Tuesday, March 11, 2025
The Misuse of Antisemitism Stifles Discussion in Indiana
Harry Targ
The Governor of Indiana issued the following executive
order, "Enduring Student Safety at State Educational
Institutions"
Indiana Executive Order 25-39 https://www.in.gov/gov/files/EO-25-39-.pdf
Jewish Voice for Peace Indiana Responded:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H0JExG5uEAFrnRv9HdqC_ZQ_-NmDFGTU/view
CHARGES OF ANTISEMITISM STIFLE DISCUSSION, DEBATE, AND
PROTEST IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIANA
DHS
agents detained Mahmoud Khalil, a green card-holding Palestinian activist who took part
in the Gaza protests at Columbia University
(Originally posted on April 23, 2024 but even more relevant today as the Trump
Administration and state governments are increasingly stifling
dissent.including incarcerating those who criticize the wars in the Middle
East).
Today the corporate
media and lobby groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) are seeking to squash debate
concerning Israel’s war on Gaza and the US three billion dollars a year
perpetual military aid to Israel. Criticism of Israel’s brutal bombing of Gaza
is defined as threatening to Jewish students and more generally is defined as
antisemitism. Using charges of antisemitism as the excuse for repressing
dissenting views and protest on campuses all across the United States has
become common. Charges of antisemitism have become the McCarthyite “threat of
communism” of our own day.
In 2024, the
Congress, the media, politicians everywhere reignited claims about the threat
of antisemitism. The House Committee on Education and the
Workforce reassembled to interrogate the President of Columbia University for
four hours. And, in response, university authorities arrested 100 students
protesting Columbia’s complicity with the state of Israel.
A Congress, a media,
politicians who historically ignore the sensitivities of those who are not
Christian, and at various points in time in US history have refused to admit
Jews fleeing oppression and threats of massacre, wax eloquent about how Jews
are being made ‘uncomfortable.” USA Today reported on the
dramatic increase in antisemitism in all states of the US. Their “proof”
included someone punched in the nose, or a person feeling that she must cover
up the mezuzah on her door. Of course, no one should be made to feel
uncomfortable in their daily lives but paradoxically that discomfort is being
fueled by this nefarious campaign of warnings of antisemitism.
https://www.usatoday.com/.../antisemitism.../73165421007/
And who is making the
claims of antisemitism? The Anti-Defamation League is one such publicist. The
ADL in recent years has become an organization pursuing antisemitism and
defending Israel. Other groups, whose task is primarily to defend the state of
Israel, such as The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), have been
fueling the nationwide hysteria.
And why the hysterical
campaign now? First, the charges are designed to cover up and
distort criticisms of the state of Israel’s genocidal bombings and starving of
the people of Gaza and the growing violence against Palestinians in the West
Bank.
Second, while
there is no necessary connection to antisemitism at home, it is claimed, that
to combat antisemitism in the United States greater military support of Israel
is necessary (incidentally military aid to Israel leads to their purchase of
guns, bombs, tanks, and drones, from US military contractors such as Lockhead
Martin and Raytheon).
Third,
control of the Middle East and Eastern Europe has been central to the
geopolitical thinking of British and then US policymakers. Western militarists
and diplomats have theorized that the imperial country (or its proxy) that
controls the Middle East and Eastern Europe (the gateways to Asia) can control
the international system. Both Israel and Ukraine are key US proxies in the
worldwide struggle of the West to maintain global hegemony.
Finally, U,S,
electoral politics has always been ethnic and racial. Raising the specter of
antisemitism trumps (the pun intended) the vicious attacks on emigres from
Latin America, Muslims, and Asians. The outrage against antisemitism shows the
world that politicians are not racists.
And again, those of us
from the Jewish community who speak out against the genocidal policy of Israel
are outraged when we, as others, are criticized as being “antisemitic.” For us,
the historic pain and suffering of our ancestors is being used to justify
global imperialism, racism, and militarism.
