The rise in antisemitism among young people is terrifying!
The conflict in Gaza has unleashed a new wave of antisemitism. From college campuses to social media platforms, it is now common to blame Jews around the world for the actions of the Netanyahu government.
In a article on medium.com entitled “Is Anti-Zionism Antisemitic?,” Dustin Armand cites an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) report that states that while 73 percent of Jewish students have encountered “some form of antisemitism,” only “2.7 percent of Jewish students have experienced or witnessed an actual physical assault.” According to this line of thinking, someone can make any horrible comment to a Jewish person, and as long as it does not include a threat of violence, it is socially acceptable. Seriously? An individual who publicly makes racist statements about Blacks, Muslims, or Asians would be ostracized — or worse — unless they are immigrants, in which case most any horrendous accusation is publicly tolerated these days.
Another Medium article by Caitlin Johnstone, entitled “Israel Is Turning Hospitals Into Mass Graves While The West Fixates On ‘Antisemitism’,” laments that “getting far less attention than the fact that some Zionist university students are feeling uncomfortable feelings because other students say Palestinians are human beings is the fact that Israel is establishing a pattern of massacring civilians and burying them in mass graves outside hospitals in Gaza…” Clearly, Ms. Johnstone has never been harassed or verbally attacked solely due to her ethnic or religious heritage. I have, and it is unsettling at best and terrifying at worst when someone targets you with a racially-motivated comment. You never know what will follow a verbal attack.
Imagine the terror of being surrounded by a group of peers shouting hate speech at you when you are merely trying to get to class! What college student would not feel threatened when being unjustly targeted and reviled, just because they are tangentially associated with the actions of an unpopular, foreign regime?
Most Israelis do not even like the Netanyahu government. An April 2, 2024, Aljazeera article, “Why are thousands protesting against Netanyahu’s government in Israel?,” notes that “only 15 percent of Israelis want Netanyahu to keep his job after the war on Gaza.” Thus, harassing American Jews who have no control over the actions of the Israeli government is like blaming Americans of Chinese ancestry for China’s abuses of their Uighur population.
Bibi Netanyahu is the Israeli version of Donald Trump. These men have a lot in common, including the determination to be the leader of their nation to avoid criminal prosecution. Chris McGreal, in their July 27, 2023, article in The Guardian, “Netanyahu and Trump: two desperate men exploiting power to save themselves,” declares that “both men are in a fight to stay out of prison. Federal and state charges are stacking up against Trump; Netanyahu is in the middle of a corruption trial that has already lasted more than three years. And power gives the pair the best prospect of avoiding justice.”
Imagine for a moment that President Biden responds to a domestic terrorist attack by utilizing indiscriminate bombing raids that annihilate civilians. Amidst global outrage, ALL Americans are blamed for the actions of their military that were ordered by their president, and Americans abroad are subjected to vile verbal harassment and physical threats — even those people who never supported Biden or his military actions. This misplaced anger and hatred would be neither fair nor reasonable, yet this is happening today to Jewish students in American schools.
Support for the plight of the Palestinian people is justified. Likewise, free speech is important, as is the right to protest. However, harassing American Jewish students by shouting antisemitic slogans, such as “the 7th of October is going to be everyday for you” and telling them to “go back to Poland” or brandishing threatening signage like “AL-QASAM’S [the military wing of Hamas] NEXT TARGETS” with an arrow pointing to Jewish counter-protesters or incorporating the inverted red triangle, which is a symbol of support for violent resistance against Israel, is reprehensible — especially at institutions of learning. American Jewish students should not be blamed for the actions of an unpopular, foreign government. It is ignorant and blatantly racist.
When public hate speech toward any group is tolerated, rationalized, and excused, it is the first step toward violent physical abuse.
(C) Joyce O’Day 2024. All Rights Reserved.
AI was NOT used in the creation of this article.
Joyce O’Day 
I remember you explaining this to me th
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I must admit this constant talk of “antisemitism” is overwhelming! I no longer go to college campuses or waste time on social media platforms, so unless a person tells me or indicates in some way that they follow the Jewish faith, how would I know?
Sadly, the issue of “antisemitism” is for the most part raised by Jews themselves, most people in my experience don’t even think about it.
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It is easy to ignore when it is not directed your way. I don’t mean that as an insult. Check out my article “The Dangers of Casual Antisemitism.” There is a link under this article or google the title along with Joyce O’Day and it will lead you to the article via my LinkedIn page or via Vocal.
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Joyce, I don’t ever take offence so worry not. Now to the issue at hand, when I meet a person, their religion, politics and sexual preferences are of no interest to me. They are in fact no business of mine.
I walk the streets, frequent shops, clubs, pubs and the like, antisemitism I have not seen!
Like the term “racism”, it seems to be a fall back position, not unlike the ‘boy who kept calling Wolf’. In the end most people ignore him. After all the real issue is the WAR itself and that is a major concern.
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