Anti-Zionist Harassment Is Against the Law, Too

Key Findings:

Cases of antisemitic harassment on college campuses have seen a recent surge. According to the Anti-Defamation League, in 2022, antisemitic incidents on campuses across the United States increased from 41% to 219%. This essay seeks to identify the causes behind these fluctuations, and suggests an answer in three parts:

(1) College administrators lack proper awareness of contemporary antisemitism. 
The author explains antisemitism has evolved from targeting the singular Jew to the Jewish collective. In other words, two forms of harassment have emerged: traditional antisemitism, which aims to alienate the Jewish individual from society, and contemporary antisemitism, which aims to alienate the Jewish state from the world. The author argues the latter is much more prevalent today, but is often overlooked.

(2) Israel being central to Jewish identity is a largely misunderstood concept. 
The right to self-determination in the land of Israel is an aspect of Judaism that is largely unknown, and therefore unrecognized. The Torah repeatedly references the land of Israel and a return to it (more than half of its 613 commandments reference Israel). Holidays like Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot all relate to this land. Countless Jewish traditions are deeply connected to a reverence of the Land of Israel too.

(3) Anti-Zionist rhetoric in the name of social justice is often a result of this blindspot. 
Antisemitism proliferates under the supposed progressive veil of anti-Zionism. Very few understand they are linked.