College protests bringing antisemitism back 'in style,' authors warn: It's 'accepted to some degree'
The rise of outspoken antisemitism on college campuses may come as a shock to many around America, but Israel’s former special envoy to combat antisemitism said she’s “not surprised.”
Noa Tishby said on “The Brian Kilmeade Show” that the “hip social justice” trend of anti-Zionism has been brewing beneath the surface for a long time.
“I think this is a fortuitous time, as you said, for our book Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew to come out because it’s probably the most uncomfortable time to be a Jew in recent modern history,” Tishby said.
Co-author and former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho said the purpose of the book is to allow Americans to educate themselves, an act he argued is necessary as unrest continues to grow across the country.
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One freshman student at UCLA captured video of himself trying to attend class on campus when he was stopped by protesters. They questioned whether he was a Jew or a Zionist.
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“Listen, this is Germany 1932,” Tishby said in response to the video. “It’s unbelievable that we’re actually living through this again. And I think to the point of anti-Zionism being the new form of antisemitism, I think it’s pretty clear right now that these things are intertwined.”
Tishby explained that Zionism is a term referring to Jewish liberation and the belief that the State of Israel has a right to exist, a definition that she argued has been “hijacked.”
“It was taken to mean something completely different. So Zionism was taken to mean that it’s a movement that necessitates the genocide of Palestinians, and that is what people actually think and is not true,” she said.
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Acho then recalled a moment from his own life when a woman accused him of being paid by “Zionists” for his involvement and contribution to his and Tishby’s book.
He told host Brian Kilmeade that in that moment, he took on the pain caused by the divisiveness in America.
“For the first time, I felt scared driving home,” Acho recalled of his interaction. “What might she or her peers be willing to do?”
“I am so frustrated and heartbroken by where we are in society because there’s so much pain, there’s so much hurting. And it’s not just in the Jewish community, obviously, it’s in the Palestinian community as well. And my heart’s just really broken by all of the pain that’s currently existing.”
Students at Columbia University returned to the campus’ lawn area on Friday morning to continue their anti-Israel protest and say they will “hold this line” until their demands are met. Fox News
At the end of their book, Acho asked if antisemitism can be stopped.
He said Tishby responded, “I don’t know if we can stop it, but we can make it go out of style.”
“Antisemitism, it’s in style,” Acho warned about the current climate in America. “It’s almost … accepted to some degree now.”
Original article source: College protests bringing antisemitism back ‘in style,’ authors warn: It’s ‘accepted to some degree’