Universities getting it wrong on antisemitism – again!
JVL Introduction
Once again we must ask why do the feelings of Jewish students matter so much more than that of Palestinian students or Muslim students? The evidence of harm done to Jewish students is negligible at best. Feeling uncomfortable is taken to be signs that antisemitism is present – if not rife (sound familar?). And while framed as Jewish students it is actually zionist students, some of whom are Jewish. Of course at many of the University protests for Gaza, there was a strong and organised Jewish presence. This is not to say that there is no antisemitism on campus or even within the wider Palestine Solidarity movement – that, of course, should be addressed – but why does this prompt national and international headlines, Presidential decrees even in the absence of evidence?
The blog post below focuses on Harvard’s investigation into antisemitism and below that is a video about an interview relating mainly to Colombia University but showing how, on this occasion at least, even the liberal Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz came from a particular angle and could not accept what was being said.
Finally (and apologies for the long introduction): note that the Harvard Report into antisemitism was published, after much delay on 29th April 2025 at the same time as one from the anti Muslim Task Force. The report on both in the Harvard Magazine noted that there were some similarities between the two reports but also that: “in many ways, the two reports diverge and even work against each other. The anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian bias task force (…) recommended increasing the study of Palestine; the antisemitism and anti-Israel task force (…) criticized the University for offering one-sided, pro-Palestine courses. The anti-Muslim task force relayed student concerns about a “Palestine exception to free speech,” where speech related to Palestine is overpoliced; the antisemitism task force refuted the existence of such a standard, instead saying that pro-Palestine perspectives are frequently available, whereas Israel is widely criticized in courses. The anti-Muslim task force asked the University to consider its stance on “divestment, disclosure, and engagement” with Israeli companies; the antisemitism task force noted that the divestment movement on campus heightened tensions and that the culture of divestment alienates Israeli and Jewish students.”
LL
This article was originally published by Substack (Blog) on Wed 30 Apr 2025. Read the original here.
The Harvard Report On "Antisemitism" Is A Bad Joke
Trump & the ADL are a toxic mix
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While I appreciate JVL re-posting this rather flippant blog post, I think that, in fact, Harvard has been better than most US private universities currently under sustained attack for “antisemitism” by doing its best to pushback by simultaneously publishing quite rigorous reports on student and faculty experiences of 1) anti-Jewish, antisemitic and anti-Israeli behaviour and 2) anti-Arab, anti-Islamic and anti-Palestinian behaviour on campus. Both reports, prepared independently from one another were conducted over several weeks by academic staff using large amounts of their own time, were based on large-scale questionnaires and other feedback.
Harvard has led the charge in refusing to bow to the Trump junta’s pressure, while remaining within the limits of considerably constraining legal boundaries. It’s record is certainly a great deal more commendable than Yale or Columbia, both of which didn’t take long to roll over and throw pro-Palestinian’s under the bus.
For a more balanced (but also critical, especially of the hysterical and crudely biased coverage of the reports by the New York Times) commentary, I recommend a report in today’s Intercept RChttps://theintercept.com/2025/04/30/harvard-new-york-times-antisemitism-reports-palestine/