. The same needs to be said and done about anti-Semitism and anti- Higher education is highly dependent on fed- Israelism—they have no place on campus. eral, state, and municipal governments for Period. Otherwise, universities should abol- financial assistance in numerous forms. ish their policies of zero tolerance for intimi- Federal assistance to universities extends to dation of students or hate speech. Why have all kinds of universities, public and private, them, when they are not applied uniformly? and it comes in the form of various grants If hate speech against Jews is allowed as part and allocations. The total amount of state and of the balance of ideas on campus, then hate federal dollars that are being injected into the speech against all others should be afforded higher education system is over $140 billion the same protected status in the name of free- annually. Furthermore, universities are desig- dom. Tolerate all racism or prohibit it. The nated as non-profit organizations and, as truly civil university does not offer a cafeteria such, are exempt from taxation on a number of selective protections. of levels, further bolstering the public’s con- tribution to higher education. Higher education is so concerned about the preservation of academic freedom that aca- 7. Because Americans, both individu- demic responsibility is ignored. Anti- ally and through public financing, Israelism can flourish because the academy is invest heavily in higher education, col- afraid to confront this ideology and those leges and universities have a contrac- who preach it for fear of going down some tual understanding with the public slippery slope that will infringe upon aca- that teaching and research are to be demic freedom. But other slippery slopes are free of politics and propaganda. just as profoundly damaging to the ideals of the university, including the failure to ensure Academic freedom requires, not opposition to both high quality and honest scholarship, the larger society, as so often happens when 14 TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N EX E C U T I V E SU M M A R Y

free speech is invoked on campus, but rather supercedes personal biases. In such a univer- a contract with society for honest and unbi- sity, bigotry is unacceptable, because the pro- ased teaching and research. This distinction tection of pluralism and civil rights is part of seems mainly forgotten, and under the ban- the campus ideal, reflecting the laws and ner of free speech, universities increasingly norms of the general society. The campus define themselves by their independence should serve as a model, both in what it from, and often adversarial relationship with, teaches in the classroom and through every- authorities of all sorts, including the govern- day campus life, for embracing pluralism and ment, the private sector, and even the com- the protection of civil rights. In a civil univer- munities that support them and in which sity, everyone protects each other against bias they flourish. If they see their primary pur- and hatred. In many universities that other- pose as bastions of free speech, they must feel wise consider themselves to be models of particularly beleaguered when the outside civility, anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism are world requests accountability. In their self- not only tolerated but allowed to flourish. conceived role as havens for otherwise perse- cuted or unpopular points of view, universi- 9. The university has the necessary ties see themselves as counterweights, watch- structural mechanisms and procedures dogs, and dissenters from established norms, that unfortunately are not fully rather than as primary contributors to and deployed in the case of anti-Semitism shapers of those norms. Ideology is character- and anti-Israelism. ized as the goal of the university, and objec- tivity is deemed unnecessary or unachiev- Formal systems include peer review, evalua- able. While these contrarian roles are some- tion of scholarship and teaching, committees times appropriate, they are only part of the for hearing student complaints, and discipli- picture, a fact largely forgotten on campus. nary measures for inappropriate faculty or As a result, universities have become, in student behavior. Self-regulation is part of the many ways, obstructionist rather than facili- agreement that universities have with the tating entities, promoting political ideologies public sector. and propaganda. 10. Both federal and state govern- 8. Jewish students report being intimi- ments have the legal and moral dated, both inside and outside the authority and necessary means to classroom, and being intellectually address anti-Semitism and anti- and socially threatened for what they Israelism on campus. believe. This includes protecting the civil rights of In a civil university, no group is singled out Jewish students through appropriate com- for slander, no democratic nation is declared plaint procedures and legislation that sets illegitimate, no political ideology warps the guidelines for colleges and universities that pursuit of truth: The process of learning accept federal and state funds. POLICY RECOMMENDAT I O N S

1. More research is necessary to docu- University trustees should be become more ment systemic anti-Semitism and anti- involved on a number of levels. First, they Israelism in higher education. need to take more responsibility when granting tenure. Trustees, in deference to aca- Additional research, documentation, and demic freedom, do not exercise their fiduci- exposure are necessary to show how anti- ary obligations when they rubber-stamp Semitism and anti-Israelism affect students, tenure decisions made by the faculty and how many students experience discrimina- administration. Lifetime contracts should not tion and how university stakeholders have be awarded without more trustee considera- responded or failed to take appropriate tion. action. Research about faculty, trustees, and donors is also essential. Corporate and NGO boards are being chal- lenged to be more responsible in their over- 2. Expose anti-Semitism disguised as sight duties. College trustees should not be legitimate criticism of Israel. excused from this national trend. They also need to be more informed and attentive to Seminars, workshops, symposia, lectures, and what is being taught on campus. Trustees other campus activities are needed to educate should not be intimidated into believing that the campus community about anti-Semitism they are interfering with academic freedom if and anti-Israelism. This subject also should they behave like a real board and less like the be integrated into appropriate curricula, adjunct fundraising department (their only courses, and syllabi. purpose being to give and solicit donations).

3. Political beliefs should not be con- Donors and alumni need to demand more sidered in the hiring and promotion of accountability when they make gifts to higher faculty. education, both to help make them be more efficiently managed organizations, and to Colleges and universities should ensure that help guide the educational mission. Donor political beliefs are not subtly reinforcing an intent is a key element in the American phil- ideological orthodoxy. The ideological make- anthropic system. Part of the contract up of faculty should not be self-perpetuating between philanthropists and recipient institu- as a result of an operative bias in higher edu- tions is that donors have something to say cation employment practices. about how their money is used. Donations also give philanthropists the right to have a 4. University stakeholders need to say in the operation of the organizations, reclaim their rightful roles and respon- especially for those who give large gifts. sibilities to ensure checks and bal- Higher education is perhaps the only NGO ances in university processes. system where donors are told that their giv-

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ing offers them no right to fundamentally dent organizations sponsor inappropriate influence the institution: write the check and speakers or events, they should be put on keep quiet. Hands-off (in the name of aca- probation, have their funds restricted, or be demic freedom) is the general guideline. disbanded if they persist. Naming chairs or designating dollars for a particular program provide the illusion of 6. The public sector should continue to donor control, but most monies are fungible. press for accountability in higher edu- In a system built around “budget relief,” cation. resources are moved around as needed: more resources in one area frees up money for Federal and state lawmakers should consider some other purpose. Collectively, donors enacting legislation withholding funding to should hold both faculty and administrators any university that violates the civil rights of accountable for dealing with the issue of anti- any student, including those of Jewish stu- Semitism and anti-Israelism on campus. dents based on their religion or ethnic identi- ty, until the violation has been corrected. 5. Academic freedom and free speech should be responsibly defined within The Solomon Amendment is an excellent the boundaries of civil discourse. example. Congress was correct to pass the Solomon Amendment to halt all federal fund- The cultural norms of the campus need to ing to colleges and universities that prohibit change over time, so that anti-Semitism and military recruiters from coming to their cam- anti-Israelism are as unacceptable as other puses. It is absurd for the grantee (higher forms of prejudice on campus. This requires education) to tell the grantor (the federal gov- moral leadership, especially from university ernment) what policies must be followed by presidents, chancellors, and others in posi- the armed services in order for universities to tions of moral authority. They need to speak take the money that they are given. Whether out firmly, consistently, and passionately one agrees or not with the “don't ask, don't about this bigotry. Few have followed the tell” policy of the military is irrelevant. lead of President Lawrence Summers of Congress has the right to set conditions on Harvard University or President Robert dollars it allocates to higher education. Corrigan of San Francisco State University in Universities have the right to refuse the funds doing so. if they do not agree with the conditions. They cannot take the funds and simultaneously set University funds should not be used to spon- the conditions for taking them. sor racist speakers or events through student organizations, events, newspapers, or any 7. More internal review of Middle East activity subsidized with university dollars. Studies departments, centers, and Appropriate administrative and faculty over- institutes is critical. sight of student organizations is required, and, if necessary, administrative oversight of Committees of scholars should be estab- faculty who, for example, restrict their class lished, to review the level of scholarship, enrollment to like-minded students. If stu- quality of teaching, and objectivity of this dis- TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N 17 PO L I C Y RE C O M M E N D AT I O N S cipline. This process should be ongoing until 9. Colleges should establish and it is clear that these departments and insti- enforce appropriate rules about civil tutes conform to norms of quality and honest discourse, including the protection of scholarship and teaching. All tenure decisions Jewish students and other supporters for this field should be made outside the of Israel. departments. At the same time, appropriate public sector oversight of these federally Civil discourse excludes advocating physical funded programs should be instituted in the harm or even murder because of someone's same ways that the National Science racial, ethnic, or national background. These Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, codes of conduct should be well publicized and other public grant-making institutions and included in student and faculty hand- operate. books. Breach of conduct should require rep- rimand, suspension, expulsion and termina- 8. Colleges and universities, as part of tion for students and faculty. We are not sug- the public trust, have a special obliga- gesting that students do not have the right to tion to fight discrimination and pro- advocate for support of Palestinian causes, or vide equal protection for all groups to protest Israeli government policies. But including those defined by race, color, they must do so within the established norms religion, sex, age, disability or nation- of racial and ethnic discourse on campus. al origin. Or, conversely, if campuses want to abandon Faculty who harass, intimidate, or discrimi- speech codes, and stop regulating hate speech nate against students because they are and promoting consciousness and sensitivity Jewish, Israeli, or supporters of Israel should about race, gender, ethnicity, and nationality, be disciplined. Reprimand, censure, removal then let a thousand diatribes, insults, and from teaching duties, and terminating demeaning interactions bloom. If free speech employment are all appropriate, depending is so valued, then let it be free. But universi- on the seriousness of the breach of academic ties cannot regulate speech through both for- conduct, and the frequency of its re-occur- mal structures and informal norms while rence from any particular faculty member. selectively ignoring anti-Semitism and anti- Because bigotry should have zero tolerance, Israelism. repeat breaches of this basic pillar of academ- ic integrity are grounds for firing both un- 10. If higher education does not ade- tenured and tenured faculty members. quately address anti-Semitism and Indeed, such discrimination should be identi- anti-Israelism on campus, then federal fied in faculty handbooks as legal cause for and state governments should bring removing a tenured faculty member. In the the full power of their financial, legal, meantime, Jewish students who are subject to and moral authority to bear on col- harassment and discrimination should file leges and universities. complaints with the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, as students at If university faculty and administrators do the University of California, Irvine, have not curb anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism (or already done. 18 TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N EX E C U T I V E SU M M A R Y

any form of prejudice), then governments at all levels should take corrective measures.

Government should not have to intervene to insure the moral behavior of colleges and universities. On the other hand, the public sector would be abdicating its fiduciary and moral responsibility to allow anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism to continue unchecked.

Anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism in higher education fall squarely within the purview of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education. Given the pervasiveness of these ideologies on college campuses, government agencies should not only be actively fielding complaints of civil rights violations against Jewish students and supporters of Israel but should consider a system-wide investigation. EXAMPLES OF ANTI-SEMITISM & ANTI-ISRAELISM ON CAMPUS

Kent State University, Campus University of Massachusetts, Campus Newspaper, April 15, 2002 Newspaper, Spring 1995

At Kent State University, associate professor In the University of Massachusetts student of history Julio Cesar Pino wrote a poem in newspaper the Daily Collegian, a letter was the Kent Stater on April 15, 2002, titled, published by emeritus professor of mathe- “Singing out prayer for a youth martyr,” in matics Helen Cullen, who wrote, “Judaism which he praised a female suicide bomber. and the Jewish identity are offensive to most human beings and will always cause trouble You are not a terrorist, Ayat. The real ter- between the Jews and the rest of the human rorists are those who some 100 years ago race.”2 hijacked a beautiful religion and trans- formed it into a real estate venture. University of Illinois, Campus Glancing around the world, they saw in Newspaper, January 22, 2002 Palestine “a land without a people, for a people without a land,” as their spokes- The University of Illinois student paper, the men and women chant ad nauseam. The Daily Illini, printed an opinion piece by Zion of the concertina wire, F-16 bomber Washington resident Ariel Sinovsky titled, death planes and tank crews collecting “Jews Manipulate America.” Sinovsky wrote: skulls and shedding martyrs' blood. The birthplace of your ancestor, and mine, the The Jews, master salesmen that they are, Palestinian pacifist Joshua ben Josef, is have been able to persuade Americans now a battle zone-with Christians, that it is in American interests to support Muslims and peace-loving Jews trapped Israeli oppression of Palestinians. [...] Too inside Bethlehem. [...] often defective foreign policy has been promoted as something in the interest of Your last cry, by gesture rather than the American people while in reality it was spoken word, was “Stop, thief! This is not done to satisfy the desires of Jewish oli- your land and we are a people.” I can garchs. [...] The President should act assure you, Ayat, that the whole world immediately to deal with this threat. First, stopped to listen. Even the numbskull separate Jews from all government advi- who parades as president of the United sory positions and give them one year States heard you, and, following the text fully paid sabbatical. [...] Jewish ability to written for him by his handlers, expressed promote their desires, disguised, as being astonishment at how a teenager could in the interest of the American people, perpetrate such an act. Simply, it is pro- one day will evaporate. Then the Jews nounced “justice” and spelled C-O-U-R- might face another Holocaust.3 A-G-E.1

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The outrage of this article lies not only in the Various Universities, Vandalism, 2002- content but also in the headline, which was 2005 likely created by the editor. At the University of Chicago, in a campus Columbia University, Student Interview dorm, a Jewish student put up a sign publi- 2004 cizing a pro-Israel rally on campus. It was defaced with the words, “F**k Zionists, F**k Columbia student “LS” reported, “I took a the Israeli pigs.”7 In 2002, at the University of class with [Professor] George Saliba [as we Colorado, swastikas were drawn on a reli- discussed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, he] gious structure utilized by Jewish student sort of drew me outside the classroom and groups.8 At the University of Wisconsin, told me to walk with him on his way out.[...] Madison, someone scrawled the messages, He said, 'You have no voice in this debate.[...] “Kill the Jews” and “Make it snow Jewish See, you have green eyes,' he said, 'You're not ash” in a classroom.9 a Semite.[...] You have no claim to the land of Israel.'”4 (Saliba has denied ever making the Central Connecticut State University, statement.) Faculty Publications and Statements, 1999 Columbia University, Protest/Rally Statements, April 2002 Professor Norton Mezvinsky, of Central Connecticut State University, has been quoted Professor of Latino Studies at Columbia stating that Jews believe “the blood of non- University Nicholas De Genova proclaimed Jews has no intrinsic value,” and that this at a rally that “the heritage of the Holocaust allows Jews to consider that the killing of belongs to the Palestinian people. The State of non-Jews does “not constitute murder accord- Israel has no claim to the heritage of the ing to the Jewish religion.” In addition, he is Holocaust.”5 quoted stating that, “the killing of innocent Arabs for reasons of revenge is a Jewish Georgetown University, Faculty virtue.”10 Publications and Statements, November 2002 University of California, Los Angeles, Conferences, 2001 Georgetown Professor Hisham Sharabi was quoted in the Lebanese Daily Star saying to In 2001, at a Muslim Student Association con- Balamand University students and faculty ference at the University of California, Los that “Jews are getting ready to take control of Angeles, cleric Muhammad-al-Asi stated, us and the Americans have entered the region “Israel is as racist as apartheid could ever be to possess the oil resources and redraw the ... you can take a Jew out of the ghetto, but geopolitical map of the Arab world.”6 you can't take the ghetto out of the Jew.”11 TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N 21 AN T I - S E M I T I S M & AN T I - I S R A E L I S M O N CA M P U S

University of Georgia, Campus Santa Rosa Junior College, Campus Newspaper, October 1, 2001 Newspaper, March 18, 2003

University of Georgia student Adam Gobin In 2003, Santa Rosa Junior College's student wrote in the Red and Black about Jewish influ- newspaper, The Oak Leaf, published an opin- ence in America, “Not only does the Israeli ion article by civil engineering student Kevin lobby control legislation [...] but it also con- McGuire titled, “Is Anti-Semitism Ever the trols the media giants.”12 Result of Jewish Behavior?” McGuire wrote:

Northeastern University, Faculty Israel is the largest and most dangerous Publications and Statements, terrorist organization in the world. [...] December 12-18, 2004 The Zionist Jews believe they are the “chosen people” of god and that the Professor M Shahid Alam wrote in the world was given to them and is their pos- Egyptian weekly, Al-Ahram, that Israel, session. The Zionist Jews want to estab- “could only emerge as the bastard child of lish a Jewish holy land with no non-Jews imperialist powers, and it could only come present. [...] This attitude of racial hatred into existence by displacing the greater part and genocide is also reflected in the of the Palestinian population, by incorporat- Torah. [...] In closing, A [sic] 1998 quote ing them into an apartheid state, or through from Osama Bin Laden: “So we tell the some combination of the two. In addition, Americans as people, and we tell the once created, Israel could only survive as a mothers of soldiers and American moth- militarist, expansionist, and hegemonic state, ers in general that if they value their lives constantly at war with its neighbors.” He and the lives of their children, to find a then explained that, “Jews, as junior partners nationalist government that will look of the imperialist powers, would seek to after their interests and not the interests deepen the Orientalist project in the service of of the Jews.”14 Western power.” The current landscape of Middle East Studies is now divided, Alam This piece asserts what anti-Semites have explained, into “one camp, consisting mostly always contended—Jews bring it on them- of Christians and Muslims, [which] has selves. This charge is typical of bigots and laboured to bring greater objectivity to their racists—the victimized group is somehow study of Islam and Islamic societies. [...] The responsible for those who hate them. Such second camp, now led mostly by Jews, has clear anti-Semitism immediately set off a ran- reverted to Orientalism's original mission of corous debate about how and why such an subordinating knowledge to Western power, article was printed. The ensuing turmoil led now filtered through the prism of Zionist to some campus and community anger interests.” These Jews “work to incite a civili- directed at the newspaper editor who was sational war between Islam and the West.”13 culpable, and even more so the faculty advi- 22 TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N EX E C U T I V E SU M M A R Y

sor who failed to inform the editor of her administrator I could find and asked them to right to refuse opinion articles that contained remove the counter demonstrators from the hateful language. The faculty advisor refused plaza, to maintain the separation of 100 feet to publicly discuss the incident. However, that we had been promised. The police told this is not the first problem for The Oak Leaf. me that they had been told not to arrest any- The college paid a $45,000 settlement over one.” She lamented the fact that “the police claims of sexual harassment that arose when could do nothing more than surround the male students posted anatomically explicit Jewish students and community members and derogatory remarks about two women who were now trapped in a corner of the on campus on a men-only bulletin board cre- plaza, grouped under the flags of Israel, ated by the journalism department.15 while an angry, out of control mob, literally chanting for our deaths, surrounded us. [...] New York University, University List- There was no safe way out of the Plaza. We serve Propaganda, November 2001 had to be marched back to the Hillel House under armed San Francisco police guard, and While serving as President of Arab Students we had to have a police guard remain outside United, New York University student Nadeen Hillel.”17 After attempting to shed light on Aljijakli distributed, via email, an article by what she regarded as a hostile environment former Ku Klux Klan member David Duke for Jews at San Francisco State University, she claiming that the primary reason we are suf- moved to Northwestern University.18 San fering from terrorism in the U.S. is because Francisco State University president Robert our government policy is completely subordi- Corrigan has condemned anti-Semitism on nated to a foreign power: “Israel and the his campus. efforts of worldwide Jewish Supremacism.” Aljijakli, when informed of the author's racist San Francisco State University, history, suggested that she would not have Flyers/Handouts, 2002 chosen the article had she known, but never- theless agreed with the arguments put forth.16 At San Francisco State University, the Muslim Student Union circulated flyers depicting a San Francisco State University, Mob can labeled “Palestinian Baby Meat.” (See fol- Protest/Threats, May 2002 lowing section) Written across the can was the phrase, “Manufactured in Israel under Professor Laurie Zoloth of San Francisco State U.S. license.” This is a restatement of the University, after having witnessed a mob ancient blood libel that first arose in Europe. protest against a Jewish student peace rally, Like so much of European anti-Semitism, it is was appalled by the absence of faculty speak- now proliferating in the Middle East. The ing out against such bigotry. She wrote, root lies in an accusation that Jews bake “Counter demonstrators poured into the bread with the blood of gentile children, a lie plaza, screaming at the Jews to 'Get out or we created to justify the persecution and murder will kill you' and 'Hitler did not finish the of Jews. Surprising to some, it has now job.' I turned to the police and to every arrived at North American universities. TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N 23 AN T I - S E M I T I S M & AN T I - I S R A E L I S M O N CA M P U S

University of California, Berkeley, Violence, 2001-2003

A spate of harassment and violence erupted at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2001. In December of that year, a member of Chabad, a Jewish religious group, was assaulted on campus on the way to the Chabad house.19 Then during spring break of 2002, the Hillel window was smashed and graffiti stating, “F**k the Jews,” was painted on the building.20 Later, during a Simchat Torah celebration, a Jewish participant was assaulted close to campus.21 These incidents all happened on one campus, over the course of a short period of time, highlighting how quickly campuses transform from verbal to physical hostility. 24 TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N EX E C U T I V E SU M M A R Y

In the Brown University Daily Herald, the student artist who created this satire of American igno - rance of the “other” invoked the classic anti-Semitic blood libel, perhaps unaware that the anti-Israel campaign uses the same charges to de-legitimate both the Jewish people and the state of Israel.

Anti-Israel propaganda often likens Jews to Nazis, as in this cartoon from Texas A&M University, which juxtaposes a Nazi officer with an Israeli soldier by replacing the swastika with the Star of David. TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N 25 AN T I - S E M I T I S M & AN T I - I S R A E L I S M O N CA M P U S

A flyer created by Muslim student groups and funded by the Associated Students of San Francisco State University dredges up the medieval anti-Semitic blood libel of Jews slaughtering children—this time Palestinian children—for ritual purposes. M E T H O D O L O G Y

Time frame • Connecticut Jewish Community Relations The Institute for Jewish & Community Council Research conducted research on anti- • Hadassah Curriculum Watch Semitism and anti-Israelism in American edu- • Hamagshimim (helps foster Jewish stu- cational systems from 2002 through 2005. We dent groups) used a number of methods and sources, • Hillel (national office and campus divi- which are discussed below. sions) • San Francisco Federation Israel Center Student interviews • San Francisco Jewish Community The Institute conducted over 50 personal Relations Council interviews with students from a variety of campuses. Interviewees included anti-Israel Campus literature protesters, Jewish students, student leaders, The Institute completed a content analysis of and student “observers,” those who were not hundreds of anti-Israel materials distributed part of the Israel debate. Our interviews on college campuses or designed for student focused on anti-Israel protest, anti-Semitism, protest. These include divestment literature, intellectual freedom, the conflict in the divestment petitions, flyers, pamphlets, Middle East, Middle East Studies, and stu- posters, rally announcements, and other dent safety, among other subjects. materials. We collected these materials by vis- iting campuses and gathering them from the Key informant interviews tables of anti-Israel student groups, anti-Israel The Institute conducted over 40 key inform- protesters, posted materials, and so on. We ant interviews with Jewish organizational also used the Internet, examining activist leaders to assess the Jewish communal websites such as electronicintifada.net, response to anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism internationalanswer.org, and on campus. Some of these organizations are palestinecampaign.org, and we downloaded listed below: materials for students such as checkpoint fly- ers, divestment strategies, and ways to fend • Aish Ha-Torah (student leadership train- off accusations of anti-Semitism. In addition, ing program) we conducted extensive content analysis of • American Israel Public Affairs Committee banners, posters, signs, and sloganeering of • American Jewish Committee anti-Israel protesters by attending rallies and • American Jewish Congress examining photos taken at rallies. We paid • Anti-Defamation League special attention to anti-Semitic stereotypes, • Caravan for Democracy (the campus divi- Holocaust imagery, historical inaccuracies, sion of the Jewish National Fund) incitement, misrepresentations, negative slo- • Chicago Jewish Community Relations gans, and provocative language. Council

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Newspapers, magazines, internet divestment websites, were examined as they newswires and websites were created. We searched university web- We monitored twenty-five major news outlets sites for administrative responses to anti- on a daily basis, collecting news and opinion Semitism and anti-Israelism on campus. articles pertaining to anti-Semitism and anti- University department websites were exam- Israelism. Most prominent among them were ined when they were involved in sponsoring The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Christian a Middle East forum or teach-in on campus. Science Monitor, Haaretz (Israel), The Jerusalem We reviewed faculty organization websites if Post (Israel), National Review Online, New York their field was related to the Middle East, or Post, The New York Times, San Francisco if they issued a statement regarding the Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal, and The Middle East in their capacity as professors. Washington Post. The Institute also monitored weekly news outlets such as Al-Ahram Weekly E-mail newsletters (Egypt), Education Week, Newsweek, Time, and The Institute regularly received, reviewed, others. We analyzed articles on anti-Semitism and analyzed five relevant e-mail newsletters and anti-Israelism for newsworthy incidents, from Jewish organizations, including the relevant quotes from experts, and for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee emergence of general trends. and the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, as well as grassroots pro-Israel organizations We systematically read Jewish community such as Stand With Us. We analyzed these periodicals and news services including, the newsletters for recent events and incidents on Forward, the J., and the Jewish Week. When an campus. incident of anti-Semitism and/or anti- Israelism arose on a campus, the local com- College and university student munity newspaper also was consulted. newspapers The Institute systematically investigated fif- Websites teen campus newspapers (and other campus The Institute regularly analyzed the content sources) selected by geography, campus size, found on over 30 websites. The types of web- public or private, and other factors. We exam- sites varied and included anti-divestment ined over 1,500 articles, advertisements, and drives, divestment petitions, faculty organiza- other materials. These universities include: tions, pro-Israel advocacy, pro-Palestinian/ anti-Israel student and other groups, socialist California movement groups, university information, • University of California, Berkeley (The university organizations/departments/cen- Daily Californian) ters, and others. • University of California, Irvine (The New University) Anti-Israel groups’ websites provided infor- • University of California, Los Angeles (The mation on anti-Israel campaign goals, links to Daily Bruin) other anti-Israel organizations, literature and • University of California, San Diego (The propaganda, and past and upcoming events. Guardian) Divestment petition websites, as well as anti- TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N 29 ME T H O D O L O G Y

Michigan vocal threats, libelous accusations, dis- • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (The crimination, and physical attacks) Michigan Daily) • Divestment/apartheid accusations (e.g., • Wayne State University (The South End) examples of campus rhetoric and intro- ductions of divestment campaign) Texas • University of Houston (The Daily Cougar) We also evaluated news content for bias and • University of Texas, Austin (The Daily accuracy when it pertained to the Middle Texan) East or related events on campus. We ana- lyzed editorial boards’ writings as well as Colorado their decisions as to what submissions to fea- • University of Colorado, Boulder (The ture on the opinion page. The Institute col- Colorado Daily) lected opinion articles and evaluated them for • University of Colorado, Denver (The UCD egregious anti-Semitic and anti-Israel content. Advocate) We also identified, collected, and monitored contributions to student media from outside New York the university environment. • New York University (Washington Square News) Participant Observation Institute staff members attended Jewish com- Illinois munity meetings with campus administrators • University of Chicago (The Chicago and were included in discussion groups for Maroon) campus task forces about these issues. Researchers observed pro-Israel and anti- Georgia Israel demonstrations on college campuses, • Emory University (The Emory Wheel) attended teach-ins, lectures, and conferences • University of Georgia (The Red & Black) addressing the Middle East conflict.

New Hampshire • Dartmouth University (The Dartmouth)

In addition to these fifteen campuses, the Institute used campus media at colleges and universities throughout the country. We ana- lyzed the media content for several themes, including:

• Anti-Israel voices (e.g., opinion articles, speakers, and statements) • Anti-Israel events (e.g., rallies, street the- ater, conferences, lectures, and courses) • Anti-Semitism (e.g., graffiti, vandalism, 30 TH E UNCI V I L UN I V E R S I T Y: PO L I T I C S & PR O P A G A N D A I N AM E R I C A N ED U C AT I O N EX E C U T I V E SU M M A R Y

Institute for Jewish & Community Aryeh K. Weinberg Research Aryeh K. Weinberg is a research associate at Institute for Jewish & Community Research, the Institute for Jewish & Community San Francisco, is an independent non-profit Research. He received his B.A. from the dedicated to the growth and security of the University of California, Berkeley, in interna- Jewish community. The Institute serves as a tional relations, with an emphasis on interna- national and international think tank provid- tional freshwater conflict and cooperation. ing policy research for the Jewish community Mr. Weinberg’s areas of research are anti- and society in general. The Institute designs Semitism and anti-Israelism, as well as phi- and develops initiatives that help build a lanthropy in America. His latest publications more vibrant and secure Jewish community. include an article entitled, “An Exceptional It also educates both the public and opinion Nation: American Philanthropy Is Different leaders through publications and conferences Because America Is Different” and two forth- in four areas: demography and religious coming monographs from the series, Mega- identity; the growth and vitality of Jewish Gifts in American Philanthropy. peoplehood; the security of the Jewish com- munity; and philanthropy. Jenna Ferer

Gary A. Tobin Jenna Ferer is a research associate at the Institute for Jewish & Community Research. Gary A. Tobin, Ph.D., is president of the She conducts research on issues related to the Institute for Jewish & Community Research. growth, safety, and security of the Jewish He was the director of the Center for Modern community. Ms. Ferer formerly lived in Jewish Studies at Brandeis University for Jerusalem, where she worked as a news, fea- fourteen years, after spending eleven years ture, and photojournalist for The Media Line, on faculty at Washington University, St. a nonprofit news agency that specializes in Louis. He is the editor of two volumes about countering media bias against Israel. While in race in America, What Happened to the Urban Israel, she produced an independent photo- Crisis? and Divided Neighborhoods. His books graphic study on schoolchildren in areas of include Jewish Perceptions of Antisemitism; violence. She has also been an editor and Rabbis Talk About Intermarriage; Opening The writer for the College Campus Initiative E-News Gates: How Proactive Conversion Can Revitalize and Information Brief for the Jewish Federation The Jewish Community; and In Every Tongue: of Los Angeles. The Racial & Ethnic Diversity of the Jewish People. E N D N O T E S

1. Julio Cesar Pino, “Singing Out Prayer for a Youth 13. M Shahid Alam, “What Went Wrong?” Al-Ahram Martyr,” Daily Kent Stater, April 15, 2002, http://www Weekly Online, December 12-18, 2002, http://weekly .stateronline.com/. .ahram.org.eg/2002/616/op13.htm.

2. Ronnie Friedland, “Interview with Robert Costrell,” 14. Kevin McGuire, “Is Anti-Semitism Ever the Result of Swastika on the Lawn: A Year of Anti-Semitism in Jewish Behavior?” Oak Leaf, March 18, 2003, as quoted Massachusetts, July 1995, http://www.hebrewcollege in Aryan-Nations, http://aryan-nations.org/ .edu/sol/ch06.html. headlinenews/is_antisemitism_ever_the_result _of_jewish_behavior.htm. 3. Ariel Sinovsky, letter to the editor, Daily Illini, January 22, 2002, http://web.archive.org/web/20030410211115/ 15. Carol Benfell, “Strife No Stranger to SRJC www.dailyillini.com/jan03/jan22/opinions/stories/ Newspaper,” Press Democrat, May 10, 2003, letter03.shtml. http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ frontpage. 4. Columbia Unbecoming, directed by Avi Goldwasser, DVD (Boston: David Project, 2004). 16. Erin Clements, “Religious Groups Unify to Trash Terrorism,” Washington Square News, November 27, 5. Xan Nowakowski, “Students Organize Sit-In to 2001, http://www.nyunews.com/. Support Palestinians,” Columbia Spectator, April 18, 2002, http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/ 17. Laurie Zoloth, “Activists at a Jewish Peace Rally Are display.v/ART/2002/04/18/3cbe8e3d6a634?in Confronted by a Terrifying, Threatening Mob,” Aish, _archive=1. May 9, 2002, http://www.aish .com/jewishissues/ jewishsociety/Fear_and_Loathing_at_San_Francisco 6. “AJC Condemns Anti-Semitic Remarks of Prominent _State.asp. Georgetown Professor,” American Jewish Committee, November 21, 2002, http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nl/ 18. “Faculty,” Northwestern University Center for Genetic content2.asp?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b =849241&ct=868083. Medicine, http://www.cgm.northwestern.edu/ faculty_bios/zoloth.htm. 7. “Reports from Campus: Bias Incidents at University of Chicago,” Campus Watch, July 24, 2002, http://www 19. Joe Eskenazi, “Berkeley Chabadnik Attacked in .campus-watch.org/article/id/101. Alleged Hate Incident,” J. Jewish News Weekly of Northern California, December 21, 2001, http://www 8. Bronson Hilliard, “Vandals Strike Jewish Symbol in .jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/ Colorado,” Colorado Daily, September 21, 2002, story_id/17429/edition_id/345/format/html/ http://www.coloradodaily.com/articles/2002/09/22/ displaystory.html. export6521.txt. 20. Wendy Lee, “Incidents of Violence, Prejudice 9. Marc Ballon, “Jewish Students and Activists Call UC Followed Last Year's Attacks,” Daily Californian, Irvine a Hotbed of Anti-Semitic Harassment,” Jewish September 11, 2002, http://www.dailycal.org/ Journal, March 11, 2005, http://www.jewishjournal article.php?id=9390. .com/home/preview.php?id=13779. 21. Randy Barnes, “Students Must Not Tolerate Anti- 10. Jonathan Calt Harris, “A Saudi Education, Right Semitism,” Daily Californian, October 11, 2002, Here at Home,” National Review Online, June 19, 2003, http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=9390. http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/ comment-harris061903.asp.

11. Ballon, “Jewish Students Call UC Irvine a Hotbed.”

12. Adam Gobin, “Israeli Influence Impedes Objectivity,” Red and Black, October 1, 2002, http://www.redandblack.com/vnews/display.v/ART/ 2002/10/01/3d999d385c3a6?in_archive=1.

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