Another College President Falls - And Anti-Semitism Rages On

On Wednesday night, it was revealed by the New York Post that embattled Columbia University president Minouche Shafik resigned suddenly and is returning to her home country, the United Kingdom. She will work with the foreign secretary, tasked with reviewing the government’s approach to international development.

 

She is yet another university president who has resigned due to the outbreak of anti-semitism across America’s college campuses. Since December, presidents from UPenn, Harvard, MIT, Cornell and several others have decided to leave their posts as student support for Hamas has become more widespread.

Pro-Hamas students are demonstrating, creating tent cities on campuses, making Jewish students feel unwelcome and threatening them. Pro-Palestinian chants of “from the river to the sea” are heard daily.

If the roles were reversed, i.e., if Palestinian students were being threatened by Jewish or Pro-Israeli students, would the colleges have taken a “hands-off” approach as they are now? Definitely not.

This issue in Gaza has exacerbated this latest latest wave of anti-semitic activity which has lay dormant, seething just under the surface for years. People have tried to forget that America in the 1930s and 1940s was an anti-semitic country whose leaders ignored Hitler until they couldn’t.

Then, of course, feigned righteous indignation took over. But, if you recall, the US Ambassador to Great Britain supported Hitler.

Joseph P Kennedy had a close friendship with Viscountess Nancy Astor, and their correspondence is replete with anti-semitic statements. According to Kennedy biographer, Edward Renehan:

As fiercely anti-communist as they were anti-semitic, Kennedy and Astor looked upon Adolf Hitler as a welcome solution to both of these "world problems" (Nancy's phrase). Kennedy replied that he expected the "Jew media" in the United States to become a problem, that "Jewish pundits in New York and Los Angeles" were already making noises contrived to "set a match to the fuse of the world”.

After World War II, when everyone realized the horror caused in Europe by the Nazis, anti-semitism was buried deeply, and probably feeling shameful or guilty, America attempted to show a different face in its relations toward Jews; generally, and towards Israel, in particular.

But that shroud is lifted, as the Biden-Harris Administration shows contempt for Israel while paying lip-service to this only true ally in the Middle East. This Administration is pushing a ceasefire which would be detrimental to Israel’s continued existence.

The hate crime of anti-semitism continues to be ignored. And college presidents will continue to allow Pro-Hamas activities to continue, to their detriment.

It will stop only when the Congress cuts off Federal funding to the colleges, because the Biden-Harris Administration won’t.