On March
14th, a typical Saturday night at Vanderbilt University ended with a
sobering and nauseating sight: swastikas spray-painted on the walls of a Jewish
fraternity.
The
Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs condemned the act in a message
to the student body. The Vanderbilt Police Department is investigating it as a
hate crime. The executive director of Vanderbilt Hillel called what happened
“inexcusable”.[1]
Earlier
this week, a gunshot was fired into the West End Synagogue in Nashville. Police
were “not aware of recent threats to harm the synagogue or its membership”.[2]
Unfortunately,
events like these are nothing new.
In April
2013, three people, including a 14-year-old boy, were murdered in a shooting at
the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas. The gunman reportedly
shouted “Heil Hitler” during the attack.[3]
In April
2014, on the eve of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), a student at the
University of Central Florida had swastikas carved into the wall of her
apartment and her mezuzah broken in half. A $500 reward was offered for
information about the crime, and the act was condemned by UCF administrators.
No arrest was ever made.[4]
In July
2014, swastikas were spray painted on the mailboxes of the Jewish fraternity at
The University of Oregon. The Eugene human rights commission “strongly
condemned” the “hateful actions”.[5]
In
October 2014, shortly after the end of the observance of Yom Kippur, the
holiest Jewish holiday, swastikas were spray painted on the Jewish fraternity
at Emory University. Emory University President, James Wagner, released a
strong statement “denouncing the abhorrent act” and pledged Emory’s ongoing
commitment to raising awareness and preventing all forms of violence and
discrimination. The perpetrators were never identified.[6]
On
February 10, 2015 a Jewish candidate for the UCLA Judicial Board was questioned
not about her qualifications for the position (which were indisputable), but
about whether her status as a Jewish student and subsequent involvement in
Jewish organizations on campus made her biased. After a 40-minute debate, she
was rejected for the position. However, the board’s academic advisor weighed
in, and the board subsequently unanimously approved the student’s appointment.
The students serving on the board apologized and the UCLA student union passed
an anti-Semitism resolution. UCLA’s Chancellor, Gene Block, denounced the
board’s action and called it a “teachable moment”. No other action was taken.[7]
There are
many more examples than these.
Similar
events have been reported at universities and in communities around the
country.[8],[9] When did
behavior like this become acceptable? When did we let our college campuses and
communities become places where some individuals feel unwelcome, or worse,
unsafe?
Perhaps
these events wouldn’t be as worrisome if they weren’t occurring in the context
of the growing tide of anti-Semitism in Europe and other parts of the world. In
May 2014, four people were shot to death at the Jewish Museum of Brussels.[10]
Pro-Palestinian rallies in Belgium and France this summer not only denounced
Israel, but included signage and chants such as “Gas the Jews!” and “Death to
the Jews!”.[11]
In the wake of these, and many other events, immigration to Israel has reached
a 10-year high with 26,500 people making aliyah in 2014. Seven thousand of them
were from France alone.[12]
In July
2014, a German synagogue was torched with firebombs. German courts ruled it an
“Act of Protest” motivated by a desire to “bring attention to the Gaza
conflict”.[13]
James Kirchick, a foreign correspondent with The New York Daily News, made the following comparison: “a
group of skinheads torch a black church somewhere in the Deep South. Upon being
apprehended by the police, they cite the injustices that Zimbabwean dictator
Robert Mugabe has visited upon the white farmers of his country as
justification for their arson. Mugabe is black, he rules on behalf of ‘the
black race,’ and therefore black people everywhere must be made to feel
responsible for his crimes.”[14]
Can you imagine the (justified) outrage?
Many
defend anti-Semitic words and actions as free speech and worthwhile protest in
the ongoing dialogue about Israel and the Middle East conflict. However, in
many instances we see the line become blurred. Manuel Valls, the Socialist Prime
Minister of France, says, “it is legitimate to criticize the
policies of Israel. This criticism exists in Israel itself. But … [t]here is an
incontestable link between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.”[15]
Free
speech is a fundamental tenet of our democracy and should be protected
fiercely. However, we must be cautious in allowing the First Amendment to be
used as a shield for bigotry and overtures of hate.
Earlier
this month, members of the University of Oklahoma’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon
fraternity were videotaped on a bus singing undeniably racist songs. The
University of Oklahoma’s actions were swift. The University’s President permanently
ended the school’s affiliation with SAE and expelled the two students
identified from the video.[16] The public response to these actions was
positive and echoed President Boren’s sentiments: we will not tolerate this
type of behavior. Only now, as the dust has begun to settle, have questions
about the legality of the University’s actions been raised.[17]
The
student’s behavior was undoubtedly repugnant and indefensible. We should not
allow such hatred and intolerance, particularly on our college campuses.
Furthermore, our society must stand against such bigotry when it is directed at
any group.
The truth
is this: swastikas do not feel like a political statement or innocent prank to
the Jewish college students that are the victims of these crimes.
Swastikas
are a statement of violence and hate, which these students feel very
personally. We forget that it has been barely seventy years since the
Holocaust, and that many of them may have lost family in the genocide. In this
context, the swastika is not a theoretical, ideological symbol; it is
synonymous with genocide and extermination. This should be personal not just to
the Jewish students, but to our communities as well.
We find
ourselves at a critical juncture.
Will our
universities and communities rise in defense of our Jewish friends, colleagues
and neighbors and stand with them in defiance of these recurrent acts of
anti-Semitism? Or, will the United States find itself following in the
footsteps of Europe and allow anti-Semitism to continue to grow unabated?
I know
where I will stand. Do you?
“Has the
like of this happened in your days or in the days of your fathers? Tell your
children about it, and let your children tell theirs, and their children the
next generation!”
1 Joel,
2-3
Displayed on the walls of Yad
Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.
[1]
http://www.wsmv.com/story/28537737/swastikas-spray-painted-on-jewish-fraternitys-house-at-vanderbilt
[2]
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2015/04/13/shots-fired-at-west-end-synagogue/25711391/
[3]
http://www.abc2news.com/tablet-showcase/one-year-later-what-happened-in-overland-park-kansas-on-april-13-2014
[4]
http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/story/news/2014/10/22/anti-semitism-rears-ugly-head-ucf-emory-campuses/17734113/
[5]
http://forward.com/articles/202186/swastikas-painted-on-jewish-fraternity-house-at-un/
[7]http://www.jewishjournal.com/los_angeles/article/ucla_judicial_board_nominee_questioned_for_jewish_background_in_appointment,
http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/anti_semitism_at_uclalets_make_it_a_truly_teachable_moment
[8]
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new-york/american-campuses-cause-alarm
[9]
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/nyu-jewish-problem-article-1.1811838
[10]
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/01/suspect-arrest-brussels-jewish-museum-shooting
[11] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/world/europe/europes-anti-semitism-comes-out-of-shadows.html?_r=0
[12]
http://www.timesofisrael.com/immigration-to-israel-hits-10-year-high-with-record-french-influx/
[13]
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/09/german-court-rules-synagogue-firebombing-an-act-of-protest.html
[14] http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/09/german-court-rules-synagogue-firebombing-an-act-of-protest.html
[15]
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/03/is-it-time-for-the-jews-to-leave-europe/386279/
[16] http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/09/us/oklahoma-fraternity-chant/index.html
[17]
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/03/15/ou-oklahoma-frat-race-free-speech-column/24808377/
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