It is widely known that antisemitism has increased dramatically on American campuses in recent years. Why are American youth so vulnerable to the lures of anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism?
Unfortunately, the seeds are often sown in middle and high schools. This is partly due to increases in Title VI funding from the U.S. government and Arab states after 9/11 with the goal of teaching students about Islam and the Middle East. In fact, according to the New York Times Magazine, on July 3, 2019, Anti-Jewish propaganda financed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia has been incorporated into syllabi in many a classroom in America.
With poor oversight of the program, highly biased instruction has followed. In Newton, Mass., for instance, an alert parent discovered a homework assignment with egregious, false statements about Israel. Other blatantly anti-Semitic material was discovered in the classroom. Many parents joined in the fight to correct the problem, but the conflict continues.
When students are indoctrinated against Israel at such a young age, they are easy targets for on-campus anti-Semitic hate groups, such as Students for Justice in Palestine. Biased professors who vilify Israel, ignore terrorist attacks against Jewish people, and diminish Jewish connection to the land lend further credence to an anti-Jewish narrative.
The now-infamous “Conflict Over Gaza” conference at University of North Carolina/Duke University in March 2019 spurred the United States Department of Education to investigate misuse of Title VI funding. This ultimately resulted in UNC entering into a Resolution Agreement, which required the university to “…ensure that students enrolled in the University are not subjected to a hostile environment.” Some clips from the Gaza conference are available on the NCCI YouTube channel.
Evidently, the Resolution Agreement didn’t mean a lot to the UNC administration. For the Fall semester of 2021, UNC offered a recurring course titled “The Conflict Over Israel/Palestine”. This would be taught by a graduate student with a long documented history of hatred of Israel and whose intention to demonize Jews is demonstrated by her course material in the linked syllabus – Click here to view syllabus.
Significantly, President Trump in December 2019 signed an executive order aimed at protecting Jewish students from discrimination under Title VI. But the targeting of Jews under the banner of “academic freedom” has been a problem for years. Duke University Press published the blatantly anti-Semitic “Right to Maim” in 2017, claiming Israel intentionally maims Muslim Palestinians to oppress them. To date, Duke University refuses to disavow the work, a modern-day blood libel against Jews and Israel.
So, what can YOU do to protect your child from anti-Jewish indoctrination?
If you live near a university or have a college student:
