Of 941 incidents of anti-Semitism in the U.S. in 2015, some 90 took place on university campuses, says advocacy group • Declining global interest in the Palestinian issue is “driving the Palestinian Authority and its supporters crazy,” says Likud MK.
The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday held a special session on the growing targeting of Jewish students in the U.S. by the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
The meeting was called by MKs Anat Berko (Likud) and Nachman Shai (Zionist Union) following a June 16 report in Israel Hayom, which found that Jewish students in renowned American universities, including NYU, the University of Pennsylvania, Connecticut College, the University of Oklahoma, Harvard, Claremont College in Los Angeles, and Vassar College in New York, to name a few, were being harassed by pro-Palestinian and BDS activists.
In some schools, Students for Justice in Palestine activists taped fake eviction notices on the doors of Jewish students’ dorm rooms, and threatened to forcibly evict them if they refused to leave.
While the schools profess to oppose any anti-Israeli activity, they have done nothing against those accusing Israel of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes.
“BDS is a wave of anti-Semitism against Jews, which unfortunately has been taking place on so-called enlightened campuses [in the U.S.],” committee Chairman MK Avi Dichter (Likud) said.
“Many of the actions taken by BDS activists stem from their frustration over the [international] loss of interest in the Palestinian issue. Arab nations are not focused on the Palestinian issue and it’s driving the Palestinian Authority and its supporters crazy.”
According to Dichter, “We have experience on our side and we won’t allow the Israeli idea to be eroded. We will not tolerate [attacks] against Jews or Israelis. The Knesset and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee are committed to all Jews, regardless of where they are, especially when they come under attack simply for being Jewish.”
Amnon Goldstof, co-founder of Reservists on Duty, an advocacy group that seeks to counter the Breaking the Silence advocacy group, which is dedicated to exposing alleged wrongdoings by the IDF, told the committee that out of the 941 incidents of anti-Semitism in the U.S. in 2015, some 90 took place on university campuses.
“Jewish college students in U.S. are a persecuted minority,” he said.
And Berko remarked, “We have to face the truth — Jewish students are no longer safe on [U.S.] campuses, and faculty members who oppose Palestinian propaganda also suffer.”
