In a somewhat symbolic manner, the editorial board of the Jewish magazine Tablet is located in the historic textile district of Manhattan. The Garment District is considered the heart of the clothing industry, a field that was most identified with the millions of Jewish immigrants who came to New York from Eastern Europe at the beginning of the last century. In a modest office building, where Jews used to sew fabrics, today Jews are sewing words.

Editor-in-Chief Alana Newhouse greets me with a bright white American smile. She gives me a tour of the well-designed offices and encourages me to take a gift for the children from the variety of merchandising products that the Tablet has distributed over the years. A card game of Jewish foods ("take gefilte and give me the borscht"), which accompanied the newspaper's culinary project, appeals to me more than anything else. On a typical Monday afternoon, the editorial board is quite sleepy ("We call it Monday fatigue"), so we can sit down for an in-depth and relaxed conversation.

Newhouse, married and the mother of a child, looks younger than her 48 years. She grew up in Long Island, in the warm and comfortable embrace of affluent suburban Jewry and went through the elitist education system, as is expected of a good girl from Lawrence: HAFTR (a co-educational Modern Orthodox yeshiva), Barnard College, and studies in journalism at Columbia University. As a skilled media enthusiast, she ponders her words throughout our conversation, often pausing to articulate her thoughts precisely. She holds a steady and clear worldview, which some would describe as controversial, and this is how she also leads the magazine she heads. The most striking example is her recent optimistic mindset, which contrasts with the shock and despair that gripped many American Jews in the face of the October 7th massacre and the antisemitic outburst that followed. "I was also shocked by the heinous violence and the way everything collapsed that day," she says, "but strategically, the move by Iran and its proxies against Israel was expected, as was everything else that followed."

"We may very well be at the end of an era, but a new era will take its place. US history is replete with crises that seemed like the end of the nation, but actually ended up being a moment of renewal. The distancing of institutions from the original intent of their founders is a natural process that has been occurring for some time and is simply accelerating now."

Q: The masks have been removed

"Exactly. That's why this period inspires me with hope. It is better for all of us to know what we are up against and to see the wolf as is, than to have it wearing sheep's clothing. People are finally starting to understand what we have been talking about at the Tablet for years. You see how the world of academia, which is supposed to be the most open minded and striving for the truth, has been silencing diverse opinions; how institutions that are supposed to give students knowledge, are no longer teaching them anything of real value, other than theories and nonsense that do not prepare them for the outside world and do not help them find a job. For many years I felt as if I was the child in the Emperor's New Clothes, and I was desperate. Today I am not alone. Many good and talented minds are starting to think about the ways to fix our broken country. Now the real battle begins, because we are finally raising our heads and fighting back."

Newhouse not only refutes intelligent fundamental ideas regarding the younger crowd, but also claims, contrary to conventional wisdom, that most American Jews are not Zionists at all. "US Jewry is currently divided into two camps: those who identify as Zionists, and those who do not. The spectrum of these groups is wide, but what they all have in common is that in one lucid moment they realized that we are at a critical time in history, and that they must choose a side."

Stomach upside down

Tablet is a successful online magazine that was established fifteen years ago to cater to the younger generation of US Jews, who did not find their place within the institutionalized and solidified media. Alongside dealing with politics and current affairs, the site places special emphasis on popular culture, Judaism, Jews, religion and everything in between. One of its outstanding assets is the Unorthodox podcast, led by Israeli Liel Leibovitz. "What characterizes us is not necessarily conservatism, but skepticism," says Newhouse, when I ask her to explain why young Jewish readers are drawn to her site. "The big change occurred for us in 2020, after the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. We question reality, look straight at it with our eyes wide open, without taking sides or being biased. We base our opinions only on what we can prove."

Q: Refreshing, considering the state of journalism today.

"Sometimes this makes our readers angry and sometimes they feel relieved but, in any case, this is what they expect from us."

Tablet has a following of about one million readers every month – most of them Americans, but there is also an impressive and stable interest from audiences in other English speaking countries, such as Canada, Australia and Great Britain, and even communities of devout readers in Paris and Hong Kong, Jews and non-Jews alike. In recent months, there has naturally been an increase in the number of visits to the site. "Many young readers read our site," says Newhouse. "In the world of journalism that deals with in-depth reviews and intellectual analyses, there is what is known as the 'belly': high popularity among twenty-something year olds, a dramatic drop among thirty- and forty-something year olds, who are busy raising children and surviving financially, then another increase, because they are coming back after surviving these tough decades. Since October 7th, the belly has not only flattened, but completely turned upside down."

"The obsession with the New York Times is like staying in a relationship with an abusive man." Waving a fake newspaper in a pro-Hamas demonstration in Brooklyn. Photo: Getty Images

Q: How do you explain that?

"I am not sure. There is no overwhelming interest among the population as a whole, but significant growth, specifically among those in their twenties and thirties. I think this is happening because they are the ones whose lives will be most affected by the processes that are taking place right now. They ask themselves: Will I be able to get married? In what kind of world will I have children? And what profession should I aspire for? They need to understand the world better, so they are looking for information that will help them."

Q: Has your content changed following the war?

"We are writing about events or situations that did not exist previously, but our approach has not changed."

Q: It has been claimed that we have lost the young Jewish generation, Gen Z. Is this true?

"I completely disagree with this statement. If you interview a group of Gen Z on campus, it is clear that they will answer you according to what their Instagram feed tells them to answer. But in one year, they will no longer be studying there, and it is not certain that they will continue to hold the same opinions."

Q: So, do you think the storm will pass on its own with time?

"Absolutely not. The storm exists, but it has affected all ages. Some people think one way and some think the opposite, regardless of their age. This may complicate the solution, but this is clearly the situation."

All surveys show that such a division exists.

"Well, polls aren't exactly a serious indication. Show me any poll and I'll show you where it's biased, not to mention the fact that many people don't answer the truth in the polls. There are many heroic young people who go against the protests, testify in Congress, and fight on social media in favor of Israel."

Q: But numerically, they are fewer than the opposing camp.

"Who cares? All it takes to bring about change is several wonderful young people, not necessarily the masses. The Jewish People has never been based on quantity, but on quality."

Trust and betrayal

Newhouse not only refutes intelligent fundamental ideas regarding the younger crowd, but also claims, contrary to conventional wisdom, that most American Jews are not Zionists at all. "US Jewry is currently divided into two camps: those who identify as Zionists, and those who do not. The spectrum of these groups is wide, but what they all have in common is that in one lucid moment they realized that we are at a critical time in history, and that they must choose a side."

Q: Who supports Israel is on my side.

"Or not. In fact, the non-Zionist group is in the majority. It has always been that way, but now we have been exposed to the fact that most Jews do not feel comfortable with Zionism. Most of those who identify themselves as Jews today affiliate with groups that are becoming more and more anti-Zionist. They are now forced to choose a side, and I think that most of them will decide to sacrifice their Judaism for the society within which they live – because of fear, conformism, or any other reason. I believe that they will completely disconnect themselves from their roots, and there is no telling what the consequences will be. What is certain is that the US is a strange country. Jews are a strange people, and the combination of the two is intense. It will be interesting to see what the future holds."

Q: What about those who do choose Zionism?

"It's a bit like a couple who continuously renew their marriage vows and actively choose their partner, without just continuing the relationship out of inertia. Many US Jews who were sitting on the fence realized that the Zionist state cannot be taken for granted, and that they must consider the nature of their relationship with it, how committed they are to it and be ready to invest in it. They are admittedly not the majority, but there are many more Jews who choose this than I would have thought a year ago."

It is better for all of us to know what we are up against and to see the wolf as is, than to have it wearing sheep's clothing. People are finally starting to understand what we have been talking about at the Tablet for years. You see how the world of academia, which is supposed to be the most open minded and striving for the truth, has been silencing diverse opinions; how institutions that are supposed to give students knowledge, are no longer teaching them anything of real value, other than theories and nonsense.

A significant section of liberal American Jewry has distanced itself from any sign of connection to Israel, including donations to the Jewish state and organizations associated with it. The disconnect reached its peak last year, during left-wing protests against the Reform within the justice system. But according to Newhouse, the war, nonetheless, woke up some of these Jews: "Reality forced them to choose a side, and the massacre also evoked empathy in them and made them realize that the picture is more complex than oppressor-oppressed relations, or how they perceived the conflict prior to October 7."

Q: I feel that many Israelis are going through a similar process in relation to US Jewry, and understand that Israel is not the whole story, and that what happens in Israel affects you as well.

"When I visit Israel, I meet grateful Israelis who are surprised by our support, and I think to myself: are they not aware of how much US Jews care about them? This is the beginning of an improved mutual relationship. There are many US Jews, as well as non-Jews, who support you. In general, the world supports you much more than you think they do. It is clear to me that we are targets in an organized and orchestrated campaign, and someone is investing money and effort to make you feel isolated."

Q: The vote for Eden Golan in the Eurovision is a good example of this.

"It was amazing. But if I had told you a day before that this would happen – would you have believed me? No! It was seen as some kind of miracle, and I claim that we should ask ourselves why we were so surprised. I am not saying that there is no increase in antisemitism and that there are no problems, but that our problems are different from what we think they are."

The world of journalism in New York is small, and the Jewish part of it is even smaller. For years, Newhouse wrote for the New York Times, New York Magazine, the Forward and others. She is well aware of the claims against the New York Times regarding biased coverage against Israel, claims that have also been supported by research. The hostile winds blowing through the newspaper's corridors – whose nucleus of control is owned by Jews and many of its editors and senior reporters are Jewish – led a few years ago to the high-profiled resignation of journalist Bari Weiss. She accused the newspaper of supporting a culture of silence and spoke of harassment from her co-workers. When I ask to hear the opinion of Newhouse, Weiss's friend, she quickly replies that she has nothing to say on the matter; but after a second thought she changes her mind.

"I have felt for a long time that something unhealthy is happening to American Jews," says Newhouse. "This obsession with the New York Times is like staying in a relationship with an abusive man. If your friend tells you that her partner doesn't appreciate her, doesn't do anything for her and sometimes even hits her – at some point you must tell her to let go and say goodbye. I understand the desire to correct the newspaper, it is a natural desire for it to be fair. It is hard for people who care about what is written in the New York Times. They see themselves as an inseparable part of the newspaper, and that is why the betrayal hurts so much. I personally am not mentally connected to the newspaper, but I am not connected to many institutions. People say to me: Alana, what will we do with the universities? Will we lose Harvard? Will we lose Columbia? And I say: Jews existed thousands of years before Harvard and will exist thousands of years after it."

Q: But they are not just dealing with what is happening in the New York Times or at Harvard. The New York Times is a media outlet that sets the global agenda and Harvard is the academic institution that is growing the future leadership.

"If you are ready to invest all the resources, forces, money, heart and energy in fixing Harvard – get up and go for it. You might even succeed, but I'm not there."

Q: Do you not believe that this is an important fight?

"I just think that with every day that passes, these institutions are losing their legitimacy and destroying their own value with their own hands. All the major media outlets are bleeding readers every month, so why should I put any effort into repairing sinking boats? Jews with power have thought for years that this power is a currency that can be used to promote their principles and it's painful to let go of these beliefs. But the centers of power change, and prestige can dissipate quickly."

Q: Are you disappointed by the silence of influential Jews in Hollywood and Silicon Valley?

"They are afraid to open their mouths, because they have no incentive to speak. The entire industry in which they operate is engineered that way."

Q: Do they have no moral compass? Internal integrity?

"You will be surprised to know that many of the silent ones are working discreetly behind the scene and are contributing a lot. Someone I know, a famous and very rich person, made a huge financial contribution to the rehabilitation of one of the kibbutzim in Otef Azza (the Gaza surrounding communities). And there are others who help – with money, but not only."

To go to, To go from…

A few months ago, The Atlantic published a monumental article by the esteemed writer Franklin Foer, brother of writer Jonathan Safran-Foer. In his article, which received great resonance, Safran-Foer argued that throughout the 20th century Jews embraced and promoted liberalism because it was good for America and good for the Jews. But now this era is coming to an end and is being taken over by an era of conspiracies, irresponsible exaggerations and political violence. Safran-Foer compares the current Jewish-American elite to the German Jews in the Weimar Republic, who lived with naive complacency only moments before the day of doom.

Newhouse tends to agree with the idea, but shrugs off the sense of bitterness that accompanies it, as well as the implication that the end of the liberal golden age also predicts the decline of the USA. "We may very well be at the end of an era, but a new era will come in its place," she says. "US history is beset with crises that seemed like the end of the nation, but were essentially a moment of revival. The civil war, or the post-industrial revolution – which, by the way, is very reminiscent of what is happening now – gave birth to a society that is paving its way anew. Human society, as a whole, is moving through cycles of death and rebirth. The distancing of institutions from the original intention of their founders is a natural process that has been happening for quite some time and is simply accelerating now."

Q: Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt was recently quoted as saying, "When the lights start flashing red, the Jewish impulse is to flee." Do you see an increase in any desire to immigrate to Israel?

"I hear a lot of talk about the subject, but I haven't researched it in depth. If I must bet, based on feelings only, then I predict that in the coming years we will see an increase in aliyah (immigration) from the US to Israel. It's hard for me to say by what percentage, but this will definitely be the trend."

Q: Do you have such ideas yourself?

"You are not the first to ask me, and of course I have thought about it. The answer is no. There are a million reasons for this, but the main one is that we are in the middle of the battle for the USA, and the instability here radiates to the whole world, as well as to Israel. If US Jews help improve the situation in their own country, they will help you too. The world is in turmoil – here, in Israel, in France, England or Australia. There are so many tasks to complete, to fix the world and make it a better place. The struggle is everywhere."

The post 'Most of those who identify themselves as Jews today affiliate with groups that are becoming more and more anti-Zionist' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Shai Davidai is an Israeli-American social psychologist, senior lecturer at Columbia Business School and symbol of the fight against the new antisemitism in American academia.

Q: Let me begin with a question I ask every Jew I have met since Oct. 7: How are you?

"That may be the hardest question there is. Right now, on Wednesday at 10 a.m., I'm fine. Tonight, a demonstration is planned against Hillel [an organization to strengthen Jewish identity on campuses] at Baruch College, and I am planning to go and support the Jewish students who will be facing the demonstrators, so I guess if you ask me tonight may give a different answer. I usually come back from these events mentally drained, it really hurts to experience these attacks. But then I attend events with Jewish communities – for example, today I'm supposed to be talking to a congregation from Montreal on a visit here, and yesterday I was in Philadelphia –that fills me and lifts my spirits. We are in a period that is quite simply a rollercoaster, mentally and physically, and apart from everything that's going on with me personally, I'm obviously connected to what's happening in Israel."

Q: You were one of the first people to recognize that this time, just days after the massacre, something different was happening on campuses. In a video that went viral, you appealed to Jewish parents across the United States and warned them that their children were no longer safe on campuses. Tell us a little about this realization: How did you come to see that this was an exceptional event and what made you stand up and act?

"If it wasn't me, someone else would have stood up. Columbia was one of the first universities to see violent demonstrations, and as it happened, I had a front-row seat. Until then, I had never experienced anything like what I saw. For years there have been demonstrations by pro-Palestinian movements, but they have always been on the fringes, and now, suddenly, it was happening in the heart of the campus, without any attempt to hide it or tone it down. I wasn't planning on giving a speech, it was a spontaneous cry from the heart, because I felt I had to say something."

Q: Does it have anything to do with the fact that you're Israeli and that comes with the self-confidence, the unwillingness to lower one's head until the storm passes?

"I can't judge a Jew who has been told all his life, 'Forget it, antisemitism has always been around and it always will, don't make a thing of it, don't fight, don't ask the management for anything,' and suddenly, when he's 19 years old, people expect him to get up and fight. But it also has to do with character. I never had much reverence for authority."

Q: After the video went viral, you became a target. There are memes on social media, including some imitations that make you laugh, but there are also curses and threats. Were you scared at any point?

"For the first few weeks, I didn't leave the house. I experienced a real physical fear, at least until things calmed down a bit here and I calmed down too."

Q: You walk around with a big black Star of David pendant, and a look that combines a nerd in glasses and a rocker with tattooed arms. Alongside the hatred directed at you, at pro-Israel demonstrations people call you "Am Yisrael Chai" and ask to take a selfie with you. You have become a star of Israeli hasbara, and you have even testified before Congress on the issue.

"Hate and love are strong emotions, and they need someone to project their emotions on. For many Jews in the United States, who have felt and may still feel lost and afraid, it helps to have a face and a name they can project their feelings on. On the other side, too, people who hate and are angry without even knowing why project all these emotions on me."

Q: Sounds rough. How do you survive that?

"As soon as I realized that I was just a symbol, an object of projection, that made things easier for me. The fact that people hated me, really hated, without knowing me was something that really confused me. It took me a long time to deal with the fact that they didn't actually hate me. I had to develop a thick skin because I'm a sensitive person. It was hard, it injures the soul."

Q: Did you have campus security at any time?

"No. Yarden, my wife, asked me to go to the police, but they said there was nothing they could do. For me it was more of a psychological thing – I was worried that it would somehow affect my family life, my children and my wife."

The masked masses

Q: You've been living in the United States for 14 years. You studied at Cornell and Princeton, you teach at Columbia, and you are intimately familiar with the Ivy League universities. Your research deals with the forces that shape and distort worldviews and their influence on our judgment, preferences, and choices. As an expert, give me your intellectual analysis of what's happening here.

"At the most basic level, the hatred we are witnessing has to do with the fact that these students act on masse and cover their faces, with a keffiyeh or a mask. They are literally going through a process of de-individuation, which allows them to spew out evil. These are really signs of a cult."

Q: What you are saying was very much evident in videos in which we see protest leaders shout out a slogan and the crowd repeats it like a bunch of zombies. What happens to these people when they leave the group framework and go back to being individuals?

"When I met the student protestors one-on-one, they were nice and polite. Something about the herd mentality and being masked allows the protestors to drop all the normative barriers."

Q: So wearing masks is not only intended to make it difficult to identify the protestors, but is in fact an essential part of the psychological mechanism that leads to this abandon. We see the same process on social media: anonymous people tend to speak in more polar and negative language.

"We've seen this throughout history, not just in this current era. During the pogroms, or Kristallnacht, for example, it was always the mob. That's part of it. I've always been fascinated by the stories of 'the SS officer who saved me': it was always a single person and it always seemed strange to me, but that's how we're built. Individually, everyone is nice and good, but in a group setting they become part of an ideology."

"Columbia was one of the first universities to see violent demonstrations, and as it happened, I had a front-row seat. Until then, I had never experienced anything like what I saw."

Q: And in a deep sense, why do people have a need to run with the herd? What does this give us?

"I think historians who write in the future about the current period, will, with the perspective of time, point to several factors that caused this storm. There was COVID-19, a global pandemic – a shocking event that created a lot of waves; a second factor is growing inequality in the Western world, particularly in the United States, from economic, ethnic and racial perspectives. Moreover, this is a generation of young people who will be less financially successful than their parents. In recent decades, every generation has improved its status relative to its parents, but now this has come to an end. The combination of all these factors increases social alienation and causes young people to search for belonging and meaning. And suddenly a movement comes calling on them to join and all they are required to do is wrap themselves in symbols and shout. And this is a movement that is not for but against. It is well known that it is much easier to employ hatred and anger rather than love to get the masses out on the streets."

Q: One could argue with that. The big hippie protests in the sixties were motivated by free love. Even Hitler used positive slogans like "Germany above everything."

"True, but that slogan also included hate speech based on racial theories and German supremacy. The hippies began as an anti-war movement that advocated counterculture, and when that struggle ended, they began to collapse. The Black Lives Matter movement has also existed since 2015 but only erupted in protest against police brutality after the killing of George Floyd. And now they are anti-Israel, anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist. Their existence is contingent on our non-existence."

Q: You have said that this is connected to class gaps, but we see a lot of spoiled, rich young white people joining the demonstrations.

"Protests are a lot easier and much more fun than going to class. Also, when your parents can pay bail and the cost of the extra semester you'll have to study then you don't have to be afraid of being arrested or suspended from school. Anyone paying $30,000 out of their own pocket won't do that."

Q: That may explain why students are getting carried away, but what about the faculty who are leading the struggle?

"For years, academics have been engaged in building the theoretical foundations by generating hatred, brainwashing and building ideologies. It's reminiscent of the early stages of the Nazi movement."

Q: You draw a lot of comparisons to Nazi Germany, even though some people consider such comparisons taboo.

"I have no intention of degrading the memory of the victims and the heroism of the survivors, quite the opposite in fact. I do so to understand. My assumption is that the Holocaust was an extreme event, but not a unique one. The story that the world is telling itself, that it was an extraordinary event, is false. The only reason to study history is to understand the present."

Q: Doesn't this lead to us always preparing for the previous war?

"We have no right to think that this time it will be different. I'm not saying that we will see history repeat itself, but historical comparisons to the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Kishinev or the Dreyfus trial help us understand what is happening, and at the same time help us understand what can happen if we don't act. Keep in mind that most Americans don't learn about the Holocaust. Only twenty states out of fifty require Holocaust studies, and children learn only about the end, the ghettos and extermination. They don't start in 1923 and they don't learn about the processes that occurred. So, when we say, 'Never Again,' they need to understand what we mean."

Q: Interestingly, the modern basis for race theory, eugenics, developed in American academia at the beginning of the 20th century, as the applied facet of genetics, long before the Nazis adopted the theory.

"That's correct, but the Nazis took this theoretical foundation and turned it into practical policy. Soviet Russia, too, used academia in the humanities and social sciences to provide justification for its actions. The same is true in present circumstances: academia invented anti-colonialist theories and uses them to fight Zionism. So, when you want to take an 18-year-old and make him shout, curse and single out Jews on campus, you can give him a theoretical justification. Today, we call it 'social justice,' in the past it was known as 'anti-imperialism,' and before that 'racial purity.' They are all the same – quasi-academic theories designed to excuse Jew-hatred."

Q: In the end though these arguments don't hold water. For example, the claim that Israelis are white occupiers. If you look at Israel's ethnic demographics this is easy to refute.

"First of all, they don't look. It's much easier to spout nonsense when you don't look at the facts. Second, they invent theories."

The death of discourse

Q: Apart from the liars and haters and those who speak in slogans and clichés, isn't there anyone in academia with whom you can conduct a productive intellectual discussion? Are there no serious people, PhDs and professors who are supposed to specialize in the field and understand history?

"Nobody sat down to talk with me."

Q: No one?

"Absolutely not, but one of the basic arguments of this group is anti-normalization. To be interviewed by an Israeli newspaper is to legitimize Israel. To invite an Israeli lecturer, even if he even comes to talk about physics, or to engage in dialogue with someone who is not Israeli who supports Israel is to legitimize Israel."

Q: In other words, we are talking about a silencing mechanism. "The Cancelling of the American Mind" a book by Greg Lukianoff and Ricky Schlott which came out in October exposed the mechanisms behind cancel culture. They point to destructive methods of argument such as whataboutism, gaslighting, denial, downplaying of real problems and the use of emotional blackmail.

"Exactly. This not only silences the other side but also makes you feel morally superior to them."

Q: Is there no way around this?

 "There are intelligent people who are supposedly open and enlightened, like the historian Rashid Khalidi. I haven't seen him hold a debate, but I think he would talk to me. His indoctrination is not through lies but by hiding the truth. But there are also liars. I had a conversation with one of the protest leaders. Forget that everything he said was rife with conspiracy theories, such as the claim that Israel killed the revelers at the Nova music festival, or that there no rape took place. I asked him, what about the hostages, you can't deny that because Hamas publishes videos of them. He answered me with whataboutism: What about the babies that Israel kidnapped? Or, for example, he claimed that Hezbollah will stop firing at Israel when Israel ends its occupation of Lebanon."

Q: What did he reply when shown that there is no Israeli occupation of Lebanon?

"He changed the subject. They don't let the facts throw them off track."

Q: Dr. David Barak-Gorodetsky wrote in Makor Rishon that when he taught a course on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the University of Chicago, he discovered that students were not at all interested in actual history – in what happened in 1929 or 1948. Conceptualization was more important to them– colonialism, apartheid, ethnic cleansing. Once you have a category – good or bad, oppressor or oppressed – the story is over. Shouldn't academia be based on truth and facts?

"Theoretically, yes. But in reality, there is a move to the method of indoctrination, learning through the transmission of opinions and beliefs. We are experiencing this right now, directed against us, but this is not something new and the world will see this in many fields. For example, it is difficult to say anything in academia contrary to the consensus on global warming. This can be more about opinions than research and scientific facts. If you want to be part of academia you must believe that global warming is real. In other words, you have to first believe and then investigate, instead of first researching and then drawing your beliefs from that research. That's indoctrination.

Soviet Russia, too, used academia in the humanities and social sciences to provide justification for its actions. The same is true in present circumstances: academia invented anti-colonialist theories and use them to fight Zionism.

"There has been no discourse in academia for a long time. There are legitimate opinions and opinions that are not legitimate. Opinions determine research rather than research determining opinions. In many fields in academia that's not the case, but in faculties that touch on political or contemporary issues, this really stands out. That's why all research on stereotypes and prejudice focuses solely on gender, sexual preferences or skin color, because these are the things that society is involved with. But all the people who claim to be experts on stereotypes have never explored the oldest prejudice in the world – antisemitism."

Q: Jews don't count, as British comedian David Baddiel observed in his book of the same name. Jews are the only minority not afforded protection under the umbrella of minority status.

"That's exactly the point. You'd think academics would say, for example, let's investigate hate crimes in New York State. After all, there is solid factual data on this. In the past seven years, between 45 and 55 percent of hate crimes there have been against Jews. More than any other group – gays, blacks, women, Muslims. Why doesn't this trouble anyone in academia? Because it's mostly in Brooklyn, mostly Jews with shtreimels, wigs and tzitzits. That doesn't interest them."

Q: We see amusing videos of protestors who don't understand what they are protesting about, who don't know what river and sea they're singing about. Are they typical of the majority of the protestors?

"It's hard to know, because the organizers don't let the demonstrators speak. People need to understand that this is a cult. At all the demonstrations there are representatives keeping an eye on the protestors. Where else have you seen a demonstration where the media can't interview protestors? They are told not to answer questions, and there is a reason for that: most of the demonstrators are ignorant or will give embarrassing answers."

Q: Who are these people who do not allow protestors to answer questions? It sounds like the Illuminati.

"They are the organizers, the leaders. I agree that it sounds insane that people aren't allowed to talk."

Q: Some universities have dealt decisively with protests and riots, for example, in Florida. What can we learn from them?

"Very few acted in that way, mostly public universities in states with Republican governors. It served their agenda; they took advantage of the situation to attack progressives."

The cost of boycotts and the price of silence

Q: Your high profile led to the university administration opening an investigation against you and blocking you from entering its gates. Where do things stand with this?

"Still under examination. The university is trying to find a way to get rid of me. At first, they tried to ignore me and let the problem resolve itself. Then they tried to silence me during the investigation, but I quickly made everything that had happened public and showed them that they would not succeed in silencing me – quite the opposite. When they blocked me from entering the campus, that was already a signal to everyone else, to make sure everyone saw, to make sure that other lecturers do the math. In that sense, they succeeded."

Q: The affair could end your academic career, which you worked so many years to achieve.

"True, but the price of silence is much higher."

Q: We are seeing Israeli researchers returning to Israel because of the situation. Have you thought about that?

 "I guess that will happen at some point. You know, it's not easy to go back to Israel now. Israel's future is unclear, the future of Israeli academia is unclear, the future of Israeli democracy is unclear, and the future here is unclear too. It's hard to decide. And I also have a role here. I fear the world's goal is to turn Israel into the largest ghetto in history. They will impose boycotts and sanctions, they will starve us, metaphorically. We know how every ghetto ends. What worries me is that we are not returning out of choice but out of no choice. I want to make Aliyah out of love and free will."

Q: That's a little naïve. The mass Zionist migrations began when Jews were pushed out by pogroms and economic hardship.

"It is true that the masses are motivated not by ideology but by necessity. However, I would like to see all decisions, not necessarily just those concerning migration between countries, but also for example deciding between universities to be a matter of choice. That people will leave Harvard not because they're afraid, but because they've found a better place."

Q: A silent academic boycott of Israel and Israeli researchers already exists, and it is becoming more and more out in the open. What are your thoughts on that?

"The first to pay the price were academics in Israel, both Jews and Arabs, because the boycott is against Israeli academia. But publications by Israelis who study in the United States and have a resume of studies at Israeli universities are also rejected."

Q: On the other hand, we are witnessing unprecedented donations to Israeli universities. A few weeks ago, Bar-Ilan University received a one-billion-shekel donation from the estate of an anonymous donor who graduated from Columbia; it was the second-largest-ever donation to  Israeli academia. The University of Haifa received a donation of NIS 200 million.

"I don't know how long this will last. In any case, academic collaborations with institutions overseas are critical for the development and progress of researchers. There is no financial alternative that can make up for this. I don't think Israeli academia and the Council for Higher Education have internalized just how problematic this is. The $260 million that Bar-Ilan received is amazing, but it's a reaction to the problem instead of a solution."

Q: In conclusion, is there anything you would like to say to our readers?

"I have never seen Diaspora Jewry so close, so strong and, after many difficult years of estrangement, so connected to Israel. It's a huge opportunity. After October 7, it is clear to world Jewry that it cannot exist in security without Israel. I think it should be clear to the State of Israel that it too cannot exist without Diaspora Jewry. We in Israel experienced a critical moment and world Jewry responded. Israel must internalize this and embrace all Jews. I'm not sure we'll have another opportunity like this.

"The second thing people need to understand is how cohesive the Jewish world is right now. It may sound funny, but in recent months I have spent more time in synagogues than in the previous 41 years of my life. Not to pray but to meet, talk and have dinner. I spent the second Passover Seder with Chabad. The Jewish community is growing stronger and stronger, and everyone's connection to Judaism has grown stronger. It is a rare and beautiful moment."

The post 'Academia invented anti-colonialist theories and uses them to fight Zionism' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The conference held last month at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in the Upper West Side of Manhattan was jam-packed. Hundreds of rabbis, presidents of Jewish communities, cantors and educators of the Reform Movement gathered to discuss the burning issues that have been topping the agenda since October 7. The opening address of the conference's organizer, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, one of the leading voices in the Reform Movement, pulled no punches. He leveled strong criticism against those antizionist members of the movement who like to quote the biblical verse which has become the motto of Reform Jews, "Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof" "Justice, justice you shall pursue," accusing them of conveniently forgetting the rest of the verse: "that you may thrive and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving to you." Hirsch also decreed that they have no future, comparing them with leaves falling from the tree of Judaism and being swept away in the wind, and in an unprecedented move he concluded that rabbis adhering to antizionist stances should not be allowed to take the pulpit and lead any communities.

"It is clear that the antizionist Jewish voice has gained momentum and come out of the closet since October 7," Hirsch tells me when I ask him about the rift between the Zionists and the non-Zionists in his movement, which has been in existence for years. "Although, according to the polls, the antizionists make up only 15 percent of the North American Jewish community, they do exert tremendous influence on the public discourse in the US. It is an extremely raucous group which is engaged in an effort to legitimize our most tangible enemies. I never define a Jew as an enemy, but they are certainly ideological rivals, and we do need to contend with them, as this phenomenon entails disturbing long-term implications."

Q: And what about the rest of the movement?

"A Pandora's box was opened on the day of the October 7 massacre, and all the evil and the antisemitism that were released from it, including the inextricable ties between antizionism and antisemitism were completely exposed, surprising them. This is exceedingly difficult for the Jews of America. In terms of numbers, as I have said, some 80 to 85 percent are in the pro-Israel camp, the large majority of whom define themselves as Zionists and many of them regard Israel as an important part of their Jewish identity."

Q: What is the difference between a Zionist and a pro-Israeli? If you are pro-Israel, do you believe it has a raison d'ȇtre.

"I really try not to make a distinction between the two of them, but in the public discourse, people often find it hard to identify with the word 'Zionism'. This is a word with ideological connotations. The term 'pro-Israel' has a political meaning. Many of them, despite the fact that they are in favor of Israel, have issues with the manner in which the war in Gaza is being waged, as they are heavily exposed to the media, which tend to focus their coverage in a highly biased fashion, highlighting the narrative of the Palestinian suffering."

Q: How is the Jewish community responding to this new form of antisemitism?

"Over the course of time antisemitism has led to two opposite processes: For some, it has aroused a strong desire to distance themselves from Judaism and to assimilate, while among others it has actually sparked a will to withdraw inwards and to bring the Jewish community together, and this is precisely what we are seeing now."

Q: How is it possible to run a movement with two contrary ideologies?

"It is impossible. We are pluralists, so in principle I do believe in the broadest possible structure, and in order to be a large movement of millions of people, you require some degree of ideological flexibility. But a movement without a framework or without boundaries, which accepts all beliefs, in essence doesn't really believe in anything. I staunchly draw my red line at antizionism."

According to the last report of the Pew Research Center, which was prepared in 2020, 37 percent of the Jews in the US belong to the Reform Movement. For years, the movement was considered to be the largest in North America, but in recent years it has been shrinking and the young generation is electing to sever ties with it. Hirsch renounces the antizionist part that has developed inside the movement not only for ideological reasons but also as he sees no future for a movement that turns its back on one half of the Jewish people. "The continuity of the movement is of tremendous importance to the future of the Jewish people for you too in Israel," he says. "Even if many of your newspaper's readers might not agree with our opinions and definitions, as 90 percent of the Jews in America are not Orthodox and never shall be, our future as a strong and vibrant movement, as a home for Jewish liberal principles, is critical not only for the continued existence of our community but also by definition is of vital importance to you in Israel."

Q: Why?

"For two reasons. Firstly, we have a religious and historical pact, we are one people. We all stood together at Mt. Sinai and we are bound by an eternal covenant. If you are a believing Jew that is more important than anything else, more than politics or any movement-related dynamics. Secondly, without the Jews of America we can safely assume that US foreign policy would be much more akin to that of Western Europe. So, even if you really don't care about us, at least in terms of that specific narrow interest, we should be building partnerships together, and be allocating budgets to them. You don't need to agree with the principles of the Reform Movement or the Conservative Movement, it really doesn't matter. The simple fact is that these are the Jews who are here, and there is a need to invest in them, in them above all as they are the weak link."

Q: We and the families of the earth

In his speech, the 65-year old Hirsch also addressed the members of the younger generation. This is possibly the most sensitive topic that the members of the movement are currently dealing with. They are currently experiencing a double betrayal – both from the liberal institutions and from their non-Jewish friends who have spurned them, but mainly from their children, their own beating heart, who not only raise claims against Israel but also accuse the Reform Movement of collaborating with 'genocide', 'ethnic cleansing' and 'colonialism'. More than 1,200 current and former members of the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism), the umbrella movement of the Reform communities in North America, have leveled these accusations in a letter that was published in December 2023. "They failed to express any Jewish warmth, not even a word of support for the Israelis or indeed any compassion for those who were murdered, tortured, sexually assaulted and abducted from among our own people," Hirsch responded to this at the conference. "There was absolutely no recognition or expression of sadness at those Israeli soldiers, young men and women of their own age, who gave up their lives in defense of the Jewish people. It is as though all the Jewish solidarity, empathy and responsibility have been removed from those Jewish youngsters."

Hirsch's criticism is directed not only against those surrounding him, but above all against himself and his colleagues in the Reform Movement leadership. I catch him in the midst of some profound soul searching, as he tries to grasp what went wrong and how. "We must ask ourselves where we went wrong, as clearly our intention was not for them to grow up in this manner," he explains. "Critical? Yes. Liberal? Yes. Human rights warriors? Yes. But we never imagined that they would become antizionists, with such bitter criticism not only of Israel but also of the American-Jewish establishment. We need to examine the part that we played in their education, which led them to adopting such positions."

Q: So why did they decide to distance themselves so much from their home ground?

"They claim that we sold them a story about Israel that was incorrect, and that we betrayed the values that we had instilled in them such as "tikkun olam" (taking action to literally 'repair' or improve the world) and social justice."

Q: In your speech you mentioned the fact that these Gen Z members are lost and there is nothing that can be done to return them to the fold. That is an extremely damning statement, a considerably bitter and perhaps even desperate pill for a parent to swallow.

"Unfortunately, they are already distanced from us regardless of what we do from now on. It does not depend on us. All that I am asking my colleagues to do is to acknowledge this reality. In my opinion, there is no chance of getting these young people to come back home within the space of the next five to ten years. And if they eventually do decide to return after twenty years, when they have families and a mortgage, then it won't be because of something that we do, but simply because that is how life works. I too was once young and believed in many things that I no longer believe in. You can never tell. Therefore, I think that we do need to invest in those people that we can influence, the children under the age of 14, as our resources are limited."

Q: What would you do differently with them?

"We are currently only in the middle of the process and we still need to engage in analysis and draw conclusions. I think that in the past we have placed too much emphasis on the Jewish aspect of the love of one's fellow man, on the universal dreams of Judaism. 'And I will make of you a great nation... And all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.' I fully understand why we chose to do this, and to a certain extent rightly so: whoever downplays that aspect of Judaism, in effect is downplaying Judaism as a whole. On the other hand, Jewish universalism that is not deeply rooted in the love of one's fellow Jew and the Jewish people as a whole is not Jewish universalism, it is simply universalism. The combination of these aspects is the real genius of Judaism and one of our most important contributions to the world as a whole. The understanding that in order to repair the world first and foremost you must love yourself and your family."

There is no new antisemitism

Hirsch is a rabbi firmly entrenched in the heart of the New York elite. Some of the most influential and well-connected Jews in Manhattan are members of his community. An armed guard stands at the entrance to the synagogue and in order to enter the building it is necessary to undergo a meticulous security check, including passing through a walk-through metal detector. In recent months there has been a growing trend of vandalism and damage to the property of Jewish institutions, there have been numerous incidents of harassment on the subway, in tandem with more and more antisemitic demonstrations. Until only a short while ago, all this would have been considered to be an imaginary, apocalyptic scenario, but this has now morphed into daily reality. "I think that this has surprised everybody," says Hirsch. "We knew that the virus of antisemitism had not disappeared – only fools believed in the end of antisemitism – and despite that America has always been different to Europe in that there has never been state antisemitism here on the part of the administration."

This almost occurred in the early 1940's. Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh earned considerable popularity at the rallies of the notoriously antisemitic America First Committee (AFC). There are those who claim that the rise of institutionalized antisemitism in the US was curbed only as a result of Hitler's unfettered success in realizing his satanic plans, which led to mass disavowal of the Nazi ideology.

"As in practice this did not eventually come to pass, it is difficult to surmise what would have happened. From day one, the American constitution has espoused equal rights. Even if the practical implementation of this has not always been successful, the right intentions have always been there."

For example, back in 1790, George Washington wrote a letter to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, in which he expressed his government's absolute commitment to the free exercise of religious choice for all citizens. "This is an extremely important letter that was written right at the dawn of American history," says Hirsch. "We had no illusions that we had reached the golden era, but the Jews of the US related to antisemitism as they do to death. We know that it exists, we know that it will come knocking on our door one day, but we prefer to ignore it and not to think about it. Thus, in that sense, October 7 and all that came in its wake was a real surprise for us. But I am not sure that the massacre created any new form of antisemitism; it simply provided the existing antisemites with the permission and authority to step out of the shadows. I am no expert on antisemitism, but I think that this immediate outburst is connected to the failures of that fateful day and Hamas' success in hurting us. It led to euphoria among antisemites around the world and for the first time they thought that they might actually be able to bring those Jews to their knees. It both invited them and encouraged them to take action."

Do you anticipate that we will witness a significant increase in the number of children being sent to Jewish schools in the year ahead, so that they won't have to contend with antisemitic jibes and harassment?

"The population will not enroll its children in Jewish education in large numbers, as this is not part of its culture. For a long time, the Jews of America fought for equal rights: so that they might be accepted into universities, the most esteemed legal and accounting firms, even the local country club. After a tough struggle that has taken decades they finally succeeded, so to give up on all that and to willingly return to the ghetto, to allow those who do not want us there to win – even from a psychological point of view – that would be extremely difficult. If we abandon all those places then we will be leaving the field open for our adversaries. The ticket to success in American society, in fulfillment of the American dream, is inextricably linked with attending those schools."

The red line

In his younger days, Hirsch lived in Israel and even served in the IDF as a tank commander in the armored corps. Not only does he speak fluent Hebrew, but also is fully conversant with the current Israeli discourse and all its diverse nuances, and he closely follows the national mood. It is possibly for this reason that when the Americans ceased the arms shipments to Israel in April, he leveled criticism at the US administration and the Democratic Party, including voicing an unprecedented, blatant and highly unAmerican warning, when he addressed them during his weekly sermon: "Don't take the Jews in the US for granted," he said. "I have spoken with many Jews in recent months and I was surprised that they are most uneasy at the current mood in the Democratic Party, its hostility towards Israel and its tolerance of the antisemitism and antizionism in its midst. Be careful, the results of the coming elections will be determined not only in Michigan."

About a million people viewed that speech within the space of only a few days, many responded to it, and Hirsch even received an indication that it had been viewed in and around the White House too. "I was looking to send a message," he explains the rationale behind the address. "I decided to speak as I am very concerned and I believe that the criticism should come from me, from the very heart of the camp. Criticism from a Republican is legitimate, but who would listen to it? We are in the middle of an election campaign, so naturally the level of rhetoric is more intense and I understand that you need to speak to the base. As long as this was merely an issue of paying lip service then everything was alright, but when the words developed into policy and they halted the flow of armaments to Israel that rang the alarm bells, and I saw this as a tangible, unprecedented danger."

Since the Second World War the majority of American Jews have voted for the Democratic Party. In the last elections, 76 percent of them voted for US President Joe Biden, and many of them also granted him financial support, as is customary in America. "I speak with lots of Democrats who have surprised me. They are in a deep dilemma that has only become more intense following the recent presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. As a matter of principle, I don't think it is very healthy both for the political parties and the Jewish community, if the support of the Jews in the US is taken for granted."

This is a dark and desperate period of time. For generations, members of Jewish communities have always looked at their rabbi for support and solace. What can you say to us to uplift our spirit?

"Although we are currently living in a very difficult and challenging period, one that has been excruciatingly painful and full of suffering for the Jews, we have as a people endured much more demanding times, including during the modern history of the State of Israel. We will get through this too, and I hope that we emerge from it much stronger and that it will bolster the ties between American Jewry and Israel.

Rabbi Soloveitchik spoke about the covenant of fate (brit goral) and the covenant of destiny (brit ye'ud). In recent years, it appears that the dispute surrounding our destiny has driven a wedge between us, and now, once again, it has been proved that it is the Jewish fate, more than anything else, that draws us closer together. In the first month of the war the Jewish Federations of North America alone raised 600 million dollars and in total the Jews of America have donated perhaps around one billion dollars to Israel.

"If there is one spot of light in the shadow of the tremendous sorrow and the terrible tragedies that have struck us, it is that they have reminded the Jews in America of the important role played by Israel in Jewish history and of their own personal Jewish identity. And I wish to add something too: there were some doubts as to the young people in Israel, but at the moment of truth they proved themselves to be an amazing, awe-inspiring generation. It is not so easy to believe that such a generation has come to light in the modern history of the Jewish people, and I have nothing but sincere admiration for those youngsters. Their Jewish peers living in the Diaspora certainly have something to learn from them. I have been deeply inspired by them and I am sure that they are a source of tremendous comfort to you too."

The post 'We knew that the virus of antisemitism had not disappeared, but America has always been different' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.