It feels like the 1930s because it has once again become normal and even trendy to be antisemitic. The words of fear that are coming out of Diaspora Jewish communities are likely what we would have heard in Germany when the Nazis were coming into power.
The rabbi at Columbia University sent a message to the Jewish students that read: The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy. It deeply pains me to say that I would strongly recommend you return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved.”
This message came shortly after days of protests at the Columbia campus in parallel to the school president’s testimony before Congress about the antisemitism happening on her campus. Over two hundred pro-Hamas students and faculty gathered at Columbia’s main campus in what could only be described as an antisemitic hate rally. Protesters set up “liberated zones,” pitched tents, chanted antisemitic slurs, and harassed Jewish students before the NYPD had to come onto the main campus to arrest multiple people.
Protesters shouted, “Never forget the 7th of October. That will happen not one more time, not five more, not ten, not a hundred, not a thousand, but ten thousand times. The 7th of October will be every day for you.”
At one point, a student who wore a scarf to cover her face held up a sign that read Al Qassam’s (the Hamas military wing) next target and stood next to Jewish students who were counter-protesting with Israeli and American flags.
Protesters chanted to bomb Tel Aviv and said, “We don’t want no Zionists here,” and some even yelled, “We are Hamas.” Students Supporting Israel at Columbia University even stated that the campus environment had become so hostile that many faculty members chose to cancel classes and that some students were afraid to go to campus altogether.
These Columbia protests had nothing to do with Palestinian liberation and everything to do with harassing Jewish people and calling for the elimination of the Jewish state.
The school has completely lost control. Columbia is unable to deal with aggressive and racist students who disobey the law and are ready to use violence to push their political agenda. For whatever reason, the school can no longer protect Jewish students.
The terrible incidents at Columbia are one of many issues that have come about in the last week. The US has listed over 40 schools that are under investigation for antisemitism. Ohio State University allowed a pro-Hamas rally on their campus where protesters chanted, “The Zionists have got to go.”
No campus police or administrative staff were present, while Jewish students were being subjected to this. At Loyola University, law students disrupted a speaking event with an IDF soldier. The protesters harassed Jews and shouted, “Get the f*** out of here, all you ugly ass little Jewish people,” and raised their red-stained hands.
Ripping off mezuzot on campus
At the University of Southern California, students had found Jewish students with mezuzot on campus. They ripped them off, and pro-Hamas students blocked, pushed, and attacked Jewish students at Yale University during a protest. Protesters at Yale also cheered when the American flag was removed from the campus flagpole, as many of these pro-terror rallies include the chants of “Death to America.”
Universities are falling to terror supporters and setting a precedent by showing students that violence, harassment, and antisemitism can exist on campus without consequences. What is happening on the streets of America, the elite universities, and in tech businesses is reaching a boiling point, and Jewish people have already seen how this plays out for us.
We have always known that we cannot be protected by anyone besides ourselves, which is why an overwhelming 95% of the Jewish community are Zionists. New York is the city with the highest number of Jews outside of Israel. When their schools, government, and law enforcement can’t protect them, it’s time to consider coming home.
While I have been fortunate to know some incredible non-Jewish allies, the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, how people outside the Jewish community abandoned their Jewish friends, and the disgusting support that Hamas received across the world showed me that in the end, we only have each other.
The writer is a social media activist with more than 10 years of experience working for Israeli and Jewish causes and cause-based NGOs. She is the co-founder and COO of Social Lite Creative, a digital marketing firm specializing in geopolitics.