Campus Turmoil 4/30/24
Israel is in the grip of an existential war, so it’s counterintuitive how safe I felt there during Passover, as opposed to how uncomfortable I felt as soon as I arrived home. I had logged-off social media for a week, only to find campus encampments, canceled commencement ceremonies and school violence upon my return. U.S. college kids seem to liken these tent cities to Woodstock, when they are anything but: masks are used to obscure identities, Jewish teachers and students are blocked from campuses, and there’s mass harassment. Our cultural slide into “acceptable” hate rhetoric is scary. The consensus is that many encampments “give Coachella vibes.” There are interpretive dance performances and communal art corners, kind of like a socialist summer camp for newly-minted adults. Peaceful protest and free speech are essential to democracy, but physical and verbal intimidation, and calls for the destruction of Israel and its people, are not. And what about the irony of forcibly taking over land to make an (invalid) argument about land colonization?
Do not conflate the Civil Rights Movement with what’s going on between Israel and Hamas. To be clear, the Free Palestine movement happening on campuses is an Islamic Jihad movement headed by the Iranian Republic. I’d love to know all the parties paying for it, because this was certainly planned–nothing says spontaneous like an expensive sea of uniform green REI tents. These kids have been DUPED. They’re not marching for indigenous liberation, or Palestinians, but jihadi conquest. The reestablishment of Israel in 1948 was the reestablishment of Jewish sovereignty and stewardship of the land from colonial powers. Jews have always been there. It was never Muslim, or Arab or Palestinian land until it was colonized by them. Al Aqsa is as indigenous as Mount Rushmore. The decolonization narrative aims to dehumanize not just Israelis, but all Jews, to the extent that otherwise rational people excuse, deny, or support barbarity. Shame on those that contribute to this agenda of erasure and delegitimization of Israel, and the indigeneity of Jewish people.
And shame on the University "leadership" that has lost control of their campuses. A Persian Jewish friend recently commented that she never understood the choices her parents had to make when they fled Iran. How do you know when to stand firm, and when to get out? Where is the line? She has kids in the UC system and has to protect her family, because clearly the school can’t, or won’t. Instead of removing the violators, Jews were told not to come to campus because their safety couldn’t be guaranteed. It’s easier to police the law-abiding victims than the law-flouting perpetrators. A special shout out to UCLA for the violence, and to Columbia for taking full tuition payments for online courses (only if you’re a Jew, everyone else is safe to go to class). The hypocrisy of assigning weight to certain groups’ civil rights is mind boggling. I doubt I’m even taking my three kids to my Harvard graduation in May, if commencement actually happens. I’ve already outsourced one kid and am working on the other two. Harvard keeps announcing “suspensions” in the Yard to avoid a formal closure, but to me, it means the same thing: I’m not safe on campus.
Yet, I felt safe taking my kids to Israel for Passover: there was a long-time-coming family wedding, a birthday party, cousin sleepovers, and a massive seder. It is impossible to take small sips of life in Israel–you guzzle it. The day before and after Iran’s flex, the beach boardwalks and restaurants were full. Israelis do not cower inside; they live big, as if everyday could be their last. Since I returned home, this is what’s been on my mind:
-In Israel, I saw two brand-new runways running parallel to the freeway. They were unmarked, sitting next to farms, and sprang up so quietly that when I asked my fellow car passengers about them, they all expressed surprise. Where the hell did those come from?!?
-The dangerously misinformed, the true haters, the Holocaust inverters…what do they have in common? They’re all using the Red Triangle as a symbol of Hamas-support. The Nazi’s cleverly used symbols to segregate people and this one was used for political prisoners. People were rounded up, sent to camps, labeled, and murdered. Symbols are powerful. I’m going to state the obvious: if you employ Nazi symbolism, you’re on the wrong side of history.
-Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposing political party who had a brief stint as PM in 2022, is starting to make the rounds on the international news circuit. He mostly decries the unjust portrayal of Israel, but he includes some pointed digs at Bibi. Netanyahu’s days are assuredly numbered, but is it really time to start campaigning abroad? I’m pretty certain it’s still time to close ranks, buddy.
-There are rumors that the ICC will try both Israel and Hamas leaders for war crimes. The crime of the former is not currently related to civilian deaths, since the PHA (ie, Hamas) has acknowledged incorrect numbers and there is a clear argument to be made about civilian to combatant casualty ratios, but is focused on abetting aid. Seriously, what other country provides aid to its war counterpart? Increased aid, to boot. Don’t send me down this thought road.
-We finally got a proof-of-life for American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the remainder of his left (dominant) arm and wonder how the hell he is still alive. He must be made of sterner stuff, like his mother Rachel. She said it best, just “survive.”
-Before Shabbat, we saw an early Friday afternoon Hanan Ben Ari concert. He’s our family favorite. Though he’s played in the US recently, this was his first Israel show outside entertaining soldiers or those in recovery, since October 7th. It was a powerful experience. I screamed, sang, cried, danced, swung my hands in the air, exchanged numbers with the family sitting behind me, all of it. I was unsure if he’d play his original big hit “Tutim” (strawberries) about life being sweet, but he did. Encouraged by survivor feedback, he told us he’d kept it a part of his set to remind us to embrace life and to keep fighting for all that’s good and sweet. Amen.
Am Yisrael Chai!
Kelly