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Did you happen to read the ADL report at all..? Because those attacks definitely sound anti-semitic.

itamarst 4y ago
I fundamentally don't trust the ADL, so not going to waste time reading their stuff. Based on my political opinions they would claim I'm an anti-semite, and again, I'm Jewish, grew up in Israel, still have family there. For a much more nuanced view re ADL's claims (from a source you may find more trustworthy than me) I recommend reading https://forward.com/news/521941/jewish-campus-antisemitism-gw-israel/ https://forward.com/news/521941/jewish-campus-antisemitism-g...: -------------------- ''' The first reports from George Washington University last October were alarming: Someone had broken into a fraternity house and desecrated a Torah — tearing the scroll and dousing it with laundry detergent. The story spread like wildfire online; hundreds joined a campus vigil against antisemitism. “The status quo, where Jewish students at this campus are fearing for their lives, has existed for far too long,” declared the fraternity president, Chris Osborne, choking up as he spoke. Many Jewish students found the assertion exaggerated. The incident was upsetting, but hardly life-threatening: The “Torah” in question turned out to be a small replica, the kind you can buy for $20 at a synagogue gift shop. And whoever entered the house the night before Halloween damaged the Torah while throwing hot sauce all over the kitchen, ripping out smoke detectors and toppling appliances; Tau Kappa Epsilon is not a Jewish fraternity and the motive of the crime was unclear. D.C. police closed their investigation a week later without any leads. But in certain quarters, the incident was held up as a kind of Kristallnacht on fraternity row, heralding the peril of Jews at universities nationwide. The head of the Anti-Defamation League condemned it as a “blatant act of antisemitism,” and Algemeiner, a right-leaning Jewish news outlet, called it one of the year’s “most shocking instances of campus antisemitism.” ... Even those who were sympathetic to the missions of national Jewish organizations said the attention they lavish on the campus can sometimes miss the mark. Too often, they said, the spotlight bends toward histrionics, obscures positive Jewish experiences or simply overwhelms the 18-to-22-year-olds as they seek to navigate the complex politics of Israel and Jewish identity while still making it to class on time. “All these organizations have their own agenda,” said Jessica Carr, 21, a senior and president of GW for Israel. “Even though we might agree with them — we’re all pro-Israel — they all have their own agenda and it’s not necessarily what’s best for GW.” Beyond college campuses, rising antisemitism in the United States has included synagogue shootings, a rabbi taken hostage during Shabbat services, and beatings of visibly Orthodox Jews in New York. The campus incidents documented by the ADL almost never involve violence and are usually related to Israel. '''
- localplume 4y ago
  My support for the ADL has waxed and waned, me also being Jewish, so I can understand the skepticism. Interesting. Good article. I can see some of the acts may have been blown out of proportion, and I think it is dangerous to paint _all_ pro-Palestinian activism as anti-semitic. I mean I support all peoples having a home in Israel. Its just a problem of engrained anti-semitism, propaganda, and students not using their brain enough of the time I guess so most pro-Palestinian activities just get taken over by the loud voices of anti-semites. Stuff like "But most of these students “personally never experienced antisemitism and did not know of any antisemitic occurrences on campus,” Aeder wrote in a recent essay. “Their fear of antisemitism was informed not by their own experiences, but by what they read online and on social media.”" is interesting.

I fundamentally don't trust the ADL, so not going to waste time reading their stuff. Based on my political opinions they would claim I'm an anti-semite, and again, I'm Jewish, grew up in Israel, still have family there. For a much more nuanced view re ADL's claims (from a source you may find more trustworthy than me) I recommend reading https://forward.com/news/521941/jewish-campus-antisemitism-gw-israel/ https://forward.com/news/521941/jewish-campus-antisemitism-g...: -------------------- ''' The first reports from George Washington University last October were alarming: Someone had broken into a fraternity house and desecrated a Torah — tearing the scroll and dousing it with laundry detergent. The story spread like wildfire online; hundreds joined a campus vigil against antisemitism. “The status quo, where Jewish students at this campus are fearing for their lives, has existed for far too long,” declared the fraternity president, Chris Osborne, choking up as he spoke. Many Jewish students found the assertion exaggerated. The incident was upsetting, but hardly life-threatening: The “Torah” in question turned out to be a small replica, the kind you can buy for $20 at a synagogue gift shop. And whoever entered the house the night before Halloween damaged the Torah while throwing hot sauce all over the kitchen, ripping out smoke detectors and toppling appliances; Tau Kappa Epsilon is not a Jewish fraternity and the motive of the crime was unclear. D.C. police closed their investigation a week later without any leads. But in certain quarters, the incident was held up as a kind of Kristallnacht on fraternity row, heralding the peril of Jews at universities nationwide. The head of the Anti-Defamation League condemned it as a “blatant act of antisemitism,” and Algemeiner, a right-leaning Jewish news outlet, called it one of the year’s “most shocking instances of campus antisemitism.” ... Even those who were sympathetic to the missions of national Jewish organizations said the attention they lavish on the campus can sometimes miss the mark. Too often, they said, the spotlight bends toward histrionics, obscures positive Jewish experiences or simply overwhelms the 18-to-22-year-olds as they seek to navigate the complex politics of Israel and Jewish identity while still making it to class on time. “All these organizations have their own agenda,” said Jessica Carr, 21, a senior and president of GW for Israel. “Even though we might agree with them — we’re all pro-Israel — they all have their own agenda and it’s not necessarily what’s best for GW.” Beyond college campuses, rising antisemitism in the United States has included synagogue shootings, a rabbi taken hostage during Shabbat services, and beatings of visibly Orthodox Jews in New York. The campus incidents documented by the ADL almost never involve violence and are usually related to Israel. '''

localplume 4y ago
My support for the ADL has waxed and waned, me also being Jewish, so I can understand the skepticism. Interesting. Good article. I can see some of the acts may have been blown out of proportion, and I think it is dangerous to paint _all_ pro-Palestinian activism as anti-semitic. I mean I support all peoples having a home in Israel. Its just a problem of engrained anti-semitism, propaganda, and students not using their brain enough of the time I guess so most pro-Palestinian activities just get taken over by the loud voices of anti-semites. Stuff like "But most of these students “personally never experienced antisemitism and did not know of any antisemitic occurrences on campus,” Aeder wrote in a recent essay. “Their fear of antisemitism was informed not by their own experiences, but by what they read online and on social media.”" is interesting.