I remember how it was -- JR
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
What Lies Behind Student Pro-Hamas, Anti-Israel, and Anti-Semitic Uprisings?
It is a modernized version of Marxism, with its hate-based need for oppressors and the oppressed
The sudden uprising of university students across North America in support of Hamas and allegedly about the welfare of Palestinians does not result, for most students, from close ties with people on the other side of the world.
Of course, there is in North America a small minority of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students who are strong advocates based on their ethnicity and religion. But the vast number of student protesters have no such personal ties. Why have they set aside their studies to take up activism?
We know that the reason for the uprising is not that the student activists have studied deeply the history and politics of the Middle East, the history and theology of Islam and Judaism, and how international relations more broadly influence the region. Few of the students are majoring or minoring in Middle Eastern history and current affairs, Islamic history and theology, or Jewish history and theology. We know because of the many students chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free [of Jews],” a large number cannot name either the river or the sea. How many of the students could identify Israel or Gaza on a map is uncertain.
If ties to or knowledge of the region are not behind the fevered advocacy for Hamas, what is? One factor that is undeniable is the highly organized, well-funded Muslim lobby, sponsors of Students for Justice in Palestine, and other Palestine and Islam advocacy groups, which have branches in universities across the land. Their partisanship and relentless lobbying have no doubt influenced student opinion to some degree. However, most students do not identify as Palestinian and Muslim, so their engagement on these bases is not strong. Something else must be at work.
By far, the dominant ideology in universities is the far leftist conception of “social justice,” generally defined and implemented as “diversity, equity, inclusion.” This is not a student invention but a policy imposed from the highest level, the Biden administration in the United States and the Trudeau government in Canada. Universities have had this far left ideology and its implementation imposed on them by government fiat. But most universities were far from reluctant, because almost all academic staff and administration officials were children or grandchildren of the 1960s’ cultural revolution, who either self-identified as Marxists or accepted Marxist analyses and policies.
“Social justice” is based on Marxist class conflict analysis. In this view, society is not many individuals and groups competing and cooperating over space and time, with relationships changing according to circumstances. Rather, the only important relationships in society are based on the conflict between classes, one class being the oppressor and exploiter, the other class being the exploited and oppressed victim. Classical Marxism framed class conflict in terms of economic classes, but that formulation never took hold in North America. The new, revised North American Marxism can be labeled “cultural Marxism,” because it identifies classes as based in sex, race, sexuality, ability, ethnicity, and religion. What is critical is that the classes of oppressors and victims be identified.
In this cultural Marxist view, males made up an exploiter class, “the patriarchy,” while females were deemed to make up an exploited victim class. Likewise, the black, brown, and indigenous races, “BIPOC,” were oppressed and exploited races, and evil “whites,” remarkably including Asians and Jews, made up the oppressor class. Similarly, “cis” heterosexuals were deemed to be oppressors of LGBT. The oppressor classes are charged with systemic prejudice and discrimination against the victim classes. In this scheme, all individual differences of members within these so-called “classes” are erased.
The evidence supporting this scheme is stunningly slim. Not only have the laws supporting prejudice and discrimination been eliminated, but new laws forbidding prejudice and discrimination have been passed and implemented and, by now, have long been on the books. The alleged evidence put forward by activists as decisive is disparate results in education, income, and office. If any category is not represented at the level of its percentage of the general population, that is taken as proof of prejudice and discrimination. The many other possible reasons for statistical disparities—differences in preferences and choices, differences in motivation and achievement, differences in capabilities—are ignored or denied in spite of the overwhelming evidence of the impact of these factors. The influence of regional, local, and ethnic culture is totally disregarded.
“Social justice” is put into practice under the labels “diversity, equity, inclusion,” which do not mean what they seem to at first appearance. For example, “diversity” means only members of oppressed classes, not men, not whites, not “cis” heterosexuals, and so these people are excluded, not “included.” Ads for university positions today specify only BIPOC or LGBT or those with a disability; heterosexual white males without disabilities are excluded from consideration. For example, females dominate universities as the overwhelming majority among students, professors, and administrators. Did you notice that the Ivy League universities in the news, because of student uprisings, all have female presidents?
As well, do not imagine that “diversity” in universities means diversity of opinion and thought; in fact views other than “social justice” and DEI are forbidden, and expressing such thoughts can result in punishment or banishment. DEI officers and offices, of which most universities have many at every level, act as political commissars suppressing ideological dissent through guidance and imposing penalties.
“Equity” is another matter entirely. It means the same results for everyone. This is the extreme ideal of Marxism: absolute equality. So any situation that produces a disparity of results is ipso facto deemed illegitimate. And here is the justification: All disparities are regarded as the result of prejudice and discrimination. So the traditional criteria of academic life in particular and public life in the West—achievement and merit—must be disregarded as racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, and Islamophobic. This explains the puzzling classing of Asians and Jews as “white,” for the first time ever. Asians and Jews are high achieving, even more so than whites, and in the “social justice” view, that must be the result of their imposition of racism, sexism, etcetera, etcetera. The policy result is that programs aimed at high achievement, e.g., advanced courses in math and science, must be terminated, and measures of achievement, such as SAT and GRE tests, must be deemed racist, and so on, and terminated.
What does all of this have to do with Israel? Well, if Jews are white oppressors, then Israel must be also. The “social justice” analysis of the Israel-Palestine conflict is that Israelis (but presumably not the many Israeli Arab Muslims and Christians) are white oppressors, and the Palestinian Arabs are BIPOC. Has anyone who has been to Israel and seen the two populations said this? The reality is that there is great racial overlap in the two populations: half of Israelis were from Jewish populations in Arab countries where they lived for many centuries before being forcibly expelled, and the genetics of the two populations overlap considerably. This transfer of American race obsession to the Israel-Palestinian conflict is absurd. And this is not even to consider the Arab slave raiding in Africa and their disdain for their black slaves.
The other Marxist claim, Leninist this time, is that Israeli Jews are imperialists who have colonized the indigenous Arab Palestinians. Canadian professors are big on this alleged colonial oppression of indigenous peoples. One of my McGill colleagues was much loved by students for his championing of indigenous Canadian “First Nations” against the wicked European invaders who built Canada. (The history of slavery practiced by the indigenous “First Nations” is not told as part of this story.)
My colleague was also a great champion of the “indigenous” Palestinians. When I suggested that the Jews were the indigenous population, he refuted that by saying that “indigenous” means who was there when Westerners arrived! I asked if the Romans counted as “Western,” because when the Romans invaded the Holy Land some decades BC, there were only Jews there. The Romans fought the Jews and finally defeated them after a century and a half, exiling many and changing the name of the country to Syria Palestina, so they did not have to hear Jewish place names, such as Judea and Samaria. No, my colleague said, the Jews just left to find trading opportunities. (Jews seeking money, of course.) In reality, the “indigenous” Arabs first came to the Holy Land in the seventh century AD as Muslim invaders from Arabia, as the initial step in their conquest of the great Islamic Empire. Muslim theology and policy has always been Islamic supremacism, with non-Muslims treated as subordinates, slaves, or worse.
The campus uprisings do not concern themselves with historical facts. It is clear (to them) who the good guys are and who the bad guys are, and morality means supporting the good guys and attacking the bad guys. Repeatedly, we have heard, “We are Hamas,” “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free,” “Genocide in Gaza,” “Israel go to hell,” “The only solution is intifada revolution,” and “10,000 more October the 7th.” To the demonstrators, Israel is the evil, racist oppressor of innocent Gazans and Palestinians. So, too, with Jews, who are evil oppressors of BIPOC, LGBT, women, the disabled, and Muslims generally. Israel is the Jew of nations, and Jews are the individual manifestations of Israel. That is why we also hear “Zionist pigs,” “get off of campus,” and “go back to Poland.”
Many commentators have lamented that demonstrating students are not in class, and others are not allowed to go to class. But quiet campuses with students learning are not the solution; they are the problem. For what almost all universities teach is cultural Marxism, which is as well the official university policy. The students have not failed to learn; they have learned too well the false and destructive lessons of “social justice” and DEI. The students have been corrupted in corrupt universities, which have abandoned the search for truth in favor of the Marxist revolution.
This does not end with Israel, Palestine, and the Jews. America, Canada, the West, capitalism, democracy, and individual freedom are all in the crosshairs of Marxism and Islamic supremacism. Today, the red-green alliance controls North American universities. Students are chanting “Death to America.” Be warned.
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Student Sues Toronto Metropolitan University for ‘Pervasive Antisemitism’
The statement of claim filed on April 23 says that Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) has had “ongoing and pervasive antisemitism” toward Jewish students, staff, and faculty since Oct. 7, 2023, the day that Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, leading to an escalation in tensions and military fighting in the area.
The student, Nicole Szweras, has Israeli citizenship and her mother was born there, according to the statement.
“Israel is a fundamental part of her Jewish identity, like so many Jewish people throughout the world,” the court document says.
While listing several complaints to make the case that the school has been inactive in the face of anti-Semitic actions on campus, the claim says TMU has a contractual obligation to provide a safe space for students to complete their studies.
“TMU’s failure to apply, or its inadequate application of, its own policies and procedures expressly prohibiting such conduct has led to a poisoned antisemitic learning and working environment for the Plaintiff,” the document says. “TMU’s actions and inaction have breached duties of care owing to, breached its contract with, and have discriminated against the Plaintiff.”
Some of the concerns raised by Ms. Szweras include inflammatory social media posts and events by TMU groups and organizations funded by the student union.
The document notes that the school issued two statements in the weeks following the Hamas attack, saying there would be no tolerance of anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim rhetoric or racism but failed to define what that entailed.
“It quickly became apparent that such statements were simply token platitudes that were not acted upon, ineffectually acted upon, or unequally acted upon by TMU,” the statement said.
Ms. Szweras said that some anti-Semitic slogans became commonplace around the school, including “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and the use of the word “Intifada.”
“TMU is fully aware that these Antisemitic Violence-Inciting Slogans are repeated by TMU community members in rallies, posters, signs, and graffiti throughout TMU and in TMU buildings,” the court document said, claiming that “no meaningful or effective actions have been taken by TMU” regarding the slogans since Oct. 7, 2023.
The lawsuit includes examples of letters signed by students or staff that, among other things, claim Israel has no right to exist, and stand in solidarity with “all forms of resistance,” including the Oct. 7 attack. Jewish students also expressed concern over a law professor at the school who “berated the State of Israel, to the point that several Jewish students left the class in tears.”
Ms. Szweras claims in her lawsuit that TMU has done nothing to curb these actions on campus.
In one instance, a military-style knife was left on the lectern of a Jewish contract lecturer, the statement of claim says. TMU’s alleged inaction led to the instructor requesting not to hold in-person classes and exams.
Ms. Szweras said when she and others held a silent protest, called the Silent Protest for Peace & Humanity on campus, they were surrounded by other students who attempted to intimidate them, while security did nothing to stop the behaviour.
“One of the accosting TMU students was heard saying ‘next time on campus you won’t be together’ – a clear threat to the participants’ safety,” the statement of claim says.
“TMU security was needed to escort Nikki [Nicole Szweras] and the other participating students to the Hillel office while the harassing TMU students followed.”
On Nov. 29, 2023, at a protest held on TMU, someone displayed a swastika on a sign. While TMU issued a statement about the incident saying they asked the Toronto Police to investigate the incident, and were investigating it themselves, Ms. Szweras says that no update has been provided.
“Without such update to the TMU community, Nikki and other Jewish TMU community members she is aware of were left with the continued unmistakable impression that no action was to be taken by TMU in this regard other than mere platitudes.”
The document says that the lack of follow-up has “fostered an atmosphere of antisemitism and fear” for Jewish TMU community members.
Other examples listed in the claim include a rally in March 2024 where TMU students were walking around campus with signs that said “Zionism Off Our Campus.”
The statement says Ms. Szweras and other Jewish members at TMU saw this as a call for Jews to be removed from campus, and are unaware of any action TMU took with regard to the incident.
“This incident deeply affected Nikki, leading her to question her place in the world that tolerates this rhetoric,” the statement of claim said.
She said that when political statements were posted in the workplace, Ms.Szweras and her friends felt “ostracized” and eventually, “Student-Staff simply ignored Nikki altogether.”
Around Nov. 16, 2023, a defamatory email about Ms. Szweras was circulated among other student-staff in the area where she worked, the document says. However, it was not emailed to her directly, her statement says.
“Nikki had to ask TMU about the complaint as TMU did not advise her of it. In response, TMU advised Nikki that they were investigating the complaint, but TMU refused (at any point in time) to tell Nikki what the substance of the allegations in the complaint were – violating the TMU Conduct Policies.”
The situation made Ms. Szweras uncomfortable and she told TMU, who said she did not have to return to work and they would still pay her, the statement says.
She later saw a social media post celebrating the individual who sent the complaint email as “best employee,” the statement says.
TMU wrote to Ms. Szweras on Dec. 6, 2023, indicating it had determined the incident was one of differing political views between co-workers, according to the document.
“Nikki was surprised because at no time had TMU ever asked Nikki what her political opinions were or told Nikki how TMU surmised what her opinions were. Again, actions or opinions were being projected on to Nikki because she is Jewish – this time by TMU.”
She raised these concerns during a Dec. 11 meeting with TMU staff, but said that no action was taken by the university.
In January 2024, following the December break from school, Ms. Szweras noticed that she was not scheduled to work, but other co-workers had been scheduled, the statement says. She said that she then had her access to the online work schedule revoked.
As a result of her experience, Ms. Szweras says in her claim that she gets anxious when she has to go to campus and tries to avoid it. She also says her academic work has suffered, and she takes care not to wear or display any Israeli-identifying objects, including removing stickers from her laptop.
“The environment and the incidents described above have had a profoundly negative impact on Nikki’s dignity, mental health, and wellbeing,” the statement says.
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Columbia University begins suspending Nazi activists after they refused to disband from New York campus
Columbia University has begun suspending pro-Palestinian activists after they refused to disband an encampment of tents on its New York campus, after the Ivy League school declared a stalemate in talks seeking to end the polarising protest.
University president Nemat Minouche Shafik said in a statement that days of negotiations between student organisers and academic leaders had failed to persuade demonstrators to dismantle the dozens of tents they set up to express opposition to Israel's war in Gaza.
The university sent protesters a letter on Monday morning warning students who did not vacate the encampment by 2pm (local time), they would need to sign a form acknowledging their participation would result in suspension and be ineligible to complete the semester in good standing.
"We have begun suspending students as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on our campus," said Ben Chang, a university spokesperson, at a briefing on Monday evening.
In an earlier statement, Dr Shafik said Columbia University would not divest assets that support Israel's military, a key demand of the protesters. Instead, she offered to invest in health and education in Gaza and to make Columbia's direct investment holdings more transparent.
Protesters have vowed to keep their encampment on the Manhattan campus until Columbia meets three demands: divestment, transparency in university finances and amnesty for students and faculty disciplined for their part in the protests.
Pro-Palestine protests sweep US colleges
Student protests in the US over the war in Gaza intensify and expand, with a number of encampments now in place at colleges including Columbia, Yale, and New York University.
"These repulsive scare tactics mean nothing compared to the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians. We will not move until Columbia meets our demands or we are moved by force," leaders of the Columbia Student Apartheid Divest coalition said in a statement read at a news conference following the deadline.
Hundreds of demonstrators, many wearing traditional Palestinian keffiyeh scarves, marched in circles around the exterior of the encampment chanting, "Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest."
Dr Shafik faced an outcry from many students, faculty and outside observers for summoning New York City police two weeks ago to dismantle the encampment.
Even though more than 100 arrests were made last week, students restored the encampment on a hedge-lined lawn of the university grounds within days.
Since then, students at dozens of campuses across the US have set up similar encampments to demonstrate their anger over the Israeli operation in Gaza and the perceived complicity of their schools in it.
The pro-Palestinian rallies have sparked intense campus debate over where school officials should draw the line between freedom of expression and hate speech.
Some pro-Israel counter-demonstrators have accused the other side of engaging in anti-Semitism.
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My other blogs: Main ones below
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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