Rutgers University chancellor and provost apologize for condemning rise in anti-Semitic attacks
Apparently, higher education in America has been so poisoned by the radical left that condemning a rise in physical attacks on innocent American Jews is now forbidden — unless one simultaneously indicates support for the very cause being advocated by the groups most prominent in the current attacks.
Greg Price writes in The Daily Caller:
The chancellor of Rutgers University-New Brunswick apologized Thursday after sending a university-wide announcement condemning the recent spike in anti-Semitic attacks around the country.
Dr. Christopher J. Molloy, chancellor of the university, and Dr. Francine Conway, provost and executive vice chancellor for research and academic affairs, originally sent a message to their students on Wednesday that spoke out against the widely reported increase in hate crimes against Jews.
The original message, sent out on May 26, expressed concern over all acts of hate and oppression:
Last year's murder of George Floyd brought into sharp focus the racial injustices that continue to plague our country, and over the past year there has been attacks on our Asian American Pacific Islander citizens, the spaces of Indigenous peoples defiled, and targeted oppression and other assaults against Hindus and Muslims. (snip)
We call out all forms of bigotry, prejudice, discrimination, xenophobia, and oppression, in whatever ways they may be expressed. [emphasis added]
But, apparently, that was not enough to satisfy the "community" at the main campus of the eighth oldest university in America, as an apology followed the next day:
We are writing today as a follow-up to the message sent on Wednesday, May 26th to the university community. We understand that intent and impact are two different things, and while the intent of our message was to affirm that Rutgers–New Brunswick is a place where all identities can feel validated and supported, the impact of the message fell short of that intention. In hindsight, it is clear to us that the message failed to communicate support for our Palestinian community members. We sincerely apologize for the hurt that this message has caused.
Rutgers University–New Brunswick is a community that is enriched by our vibrant diversity. However, our diversity must be supported by equity, inclusion, antiracism, and the condemnation of all forms of bigotry and hatred, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. As we grow in our personal and intuitional understanding, we will take the lesson learned here to heart, and pledge our commitment to doing better. We will work to regain your trust, and make sure that our communications going forward are much more sensitive and balanced.
Our goal of creating a beloved community will not be easy, and while we may make mistakes along the way; we hope we can all learn from them as we continue this vital work together. [emphasis added]
This addition of the "Palestinian community" and "Islamophobia" is redundant, since the original message condemned the oppression of Muslims and can be interpreted only as diminishing the condemnation of Jew-hatred (a term I prefer to "anti-Semitism").
In case you haven't noticed, lately, attacks on Jews have been perpetrated by thugs expressing support for the Palestinians across the country.
In New York:
The New York Police Department (NYPD) received a report Saturday night that an 18-year-old and 17-year-old were walking near Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn when they were approached by "two unidentified males who demanded that the victims repeat anti-Jewish statements."
The 18-year-old victim's father spoke to the Daily Caller under the condition of anonymity and said his son and nephew were told to chant "Free Palestine," but refused to do so. The teens, who the father said were both wearing their yarmulkes, refused and were immediately assaulted, according to police. Both victims were punched in the head and the 17-year-old was placed in a chokehold, police said.
As the victims attempted to flee, police said they were chased by an assailant "brandishing a baseball bat."
Also in New York:
A 20-year-old man is under arrest and charged in connection to back-to-back attacks against Jewish victims in Brooklyn last weekend.
Danial Shaukat was arrested Tuesday on a charge of aggravated harassment as a hate crime.
The first incident took place in front of Agudath Israel Synagogue in Borough Park around 7 p.m. Saturday.
Police say Shaukat and two others parked outside the synagogue yelled anti-Jewish statements.
They allegedly yelled "Free Palestine! Kill all Jews!" at four male victims standing outside the location.
In Los Angeles:
An attack on Jewish diners outside a Beverly Grove restaurant by members of a pro-Palestinian caravan Tuesday night is being investigated by police as a possible hate crime.
Also in Los Angeles:
Video has surfaced of an Orthodox Jewish man in the Fairfax District getting chased down by two vehicles as the passengers wave Palestinian flags.
The American left appears to be succeeding in enforcing an unspoken rule that any condemnation of anti-Semitism by a public figure must be counterbalanced by a ritual denunciation of "Islamophobia" or support for Palestinians. This is what happened in 2019 when, following Rep. Ilhan Omar's "'anti-Semitic' and 'pernicious' comments," congressional Democrats succeeded in defeating a condemnation of Jew-hatred on its own and forced adding language condemning "virtually all forms of bigotry, including white supremacy."
Is there any other group subjected to similar requirements? Does CAIR denounce Jew-hatred when condemning what it believes to be "Islamophobia"?
Applying a standard to Jews (or Israel) that is not applied to other groups is the very essence of anti-Semitism, AKA Jew-hatred.
We are now in an era where top-level leadership of a major state university goes along with demands to apply a unique standard to condemnations of attacks on Jews. I am not holding my breath for the next discovery of an alleged "noose" somewhere leading to a denunciation of Jew-hatred along with racism.
Photo credit: tomwsulcer, public domain.
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