04-16-2015, 02:54 PM
I appreciate the respectful discussion here.
My experience (I am Jewish, for whatever it is worth) at Stanford in the mid-90's was completely devoid of anti-semitism. I can't come up with any episodes that even approached that. Maybe it helped that the Oslo accords had just been signed, and that Israeli/Arab tensions were at an ebb, and there was optimism about a lasting peace.
I agree that there is a tendency to conflate criticism of Israeli policies with anti-semitism. Like others, I don't agree with all the policies of Israel (especially under the current Likud government), but that doesn't mean I'm a self-hating Jew. Nor does it mean that I consider non-Jews who criticize Israel to be antisemitic. Of course, I can say that without having to worry about a a rocket landing on my house randomly, or a bus I'm on being blown up, and that does change the calculus somewhat. Nonetheless, I do believe that Israel's long-term security is probably best guaranteed by arriving at a two-state solution that would allow it to live in peace with most of its neighbors.
There are, however, those whose criticism is so over-the-top that it veers into anti-semitism.
As for the critique that Israel is treated more harshly than other neighbors, I like to think that's because we have higher expectations. Just as I hold US actions to a higher standard than other countries because I want my own country to occupy the moral high ground, I want the same for Israel.
BC
My experience (I am Jewish, for whatever it is worth) at Stanford in the mid-90's was completely devoid of anti-semitism. I can't come up with any episodes that even approached that. Maybe it helped that the Oslo accords had just been signed, and that Israeli/Arab tensions were at an ebb, and there was optimism about a lasting peace.
I agree that there is a tendency to conflate criticism of Israeli policies with anti-semitism. Like others, I don't agree with all the policies of Israel (especially under the current Likud government), but that doesn't mean I'm a self-hating Jew. Nor does it mean that I consider non-Jews who criticize Israel to be antisemitic. Of course, I can say that without having to worry about a a rocket landing on my house randomly, or a bus I'm on being blown up, and that does change the calculus somewhat. Nonetheless, I do believe that Israel's long-term security is probably best guaranteed by arriving at a two-state solution that would allow it to live in peace with most of its neighbors.
There are, however, those whose criticism is so over-the-top that it veers into anti-semitism.
As for the critique that Israel is treated more harshly than other neighbors, I like to think that's because we have higher expectations. Just as I hold US actions to a higher standard than other countries because I want my own country to occupy the moral high ground, I want the same for Israel.
BC