Pro-Palestinian and anti-Semitic protests in our country are shocking, but predictable. Similar protests have occurred in Europe for years, as Muslims – a number of them radicalized – increased their presence. Many of these “refugees” from Muslim countries have become violent and reluctant to assimilate with host countries. European politicians stood by and watched it happen. Rather than learning from these mistakes, the U.S. followed suit and indiscriminately welcomed radicalized Muslims into this country.

It’s no surprise in today’s political environment that many university presidents defend the rights of Muslims, while ignoring those very same rights for Jews and others deemed in the “majority.” Even when hate speech is directed at Jews, “woke” authorities simply turn a blind eye.

Elite university presidents are afraid to do anything that might subject them to criticism for not being “woke” enough. This is, however, the American society that progressive and far-left activists have been pushing on the U.S. for years through identity politics. They draw lines between people, make them feel persecuted and sorry for themselves, and get them to hate each other.

It is inconceivable how anyone can find a moral equivalence between the two sides in the present conflict.

A real irony is that many Jews in the U.S. have been strong far-left activists for years. The other irony is that the people most blind to antisemitism and far-left ideology are the so-called “educated elite.” It’s the working-class whose commonsense screams at them that “this is f….d up.” But power in our society resides with the oligarchs and the “educated elite” who are themselves products of those same universities (e.g., Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, MIT, Cornell) that started “wokism.”

The politics of pro-Palestinian activists clouds their judgment when it comes to human rights and basic justice. Pro-Palestinian activists misinterpret and misuse the concepts of apartheid, genocide and occupation in reference to Israel’s governing and political standing.

Apartheid and oppression in South Africa (1948 to 1994) was the racial segregation under the all-white government, which dictated that non-white South Africans (a majority of the population) were required to live in separate areas from whites and use separate public facilities. Today in Israel, Jews make up the majority at 73% (about 7.145 million individuals). The Arab community, spanning various religions, accounts for 21% or nearly 2 million individuals. They are citizens of Israel with equal rights, political participation and representation.

Genocide is an internationally recognized crime of intentionally seeking to exterminate a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Between 1950 and 2023, the Palestinian population in Israel, Gaza and neighboring territories grew from 944,807 to 5,371,230— a population increase of 468% in 73 years.

Occupation. The Jewish presence in the Israel-Gaza region is, archaeologically and historically, well documented. It is clearly described in every high school and college World History textbook. The Land of Israel has changed hands many times over the centuries, but it has been the homeland of the Jewish people for nearly 3,500 years.

Indeed, pro-Palestinian and anti-Semitic rhetoric is a classic example of the confusion that far-left politicians, media, and educators have created in our youth. In fact, it is not surprising that many young people now proclaim support for the Palestinians in Gaza, even after the Palestinian Hamas terrorists committed atrocious crimes against Israel.

Many rational and peace-seeking Americans are outraged by the Gaza (via Hamas) atrocious attack on Israel on October 7^th. They killed, mutilated and kidnapped nearly 1,500 individuals in Israel. It is inconceivable how anyone can find a moral equivalence between the two sides in the present conflict. What Hamas terrorists did was savage, primitive, and far beyond any justification.

World-wide antisemitism, triggered by the Israel/Hamas-Gaza war, is a direct result of the far-left ideology prevalent today in the West (white privilege doctrine, critical race theory, systemic racism). By pushing these ideologies, progressive and far-left activists are attempting to create an ignorant, self-important generation of youth with a corrupt moral compass.

School administrators and teachers unions have turned America’s public schools into “Blue Cities” emersed in far-left “woke” ideology.

The views expressed here are those of the author.

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