Daphne Anson: No Israel Please, We're Jewish Students

Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East. (From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Monday, 30 November 2015

No Israel Please, We're Jewish Students

With nasty chants such as these on college campuses it's no wonder Jewish and pro-Israel students feel intimidated:

(The venue: Hunter College in New York; the chants: "Zionists out of CUNY!" and "Long live the Intifada!")

Even so, US-based Rabbi Shmuley Boteach was ill-prepared for the craven response of Jewish students across the herring pond a few days ago when he mentioned the "I" word:

'What shook my confidence in British Jewry today was my experience at King’s College [London] where I was invited to address the Jewish Society. I focused my remarks on Israeli democracy and the ways in which it could be a model for the autocratic Arab states of the region. Israel is the great hope for the spread of human rights throughout the Middle East.

As I spoke, I could see my hosts growing restless and the discomfiture on their faces surprised me. I was in for a bigger shock, however, when my hosts stopped me mid-lecture and said that they were opening the floor for questions. I am always happy to respond to questions, friendly or hostile, but I have rarely been interrupted so abruptly by the people who invited me to speak. (The talk was video taped on a phone.)

When I asked for an explanation, I was told by the president of the organization, a young man wearing a yarmulke, that the Jewish Society has a policy against speaking about Israel. The group, he said was non-political and focused on “Jewish subjects.”

Israel not a Jewish subject? I was dumbfounded. It was as if Israel had become the Voldemort of nations, the country that dare not be named.

When I recovered from the shock, I asked if I should speak about lox and bagels, klezmer music or Manischewitz wine. My sarcasm seemed to go right over my hosts’ heads. For them, Israel and Judaism were unrelated. I asked if the murder of Israeli citizens in countless terror attacks over the past month was likewise a “political issue,” or one of human rights. I was told by one of the students that these things needs not be put in boxes. Worse, I sensed that these students, who had enough pride in their heritage, and commitment to their faith, to wear their yarmulkes in public, had become so cowed by the omnipresent hostility and bullying on and off British campuses that they were afraid to engage in a dialogue about Israel.

The talk was video taped on a phone and the discomfort of the students discussing, let alone defending, Israel is deeply jarring....'

3 comments:

Ian1 December 2015 at 00:09
A relevant clip from Douglas Murray's podcast with Sam Harris
Douglas Murray W/ Sam Harris - Political Correctness [Racism/ Yale Students]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ZaoTsdf64

The whole thing is worth listening to, especially Murray's rant about Bruce Jenner
On the Maintenance of Civilization
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Empress Trudy1 December 2015 at 02:23
Jews across the globe will be compelled to practice some brutal triage. There are some communities that can't be saved and Britain is possibly one of them. At under 200,000 Jews in Britain it won't be a catastrophe if half of them leave or assimilate or generally disappear. Jewish existence in Europe is flickering out generally so where it starts to evaporate doesn't entirely matter. Britain, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Germany - wherever. The trend is obvious.
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Daphne Anson3 December 2015 at 13:04
Students answer back http://www.jewishnews.co.uk/uk-students-too-cowed-to-talk-about-israel-according-to-outspoken-american-rabbi/
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https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9685/britain-little-lies

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