Be Careful Who You Associate With

I Hope the American Jewish Community is Paying Attention

It makes me sick to my stomach.

This whole rise in antisemitism makes me sick.  I might be wrong, but I think many people who are paying attention are shocked by the virulence of anger displayed towards the Jewish community both in the U.S. and around the world.

I’m not.

You see, folks like me have been the subject of anger, ridicule and disgust by “the other side” for a long time now.  What am I like?  A conservative.  We’ve been labeled many things by those who preach inclusivity.  Conservative speakers have been driven out of universities for years now.  Snowflakes who felt “unsafe” by the words of a speaker or who were offended by their words caused speakers to be rejected or thrown off campus.  Those in political power demean us.  This is nothing new.

I am NOT equating me and my fellow conservatives with the plight of American Jews.  My unfortunate brethren are being treated much worse.  Far worse and for centuries, not a few years.  This sickens me.

Schools and organizations are defending their antisemitism.  Or are looking the other way.  Schools who chased conservative speakers off campus are allowing this antisemitism to flourish on campus today in the spirit of inclusivity.  And the same is occurring in business and in government.

Consider these horrendous actions:

• Open hatred of Jews surges globally, inflamed by Gaza war

• Jewish students at Cornell University are receiving online threats.

• Harvard students stage march, 'die-in' blaming Israel for hospital blast, 'genocide' in Gaza.  Chanting “Hey!  Hey!  You can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.” Of course the “hospital blast” was a fake.

• George Washington University protest on Israel-Gaza war stirs outrage.  Demonstrators projected slogans on the side of a library.  One of the messages beamed on to the building in Washington DC said, "Free Palestine from the river to the sea".  The Anti-Defamation League has described it as code for the destruction of the state of Israel.

• Jewish students at Cooper Union in New York City sheltered in a library as pro-Palestinian demonstrators banged on the glass walls of the building.

• At a pro-Palestinian protest near Tulane University, at least two students were assaulted in a melee that began when someone tried to burn an Israeli flag

• The president of NYU's Student Bar Association wrote that "Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life.”

• The House passes resolution in support of Israel in war against Hamas.  16 members of the House voted against this bill.  Neither the House leadership or the White House have condemned these votes.

• Jamie Lee Curtis, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian and other celebrities have spoken out in support of Palestine.

• The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel is forcing boycotts of McDonalds, Burger King, Domino’s Pizza, Starbucks and other companies for their support of Israel

And there are so many more stories like these.

Israel is the only country on earth that gets attacked and then immediately the attacker and its proponents call for a ceasefire.  It’s like if the Japanese called for a ceasefire right after Pearl Harbor.

I believe in the First Amendment.  I also believe that we all bear responsibility for our actions.

In the spirit of that, many Big-money donors are slamming Ivy League universities and pulling funding over their responses to the Israel-Hamas war.  Good for them.

What I hope is that the Jewish community in the U.S. observes who is supporting which side and shops, invests and votes accordingly.

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“Difficulty at the beginning usually means ease at the end.”

-          Confucius

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