We are a group of Jewish and Israeli students and faculty at the University of Chicago. We are watching with apprehension as our campus is transformed into another encampment, and we write to express our concern over the nature of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that are currently taking place there. We underscore that our concern is with the nature of the demonstrations and not the expressions of sympathy for the Palestinians of Gaza, which we share.
We insist that there is an essential difference between expressions of antisemitism and legitimate concern about Israel’s war in Gaza. The line between criticism of the Israeli government and unvarnished Jew-hatred begins to break down once Zionism is labeled the enemy and demonstrations reject Israel’s right to exist.
We believe that a protest flaunting signs that enjoin students to “globalize the intifada,” recalling the wave of explicitly genocidal attacks against Israeli civilians throughout the early 2000s, is not “anti-war.” Together with the call for a “Free Palestine from the river to the sea,” such chanting takes place either explicitly or implicitly under the banner of anti-Zionism, with a clear wink and a nod to antisemitism. We believe that the tokenization of Jewish students who participate in this glorification of nihilism cannot hide its core message, any more than Verband Nationaldeutscher Juden did in Germany 90 years ago. And most importantly, we believe that the core role of the University ought to remain the exploration and discussion of hard ideas and not the extirpation of discussion by slogans chanted from a megaphone.
Fabian Bachrach / May 6, 2024 at 4:13 am
Well sais
concerned student / May 3, 2024 at 4:53 pm
What is antisemitic about rejecting ethnonationalism in principle?
Jewish alum / May 3, 2024 at 10:32 pm
Do you reject other ethnostates? Japan? France? Most of the Arab nations? Or is the Jewish state the only ethnostate to which you object. Very curious.
Anti-hypocrite / May 4, 2024 at 12:05 pm
France is explicitly not an ethnostate…
see hir.harvard[dot]edu/color-blind-frances-approach-to-race/
Jewish alum, how do you feel about America or Germany as an ethnostate?
A / May 6, 2024 at 7:27 am
Israel is not ethnonationalist. It is comprised of Middle Eastern Jews, European Jews (who comprise less than 50% of the country and whose DNA is in large part the same as that of Palestinian non-Jews, thus the name “European” is a misnomer), African and Ethiopian Jews, Iberian Jews, non-Jewish Druze and Arabs. It is also no more of a “religious” ethnostate than every other middle eastern state-most of which are explicitly Islamic states, Pakistan or India-that is about 1/3 of the world right there.
super concerned / May 3, 2024 at 11:35 pm
“ethnonationalism” has always been the guiding principle of the palestinian national movement (it’s literally in the name…). If both sides irk you for that reason, I don’t think this letter implies anything bad about your position.
Ploni Almoni / May 4, 2024 at 12:03 am
Nothing!
However, the fact that today’s Palestinian-controlled polities (West Bank Area A, West Bank Area B, and Gaza Strip) have no Jewish citizens at all is very strong evidence that Palestinians don’t reject ethnonationalism in principle or in practice.
Tolerating ethnonationalism from an Arab state, but not from a Jewish state, is antisemitic.
america is christian / May 5, 2024 at 8:31 pm
It’s antisemetic because we live in a Christian state. The united states gives off for christmas, easter and all christian holidays. Most Latin and European countries are Christian. Middle East countries are mainly Muslim…So why can’t there be a country centered around jews?? is it maybe ANTISEMITISM
David / May 8, 2024 at 7:37 am
There are no limitations as to who can be a citizen of Israel — unlike much of the Mid East, where only Muslims can be citizens.
Perhaps you should criticize the actual ethnostates?