Israeli Holocaust Scholar Omer Bartov on Campus Protests, Weaponized Antisemitism, Silencing Dissent

[Uncle Joe]

As Biden administration and U.S. college and university administrators increasingly accuse peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters on school campuses of antisemitism, we speak with Brown University professor of Holocaust and genocide studies Omer Bartov, who visited the student Gaza solidarity encampment at UPenn alongside fellow Israeli historian Raz Segal. "There was absolutely no sign of any violence, of any antisemitism at all," says Bartov, who warns antisemitism is being used to silence speech about Israel. "There's politics, and there's prejudice. And if we don't make a distinction between the two, then what we are actually doing is enforcing a kind of silence over the policies that have been conducted by the Israeli government for a long time that ultimately culminated now in the utter destruction of Gaza."

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[tornado34jh]

1. I've said it from the start, this whole thing is an excuse to silence those critical of Netanyahu and his government

I still have questions about what the government knew before the Hamas attack and whether the stories are true that Hamas was training for it when everyone could see it. They still have to answer those questions.

[Martin68]

2. I'm sick of charges of antisemitism against people who are demonstrating against the merciless bombardment and loss

of life in Gaza. I don't doubt there might be isolated examples of antisemitism at any large gathering like these, but they are insignificant when compared to the vast majority of sincere, principled demonstrators. The overall tenor is serious, ethical, and humanitairian.