Campus Protest Confession
Y’all, I need to come clean with you.
I have not been living into my integrity.
I have been feeling constrained and scared from sharing what I really think.
While, sure, I have been calling for peace and immediate ceasefire in Gaza, I’ve been holding back from the scarier part. The scarier part is publicly critiquing the Israeli government and its military force (I’m not going to call it a “defense” force), and the US’s support of same.
I have been sitting on my hands because I’ve been worried about how my views would make some of my dearest friends feel.
And I’ve been worried about being characterized as Jew-hating or antisemitic.
And I’m a little bit worried about being thrown in jail in five years if this new McCarthyism takes hold.
But Israeli tanks invaded Rafah today. Rafah is the place that 1.5 million Palestinians WERE TOLD TO GO TO BE SAFE. I can scarcely bear to imagine how many more humans will be killed or horribly injured.
And young people are protesting these actions on campuses all across the U.S. Despite violent police crackdowns, the movement is growing.
Let’s be clear about the stakes.
The daily death rate in Gaza is higher than any other major 21st century conflict.
As of this writing, an estimated 35,000 humans have been killed in Gaza since October 2023. An additional 330 humans have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023.
78,000 have been wounded, many horrifically, suffering amputations without anesthesia.
Over 1,200 humans were killed in the horrific attacks by Hamas and other armed groups in Israel on 7 October 2023. 130 humans are still hostages.
This is a genocide. (I align myself with the experts who believe it is correct to call it genocide.) It is being funded in large part by the U.S. government and the U.S. military industrial complex.
That means our tax dollars are funding genocide.
Students across the country are protesting this. They are demanding that their schools disclose and divest from the funding of genocide — and they are being brutalized by cops.
And all the while, both anti-Jewish AND anti-Islamic rhetoric and actions are on the rise.
Which is all to say that my fears mean very little compared to all this.
I have so much to say that this may end up being multiple dispatches, so I ask your patience if I don’t hit every point in one post.
I’ll start here:
I am lucky enough to include in my best friends and family folks of the following identities —although I hope they’ll forgive me for flattening them to two-dimensions in this way: a Jewish grandmother-in-law who escaped the progroms in Russia. White, American, protestant parents. A culturally Muslim step-father-in-law, living in exile from Eritrea. Best friends —chosen family— who are: Hindu (first generation American from India), Muslim (first gen from Egypt), observant Jew (2d gen; grandparents survived the Holocaust), radical-social-justice Christian (white), and a spiritual but not religious (white). Plus my queer-ass Quaker self.
I’ve had the honor and delight of attending all sorts of celebrations and ceremonies with these dear hearts.
Believe me when I tell you it has enriched my life to know and love these folks.
So…
When anti-Jewish rhetoric and antisemitic crimes rise, like they are now, it’s personal. These are my people.
When anti-Muslim rhetoric and Islamaphobic crimes rise, like they are now, it’s personal. These are my people.
When cops kill Black people, like they are now, it’s personal. These are my people.
When queer or trans people are targeted with hate crimes, like they are now, it’s personal. These are my people.
Ultimately, I would hope that ALL people suffering oppression are my people.
THAT’S THE INVITATION, PEOPLE.
For all of us to belong to each other.
So when folks accuse campus protests of being antisemitic, I worry. I take it super seriously.
OK and I’m also a nerd, and when in doubt, I research it out. My reading didn’t start Oct 7, but it sure did accelerate. I’ve read or reread a stack of books and pages of articles. I’ve listened to hundreds of hours of interviews and lectures. I even took a graduate-level seminar on the history of antisemitism.
And Lord knows I’ve been to my share of protests and demonstrations, so I also know first-hand the way that messages can get skewed, especially when the shouting starts.
Last Tuesday, I went to the combined NCSU/Duke/UNC Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
The encampment was at UNC-Chapel Hill. It had begun the previous Friday. UNC-CH is a public university. So this is public property.
The UNC administration called the cops on the encampment. It was raided by cops —IN RIOT GEAR — at 6:10 AM Tuesday, when many campers were still sleeping.
Cops dragged campers out of tents and zip-tied hands and ankles. One arrestee’s shoulder was dislocated. The protest had been peaceful. The cops were not.
Students and faculty put out a call to the community to support the encampment and protest the administration’s actions.
We showed up to this Tuesday demonstration for about 2 hours. I wanted to see what was what.
The demonstration was well attended. It looked like a mix of students, faculty, and community members. I’d estimate about 400-500 people, but I am terrible at these estimates.
What was it like? While we there it was completely peaceful. People in the crowd were attentive and friendly. Student coordinators milled through the crowd, handing out snacks and bottled water.
I made new friends with several folks, including a Jewish grad student in UNC’s Religious Studies department — we talked about her Quaker friend in Ramallah. I also spoke with a couple of middle-aged Quakers involved in helping people get discharged from the military here in NC.
Speakers included: Palestinian and Jewish undergrads, faculty, and grad students.
I would say that about half the speakers were Jewish.
One Jewish faculty member gave a mini-lecture on the history of Palestine and Israel.
Another Jewish faculty member was moved to tears when she talked about how deeply affecting the encampment’s shared Shabbat celebration had been on Friday. How meaningful their community Seder for Peace and Justice in Palestine was. How upset she was that the cops had been called on students.
Several speakers — Jewish and Palestinian — cried in deep despair at what was happening in Palestine. For their family members who had been killed.
When anyone who was speaking choked up or broke down, the entire crowd would chant:
WE SEE YOU, WE LOVE YOU, WE SEE YOU, WE LOVE YOU.
(That’s when I cried.)
Speakers led songs of peace in Hebrew and English.
Some songs were sung in Arabic.
Chants included “Free, free Palestine!” and “Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest!”
Student speakers were Palestinian, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Asian, white, Latino, and Black.
They called for UNC to disclose and divest from military support for the genocide in Gaza.
They chanted “shame” on UNC and the interim chancellor for calling the cops onto campus.
The demonstration was not antisemitic.
Was every note pitch-perfect and media-savvy?
No. Of course not.
Have you ever BEEN to a demonstration?
Especially after cops had violently arrested protesters?
Have YOU ever spoken extemporaneously in front of 400 people?
People speak in first drafts. That’s okay.
There were some things that speakers said that I didn’t agree with.
One or two of the 20 or so speakers talked about an armed resistance in Gaza. I don’t support armed resistance or violence, ever. So I didn’t applaud that speaker. But did it feel antisemitic? No. It it felt like standard rhetoric that I would hear from anyone who’s “side” was being attacked. People believe that they have a right to defend themselves. (These are the same terms Israel uses — the “right to defend itself.”)
I also didn’t feel comfortable chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” because I know it means different things to different people. To most young people it means “Palestinian people need equality and liberation.” But I also know that SOME (not ALL by any means) Jews hear this as a call for them to leave Israel. I don’t think that’s what the protesters meant - I think they mean liberating a people and coexisting in equality. But just out of caution, I didn’t chant that.
Here’s something I hesitate to include but I will because I am irritated at the way that counter-demonstrations are being wholesale ignored in the media.
The most hateful rhetoric I heard that day was from a small group of young men holding an Israeli flag at the edge of the gathering. They were shouting at protesters in an effort to stir them up. This is not me reporting some talking points from the news. This is me telling you what I saw. They were clearly there to try to stir shit up.
The larger gathering mostly ignored this small group of counter-protesters. That’s what the organizers told folks to do.
I can say with confidence that the rally was not antisemitic. I wouldn’t have stayed if it was.
It was imperfect.
Protests always are.
I’ve been to many, many protests where I am on the same “side” as people shouting some whackadoodle stuff that I don’t support.
An example: at pro-choice actions in the 1990’s, linking arms to keep abortion clinics open, we would come face-to-face with angry, Christian fundamentalist ministers and demonstrators. And cops.
The anti-choice side always shouted names at us (“dykes” and “babykillers” were two of their favorites). Some folks from my “side” would shout names back: “freaks,” “weirdos,” “Christian fascists.”
I didn’t shout those things. Name calling made me uncomfortable.
Does that mean I disavowed the pro-choice movement as a whole?
No. Of course not.
But what do you think the media liked to focus on?
Highlighting outliers and ignoring the larger message of a movement is a tried-and-true tactic for discrediting protests.
It’s used as a way to (1) delegitimize
and then
(2) sic the cops on movement folks.
These tactics are as American as colonialism and apple pie.
And what do you know? Here we are again.
The rally was not antisemitic.
The only way I could imagine a claim of antisemitism is if you think it is antisemitic to divest from and/or critique the Israeli government, its military, or this ethnic cleansing campaign. Or if you think it is antisemitic to critique Zionism.
The AntiDefamation League (ADL), some but not all Jews, President Biden, and some members of Congress (and please tell me where these bad-faith Republicans’ concern was after Charlottesville’s “Unite the Right” rally or the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre … go ahead, do please tell me, I’ll wait) want to tell you that critiquing Israel is antisemitic.
I don’t agree.
(And I don’t think the ADL is in a strong position to be the moral authority on civil rights issues.)
It is not antisemitic to call for universities to disclose their ties to the military-industrial complex.
It is not antisemitic to divest from projects that fund or contribute to the genocide in Gaza.
It is not antisemitic to critique a government’s actions.
Again, I will repeat: A HUGE NUMBER OF THE CEASEFIRE, DISCLOSE & DIVEST, AND PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS ARE JEWISH.
Please, please remember this when the media wants to flatten the protests as antisemitic.
SINCE OCTOBER, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF JEWS HAVE BEEN PROTESTING WHAT IS HAPPENING IN GAZA — WITH HUNDREDS GETTING ARRESTED — AND THEY SAY THAT IT IS PRECISELY THEIR JUDAISM THAT MOTIVATES THEM. Remember that, too.
Are we going to call allllllllllllllll of these Jews antisemitic or self-hating?
The truth is— there is a difference between prejudice and politics.
It is valid — it is *necessary* to criticize governments. And militaries.
To discuss politics.
To critique Israel OR ANY government’s actions.
Especially in times of war, killing, military action.
Israel can be no exception. It’s wild to think that there are 195 countries on this planet and we can critique 194 of them, but one is immune from any critique because of its unique history.
But if you don’t agree with me —
— and you don’t have to, why should you, please, research this widely —
perhaps you can listen to —
His longer interview is here and it’s worth watching.
It is deeply rational, courageous, and humane.
“No. No. No. This time is different. Campus protests are going too far.”
One thing that’s the same about every wave of campus protests is that every time is different, and every time, people think This time is different. This time it’s gone too far.
Every time, we endlessly litigate the imperfect methods of protest instead of what is being protested.
If you’ve got your knickers in a twist about the destruction of property or too much shouting, you need to pick up a history book and get over yourself.
A good rule from history is: if you find yourself opposing a huge student movement, if you find yourself siding with the ruling class and the cops, you are on the wrong side of history. Every time.
I’m talking Civil rights protests led by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
I’m talking Anti-Vietnam War protests, met with brutal police violence on campuses.
I’m talking Anti-apartheid protests — the Free South Africa Movement and students constructing shantytowns on campuses.
In hindsight, supposedly “everyone” was supportive of the students’ voices.
In truth, the majority of people in the US and media thought students were being too radical, too disruptive, communist, socialist, anti-white-people, anti-American.
Reports at the time reprimanded students, said they didn’t know what they were talking about, said they should mind their own business.
Btw, the AntiDefamation League called every one of these movements antisemitic.
Every time, news reports focused on amplifying a few stories of outliers instead of focusing on the message of the vast majority of protestors.
And here we are again.
Students are leading the way. They are calling for disclosure and divestment; an end to our funding of a genocide.
Jewish students are showing up in courageous and inspiring ways.
Students are in solidarity - Jewish, Palestinian, Arab, Black, Native, white, and more. And yet *somehow* this time … well somehow this time is different?
It’s always different.
And the lesson is always the same: we should listen to young people’s mass movements.
These youth are the conscience of our nation.
XOXO
P.S. I’m turning comments off.
P.P.S. - some resources:
A VERY SHORT AND INCOMPLETE LIST OF RESOURCES:
ON THE PROTESTS:
Democracy Now! Interview with Israeli Holocaust Professor Omer Bartov on whether the campus protests are antisemitic.
“Weaponizing Language: Misuses of Holocaust Memory and the Never Again Syndrome” by Dr. Omer Bartov on March 12, 2024. Council for Global Cooperation.
“I Am a Jewish Student at Columbia. Don’t Believe What You’re Being Told About ‘Campus Antisemitism’: Smears from the press and pro-Israel influencers are a dangerous distraction from real threats to our safety.” On Zeteo.com. By Jonathan Ben-Menachem. April 23, 2024.
5-4 podcast — Campus Protests and the First Amendment.
NPR: A U.S. diplomat tells NPR why she resigned in protest over the policy in Gaza. April 30, 2024.
Citations Needed podcast — News Brief: Campus Anti-Genocide Protests and the Weaponization of Squishy, Bad Faith "Safety" Rhetoric.
ON THE ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE — AND WHY I DON’T THINK IT’S THE BEST ORGANIZATION TO LISTEN TO ABOUT CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES:
“The ADL Goes Full Bully: The organization’s new campaign against anti-Zionist and Palestine-solidarity groups is a clear sign that it lacks the credibility to lead on civil rights issues. By JOSHUA LEIFER. May 6, 2022.
The Anti-Defamation League Is Not What It Seems: Under the guise of fighting hate speech, the ADL has a long history of wielding its moral authority to attack Arabs, blacks, and queers. by Emmaia Gelman, Boston Review. May 23, 2019.
The Unspoken Alliance: Israel’s Secret Relationship With Apartheid South Africa. By Sasha Polakow-Suransky. Pantheon, 2010. Book review by L. Carl Brown, August 2010.
IN GENERAL — ABOUT ISRAEL AND PALESTINE:
Book: The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine: From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace, by Michael Scott-Baumann. The Experiment, 2023.
Book: Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics, by Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick. The New Press, 2022.
Show: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Israel-Hamas War, Season 10, Episode 17. November 12, 2023.
Film: Israelism. (Documentary of a young person questioning the beliefs about Israel and the Zionism she was raised with)
Founding Documents: Israel’s founding documents and pro-Zionism.
Academic Paper: for you hard core nerds, an interesting piece on James Baldwin’s evolving views of Israel: “The Shape of the Wrath to Come” Author(s): Nadia Alahmed. James Baldwin Review, 2020, Vol. 6 (2020), pp. 28-48 Published by: Manchester University Press.