A group of Jewish students from Columbia have written an emotional and powerful public letter that addresses one of the most controversial questions on college campuses: whether opposition to Israel should be equated with anti-Semitism.
In the letter, the students argue that Zionism cannot be separated from Judaism. They also accuse anti-Zionist Jews who support pro-Palestinian protesters of “tokenism” and attempting to delegitimize the experiences of Zionist Jews on campus.
Some of the students who signed the letter, which had 540 signatories as of Thursday morning, has already spoken out publicly against Colombia for the anti-Semitism they say they face there. A student testified before Congress on the question; others counter-demonstrated at pro-Palestinian rallies. Others have not previously spoken out.
In total, as of Thursday, the letter was signed by just over 10 percent of the approximately 5,000 Jewish undergraduate and graduate students at Columbia and its affiliated colleges. All signatories provided their name, university affiliation and year of graduation, unlike some public letters, which allow anonymous signatures.
Titled “On our behalf: a message from Jewish students at Columbia University“, the letter represents the views of students who say they love Israel, even if they do not always agree with the actions of the Israeli government.
“Our love for Israel does not require blind political conformity,” the letter said. “It’s quite the opposite. For many of us, it is our deep love and commitment to Israel that drives us to object when its government acts in ways that we find problematic. »
The letter did not specifically criticize any Israeli actions, stating that “our visions of Israel differ radically from each other.” Yet, he continues, “we all come from a place of love and aspiration for a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
The letter comes as Columbia faces a campus deeply divided and shaken by two recent police interventions against pro-Palestinian activism on campus, including the to resume of a campus building which resulted in more than 200 arrests. On Monday, Columbia President Nemat Shafik canceled the main graduation ceremony, citing security concerns, and the main campus remains in a state of partial lockdown.
It’s unclear what impact the letter would have on tensions on campus. Columbia and its affiliated schools have Jewish and non-Jewish faculty and students who are strongly anti-Zionist and who argue that Zionism is not a requirement of Jewish identity.
At pro-Palestinian rallies on campuses in Columbia and beyond, anti-Zionist slogans – including “we don’t want Zionists here” – are common. Anti-Zionist protesters say this is not an anti-Semitic distinction, one that not everybody accepted.
For students who identify as Zionists, this was deeply hurtful.
Most of the signatories, the open letter states, “did not choose to be political activists.” But they felt compelled to speak out because they feel demonized “under the guise of anti-Zionism” and compelled to publicly defend their Jewish and Zionist identity.
“We proudly believe in the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in our historic homeland as a fundamental tenet of our Jewish identity,” they wrote. “Contrary to what many have tried to sell you, no, Judaism cannot be separated from Israel. Zionism is, quite simply, the manifestation of this belief. »
“We are proud to be Jewish and we are proud to be Zionists,” they wrote.
Columbia undergraduate Elisha Baker wrote the letter, along with Eliana Goldin, Eden Yadegar and Rivka Yellin. Mr. Baker said in an interview that the letter began circulating among students on Saturday and that he expected the number of signatories to increase.
“This letter was intended to amplify Jewish voices that have been silenced for seven months and to make very clear that there is a unified Jewish community on campus,” he said.
In the letter, the students said they felt betrayed and hurt by the opinions of many of their classmates and by the treatment suffered by some Zionist students in the camp that occupied a Columbia lawn for two weeks before being expelled by the police. The protesters who set up the tents demanded, among other things, that the university divest from Israel.
The letter said the students were not surprised when one of the camp’s leaders, Khymani James, “publicly and proudly stated that ‘Zionists don’t deserve to live” and that they were lucky that he “didn’t just murder Zionists.”
Pro-Palestinian student organizers with the Columbia encampment disowned these comments, which were made in January, and Mr. James apologized. He was suspended from school and banned from campus.
Maryam Alwan is an organizer for the Columbia chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, which was suspended last fall. She said in a recent interview: “I think anti-Semitism is horrible, but I don’t think using the conflation of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism as an excuse to suppress pro-Palestinian advocacy is justifiable or related in any sense. »
The letter, however, disputes this distinction.
“If the last six months on campus have taught us anything, it is that a large and vocal population of the Colombian community does not understand the meaning of Zionism and, therefore, does not understand the essence of the Jewish people “, wrote the students. “Yet even though we denounce the anti-Semitism that we have experienced for months, our concerns have been brushed aside and invalidated. »
The students ended the letter on a conciliatory note, saying they wanted to work together to repair the campus.
“Although the campus is now riddled with hateful rhetoric and simplistic binaries, it is never too late to begin to mend divides and begin to develop meaningful relationships across political and religious divides,” they said. writing. “Our tradition tells us:”Love peace and seek peace.»
