Anti-Semitism on Campus

Just in case you were wondering how it happened that so many of today’s undergraduates have become anti-Semitic Hamas supporters, the answer is clear for all to see. The national association of history professors is about to proclaim itself champions of the Palestinian cause. 

What can we do about the rot that has infected the minds of humanities professors? One thing that students can do is to avoid these majors. When it comes to history, approximately 1.2% of American college students choose it as a major. This does not tell us how many students take history courses. And it does not tell us what is happening in other humanities courses.

That means, the history major is on life support. Tenure track and other jobs are disappearing. Could it be that the profession has sabotaged itself by allowing itself to be taken over by activist professors?

So suggests Pamela Paul, though she is far too kind to the professors who are now standing up to defend education in Gaza. One suspects that they thought it would be innocent to defend the effort to educate children. It’s a nice way to dissimulate their anti-Semitism.

You may or may not know that the Palestinian movement promotes anti-Semitic propaganda in the guise of education. But, surely the group of professional historians does not know it.

And, as Paul points out, they do not know that Hamas hides out in schools, the better to avoid the IDF. Using civilians as human shields is obviously a war crime, as you know.

And these historians do not seem to care that the so-called Palestinian movement began as a pro-Nazi movement, led by Yasser Arafat’s uncle. One would expect historians to know something about the history, but alas, such is not the case.

So, these ignorant historians have adopted a Neo-Nazi cause, the better to foster anti-Semitism. Paul writes:

But the most pressing question at the annual conference of the American Historical Association, which I just attended in New York, had nothing to do with any of this. It wasn’t even about the study or practice of history. Instead, it was about what was called Israel’s scholasticide — defined as the intentional destruction of an education system — in Gaza, and how the A.H.A., which represents historians in academia, K-12 schools, public institutions and museums in the United States, should respond.

What are these supposedly professional historians promoting:

First, a condemnation of Israeli violence that the group says undermines Gazans’ right to education. Second, the demand for an immediate cease-fire. Finally, and perhaps most unusually for an academic organization, a commitment to “form a committee to assist in rebuilding Gaza’s educational infrastructure.”

The resolution passed. It was not even close:

It’s perhaps not surprising, then, that the vote passed overwhelmingly, 428 to 88. Chants of “Free, free Palestine!” broke out as the result was announced.

There is something tone deaf and almost blatantly stupid about the historians taking a stand for Neo-Nazism:

Finally, the resolution substantiates and hardens the perception that academia has become fundamentally politicized at precisely the moment Donald Trump, hostile toward academia, is entering office and already threatening to crack down on left-wing activism in education.

One remarks that the titans of business, especially those who are involved in high tech, have reconciled themselves to the new Trump presidency. You might consider it good business. Or you might believe that Mark Zuckerberg of Meta has simply seen the light.

The associated historians have failed to read the room. They belong to a dying profession, one that is offering college courses that no one wants to take, and they have decided to compound their error by going all-in in favor of indoctrination.

They want to use their positions to militate for  free Palestine. They seem blissfully unaware of the fact that in a Palestinian state, one that is run according to Sharia Law, there is no freedom. Gays are executed; women are murdered in so-called honor killings. 

And yet, their consuming obsession is to blame their failures on Jews. The least we can say, as Paul suggests, is that they are damaging their own reputations and undermining their professional credibility.

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