Over the last several months, we have seen an escalation in anti-Semitism on college campuses. This fact should not come as a shock to anyone reading this publication. The escalation culminated with the now-infamous Congressional hearing with three presidents of prestigious American universities refusing to say that calling for the genocide of the Jewish people was against each individual university’s student code of conduct (or at the very least, were “context dependent”). Only one of the presidents lost her job over this, prompting many in our circles to lament the understanding that anti-Semitism is allowed on college campuses.
The observation was not lost on most people, that substituting a different group of people would not have yielded the same answer. Perhaps the person who put it this way the best was TikToker “The Older Millennial.” He said that Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who was going after the university presidents for their inability to condemn anti-Semitism on their own campuses, “missed a golden opportunity” to ask a follow-up question to the response that calling for the genocide of Jews is context dependent. He suggested that Stefanik should have asked is: “Tell me the context in which calling for the genocide of all Jews doesn’t violate your code of conduct.” And whatever she would have answered, Stefanik could have reworded it to find out if calling for the genocide of all LGBTQ students in the exact same manner violated Harvard’s code of conduct. Or black students. Or Asian, Hispanic, or fat students. If there is a context in which calling for the genocide of one group is allowed, it must be allowed for all other groups as well.
We know that for the longest time, Jewish people are not considered to be the “right kind” of minority that deserves protection. That the general population does not consider us to be persecuted or victimized despite our 3,000-year history of being persecuted and victimized, a history that still continues to this day. It’s almost like we are the only group of people that are allowed to be the recipients of hateful conduct and speech without repercussion from society – the same society that will be all too quick to admonish anyone making the same comments about any other group.
Except we’re not.
We are not the only group that violence is tolerated against. We are not the only group against whom violent rhetoric is responded to with a shrug. You know who else is allowed to be discriminated against in the exact same manner? White people. If someone stands on a college campus and states that the problem with America is white people, will they get disciplined? If a professor starts a class with, “All white people need to know this…” will he be disciplined? If a president of a university is asked by a member of Congress if calling for the genocide of white people is against their code of conduct, will she answer “It’s context dependent”?
We will never know the answers to these questions because nobody even bats an eye at this type of rhetoric when it comes to white people. There are no disciplinary actions. There are no congressional hearings. White people are fair game. And the crazy thing is that sometimes, Jews are lumped in with white people when it suits the narrative.
Actually, we aren’t even the only religion that is allowed to be spoken about like this. Christians also have an endless open season on hateful rhetoric. Take every example of how white people can be targeted and apply it to Christians, and you have another group that is just as allowed to be under attack as whites. And yet, no public outcry, no hearings, no nothing.
Of course, these groups aren’t as vulnerable to action as Jews are. In fact, historically, White Christians haven’t been too kind to our people. But if we are looking at how society is treating the Jewish people in the present-day, it’s not too difficult to see that we are not necessarily the only ones.
This is not meant to call for the end to free speech. In fact, free speech is not even in question here. It is for all groups to be considered equally protected by an institution. If calling for the genocide of black people is not tolerated under any circumstances, neither should it be of Jews, nor whites, nor Christians, nor any group. Equal protection for everyone - no matter that group’s history. We as Jews need to realize that we are not alone in this. We are not the only ones who can be targeted for only our outward appearance or internal beliefs. We have allies here.
Izzo Zwiren works in healthcare administration, constantly concerning himself with the state of healthcare politics. The topic of healthcare has led Izzo to become passionate about a variety of political issues affecting our country today. Aside from politics, Izzo is a fan of trivia, stand-up comedy, and the New York Giants. Izzo lives on Long Island with his wife and two adorable, hilarious daughters.
