The recent congressional hearing with the IVY League university presidents was perplexing. It turns out antisemitism was subjected to contextual rationalization. The leaders of these prestigious universities conspicuously avoided the question of whether advocating for the genocide of Jews should be prohibited.
If you haven't seen the congressional hearing, we advise you to watch a 3-minute video clip by clicking the picture below.
The Reut Institute identified the framing of Jews as uniformly white and privileged as a threat, which it termed ‘Jewish erasure.’ At the time, this met skepticism, as many American Jews are of Ashkenazi origin and many of them do well in business. However, the oversimplification of discourse as dichotomous oppressors and oppressed is an ethical distortion. Whiteness does not equate to malignancy. This hearing merely reflects the infiltration of detrimental ideologies that constrain discourse.
The Jewish community must contend with the challenges posed by identity politics and critical race theory. We ought to take pride in the remarkable success that Jewish individuals and communities have achieved in the United States and not feel ashamed of it. Simultaneously, we must advocate for the protection and support of our community, recognizing that we are a minority that has endured and still endure displays of hatred throughout history.
Until the 1970s, the leading universities in the United States enforced enrollment considering Jews an overly successful minority requiring limits.. At that time, Jews were regarded as a talented minority requiring limitations. Today, the reluctance to prohibit advocating Jewish genocide largely stems from perceiving Jews as privileged, automatically casting them as oppressors.
Naturally, no Jew would celebrate this "upgrade" in social status that renders Jews a public that does not require, let alone deserve, protection from universities. What is unmistakable is the Varied Faces of Anti-Semitism.
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