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Why the Academic Boycott of Israel Is Anti-Semitic

(Forbes) Evan Gerstmann - Anti-Semitic hate crimes have increased sharply in the U.S. Our nation's universities should be doing their part to fight anti-Semitism, but too many are doing just the opposite by adopting academic boycotts that single out Israel while leaving in place academic programs that send students to countries that are major human rights violators. What are students to take from this other than the message that the world's only Jewish nation is the worst of the worst? To seek to punish Israel while holding fire on many of the world's worst human rights violators is inherently anti-Semitic. It's right to shine a light on the hardships of Palestinians in the West Bank. But when doing so, if an article or class does not discuss the fact that the Palestinian Authority acknowledges that it provides cash payments to families of terrorists who kill or try to kill Israelis, then how can readers or students understand why Israel is reluctant to turn power over to that very same Palestinian Authority? Universities should be helping students understand the complexity of the situation, not serving up simplified morality tales. The writer is Professor of Political Science at Loyola Marymount University, California.
2019-02-22 00:00:00
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