Ignominy
Defined as a public shame and disgrace, this word more than adequately sums up the current turmoil convulsing universities.
Michael Kuttner
With Yom Hashoah commemorations looming, the images flooding social media and the news are eerily reminiscent of the years preceding the outbreak of World War 2.
Mobs of screaming students, some faculty and external professional agitators have taken over university premises and grounds not only in the USA but also in other countries, including Australia. The involvement of far-left and anarchist groups, all well organized with logistically professional efficiency, points to a well-financed and orchestrated patron.
Sure enough, the bloody hands of the Iranian Mullah regime pulling the strings of jihadist fanatics can be discerned without too much trouble as well as financial support from Qatari-funded groups.
Total cluelessness on the part of the students, blatant mind-boggling bias on the part of participating faculty, knee-jerk aversion to Zionism and Israel’s existence by politicians and rabid Jew hate by Islamic groups all add up to a potent potion of putrid poison.
The undisguised venom directed at Jewish students lays bare the stark reality of what has always lurked just beneath the surface.
To compound this disgraceful situation is the fact that many university administrators have failed to either nip this open display of hate in the bud or, once it gained traction, to take determined steps to deal with the consequences.
Many years ago, my late parents recounted their personal experiences in the years leading up to the elections in 1933 when the Nazis came to power in Germany.
My father was a university student, and by 1930, he and all Jewish students faced increasing levels of violence, intimidation and delegitimization. Jewish faculty members were also at the receiving end of prejudicial measures and efforts to deprive them of their tenure and positions. Needless to say those in charge of university administration did nothing to put a stop to the harassment and boycotting of Jews.
One of the first legislative measures instituted by the victorious Nazis after January 1933 was to expel all Jewish students and faculty from German universities thereby marking the beginning of ridding the fatherland of undesirable “vermin.”
Nobody is suggesting at this stage that this will be the inevitable result in Western democracies today, but left untreated, the current malignant malaise will fester and eventually erupt with fatal consequences at some stage in the future.
My mother’s experiences also exude an eerie familiarity to what is currently occurring.
She, like many German youngsters, grew up with non-Jewish childhood friends with whom they mixed socially and befriended at school.
Suddenly, after 1933, her best non-Jewish friends shunned her and joined the growing chorus of haters indoctrinated by teachers and the media. From best friends, they instantly transformed into individuals demonizing “dirty” Jews who overnight became traitors and a threat to the fatherland.
Compare this to the current “defriending” and “unfriending” of Jewish individuals via social media. What was once an isolated act has now become a tsunami of social banishment.
That is how mass brainwashing of the ignorant can poison entire generations.
Looking at today’s spectacle, it is not hard to realize how easily and effectively this can be achieved.
Back in the 1930s, there was no Jewish State to blame for all the ills of the world, so Jews collectively could be targeted for vilification and libel of all manner of things.
Today, Zionists and Israel are the convenient scapegoats, although by now, the charade has mutated into plain old Jew hate. Prior to the Shoah, some Jews believed that by converting to Christianity and joining the haters they would be able to escape the inevitable fate awaiting their compatriots. We all know how effective that was.
Nowadays, displaying self-loathing anti-Zionist credentials and blaming Israel and Israel’s supporters for every known crime while at the same time excusing Islamic jihadist murderers is merely a similar attempt at buying the love of the haters. Just as previous attempts to escape from the Jewish community ended in fatal failure, current attempts to do so will also fail. If these misguided individuals think that once an Islamic caliphate becomes a reality in Europe and the West, they will be embraced as fellow anti-Israel colleagues, they are in for a rude awakening.
This leaves us with a question as to what, if anything, Governments in rapidly diminishing democracies are actually doing about the current dismal and disastrous situation.
Interestingly, but not surprisingly, they have been slow to react. When reluctantly forced to do so, their responses were entirely predictable.
The first response is one of righteous outrage and a condemnation of Jew hate. However, in this age of moral equivalency, no condemnation of Judeophobia can be voiced without at the same time calling out those who point the finger at Islamic terror facilitators.
Nobody has yet been able to identify mobs of Jews and Israelis blocking access to universities for Muslim students or faculty. No evidence of Jewish demonstrators screaming death threats and advocating the elimination of Islamic nations can be found. Despite this, Government spokespersons feel compelled to hedge their bets when it comes to unequivocally condemning threats against Jews and Israel.
For a nauseating glimpse at international hypocrisy, look no further than the United Nations. The UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and Opinion (a more superfluous official one has yet to find) issued a statement in which she lamented “the rise in hate speech on all sides.” She went on to comment that “one after the other Ivy League heads at colleges and universities are having their heads rolled and being chopped off.” Presumably, this is happening because of the nefarious actions of those who are being attacked. A better example of a glaring inversion of reality would be hard to find.
The best example of avoiding making a decision is invoking the old mantra of “protecting free speech” at universities. Surely there must be some sort of limit and red line when those abusing free speech are actually advocating the genocide of an entire ethnic group and country. Forgotten in all this is the pogrom perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October.
Crying crocodile tears over murdered Jews is an annual rite indulged in by politicians and political leaders every year on Yom Hashoah. Unchallenged on these occasions is the stark fact that the murder of six million Jews was facilitated by the appeasement of Jew haters in the years leading up to the Holocaust and the refusal to save Jewish refugees seeking safety.
This year, of all years, we should not remain mute as speakers burble inanities and do nothing to deal with naked and unadulterated venom being propagated against Israel and Jews.
It’s time for action, not double-speak and diplomatic duplicity.
Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.
