American Jews Must Use Both Jewish Pride & the Law to Defeat Anti-Semitism – Part 1

Justice Louis D. Brandeis knew that Jewish, Zionist and American ideals were united as one

By: Alyza Lewin

The following was adapted from the keynote address delivered at the Installation Dinner of the Brandeis Association, a Jewish bar association, in Great Neck, New York on Oct. 24, 2022.

Justice Louis D. Brandeis taught Americans that it was possible to be both American and Zionist. He explained that Zionist ideals were synonymous with American values.

As he once said, “I began gradually to realize that these 20th-century ideals of America, of democracy, of social justice, of longing for righteousness, were ancient Jewish ideals. … That that which I was striving for, as a thing essentially American, as the ideals for our country, were the Jewish ideals of thousands of years.”

For Justice Brandeis, Jewish, Zionist and American ideals were united as one. Today, however, some seek to divide them and falsely claim that they can’t coexist together. They categorize Zionism as evil.

It is increasingly common today to hear people say: I’m not anti-Jewish, I’m only anti-Zionist. But is that even possible? Is it possible to support Jews but oppose Zionists?

The answer is no. Why? Because Zionism is an integral part of Jewish identity.

Judaism is more than a religion. Jews share not only a faith and religious traditions, but also a deep sense of Jewish peoplehood. The Jews’ history, ancestry, theology and culture are inextricably intertwined with the Land of Israel. Justice Brandeis embraced the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their ancestral homeland.

Yet today, on campus and beyond, Jewish students who demonstrate pride in their Jewish ethnic heritage by expressing identification with Israel are shunned, marginalized and excluded from student clubs, support groups, social justice advocacy spaces and even student government. With frightening frequency, these students are told they are not welcome unless they first condemn Israel. No other group of students is charged such a price for admission.

As president of the Brandeis Center, I speak nearly every day to students on campus. Let me share with you some of the things they are telling me:

They say that the trip they took to Israel was the most amazing experience of their life, but they won’t post photos of it on social media.

They say they won’t wear t-shirts with Hebrew writing on them. At one school, students asked the Hillel not to manufacture t-shirts with the name of the school in Hebrew letters because, they said, When we wear Hebrew, we become targets.

They say they are afraid to wear items that identify them as Jewish, such as a Star of David or a kippah (a skullcap), because their peers on campus automatically assume that all Jews who are visibly Jewish are Zionists—and today, Zionism is equated with racism and all things evil.

They say they are being pushed out of social justice advocacy spaces, removed from clubs or even removed from student government—all because they are Zionists.

For example: At SUNY New Paltz, a student who created an organization to empower survivors of sexual assault was removed from the group she started. Her access to the club’s social media accounts and documents was cut off. Why? Because she shared on her own personal Instagram account an info-graphic that explained that Jews are an ethnic group originally from Israel, and that it is not possible to “colonize” a place that you are from.

At the University of Southern California, the vice president of student government, Rose Ritch, a fierce progressive and supporter of Palestinian human rights, became the target of an intense online harassment campaign that vilified her and urged her removal from office for no reason other than that she believes Israel has a right to exist. The posts called to impeach her “Zionist a**.” After the Brandeis Center got involved as Rose’s counsel, the university postponed her impeachment trial. Privately, administrators told Rose they were sorry for what she was experiencing, but publicly, they refused to issue any statement condemning the anti-Semitism.

The administrators even refused to explain to the university community why the impeachment trial had been put off, leaving it to Rose to explain to the student body why her own impeachment trial would not be taking place. Ultimately, without the university’s public support, Rose was compelled to step down. As she explained in her resignation statement, she was pushed out of office, and denied this student leadership opportunity, solely due to her Zionism—an integral component of her Jewish identity. The Brandeis Center filed a Title VI complaint against the university for failing to protect Rose from the unlawful harassment and discrimination. This summer, the Department of Education opened a formal investigation of the matter.

And at UC Berkeley Law School, at least nine student organizations, representing the majority of the student body—groups that include the Women of Berkeley Law, the Queer Caucus and the Berkeley Law Muslim Student Association—adopted bylaws that commit these student organizations to never invite speakers “that have expressed and continue to hold views … in support of Zionism.” Mind you, these bylaws do not say that the organizations will prohibit programs related to Zionism or Israel. The bylaws say that the groups will not invite any individuals who support Zionism to speak on any subject.

So, for example, the Women of Berkeley Law will not invite a Zionist attorney to speak about Roe v. Wade, and the Queer Caucus will not invite a pro-Israel speaker to discuss gay marriage. As the dean of Berkeley Law acknowledged, these bylaws would preclude him and 90% of the Jewish students at Berkeley from addressing these clubs, because the overwhelming majority of Jews believe Israel has a right to exist. This is not viewpoint discrimination. The clubs that have adopted these bylaws are excluding Jews. They are actively denying Jews a space at their speaker podium.

Today, students who believe that Israel has a right to exist in any borders are being called “racist,” “colonialists,” “oppressors.” They are told they are responsible for “apartheid,” “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing.”

It is no longer sufficient for a student to express support for a “two-state solution.” Today, students must deny the right of Jewish self-determination and deny Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. Israel has become the litmus test.

Don’t get me wrong. Hostility towards Israel is not the only anti-Jewish sentiment we see on campus. Sadly, there is still plenty of the traditional, historic anti-Semitism. Random swastikas, hateful fliers circulated by white supremacists containing traditional anti-Semitic tropes and mezuzahs that are torn down.

All of it is disturbing. The difference, however, is that when students complain about the traditional anti-Semitism, the administrators seem to understand. They recognize the swastikas and white supremacists as anti-Semitic and they usually act.

But when the discrimination includes the words “Israel” or “Zionist,” university administrators mistakenly think that what they are witnessing is a good faith political debate. Rather than pick a side or risk silencing anyone’s speech, the administrators remain silent and do nothing. By failing to even condemn the harassment and discrimination that is taking place, universities permit it to fester and grow.

One of the challenges we face on college campuses today is that university administrators—and the general public—don’t understand contemporary anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism may be society’s oldest hatred, but it is the most difficult form of bigotry to recognize, because it looks different in each generation. It morphs.

The one constant, however, is that anti-Semitism always takes whatever that generation’s greatest evil is, whatever that society views as its misfortune, and pins it on the Jew. The Jew becomes the scapegoat. The Jew is to blame.

(JNS.org)

(To be Continued Next Week)

Alyza Lewin is president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.