Netanyahu Condemns Anti-Semitic Rampage on U.S. Campuses

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, released a press release on Wednesday condemning what he called “antisemitic hordes” on American university campuses. The Israeli prime minister compared the situation on American university campuses to that of Germany in the 1930s and demanded action from the colleges.

The Prime Minister called the recent events on American university campuses “horrible.”

Leading universities have been taken over by antisemitic mobs. They demand the destruction of Israel. They attack Jewish students. They attack Jewish faculty. It reminds me of what happened at German universities during the 1930s. It’s unconscionable. This must stop. It must be condemned, and it must be condemned unambiguously. This is not what happened. The response from several university presidents has been shameful. Many state, local, and federal officials have responded differently, but more needs to be done. There is more to do. Not only is it bad that they attack Israel but also that they want to kill Jews wherever they may be. Listening to them is not just about their chants of “Death To Israel”, “Death To The Jews” and “Death To America”.

He is not wrong. He doesn’t say that the antisemitic mobs all belong to the political left.

Columbia University is a prime example of this kind of inaction and, frankly, impotence displayed by these colleges. Columbia University gave protesters 48 hours more to pack up their tents and leave the land they were trespassing, with the implicit message that “this time, we mean it.” In this case, the response of the universities has been weak and feckless. But then again, we’ve come to expect weakness and fecklessness from American academia.

PM Netanyahu concluded:

Antisemitism must be stopped because it is the canary that lies in the coal mine. It is always the precursor to larger conflicts that affect the whole world. All of you, Jews or non-Jews, who care about our future and our shared values, I ask you to do just one thing. Stand up. Speak out. Be counted Stop antisemitism. Now.

This is a very important issue for Mr. Netanyahu. Israel is facing a national survival crisis, just as it has in the past. He makes an excellent final point: this kind of vile speech can only be allowed to happen if we allow it.