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Opinion

Anti-Semitism no longer tolerated

Robyn Morrow
Opinion Columnist and Editor 

Five years after the attacks on the World Trade Center, anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists continue to lay blame on Israel for the devastation of 9/11.

Claiming Jewish members of Bush's administration helped orchestrate the attacks to aid Israel, these theorists help promote anti-Semitism, particularly in Muslim and Arab countries.

Chris Bollyn, a writer for the American Free Press, a conspiracy-oriented newspaper, said that Jews in government attempted to cover up Israeli involvement in the assaults and have ties to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. In addition to these outrageous claims, Bollyn cites Michael Chertoff in the Department of Justice as someone who facilitated Americans' blame of Muslims for 9/11.

"From the very morning aircraft smashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon," he wrote in the American Free Press, "news reports have indicated Israeli intelligence being involved in the events of 9/11 and the planting of ‘false flags' to blame Arab terrorists and mold public opinion to support the pre-planned ‘war on terror.'"

These theorists, such as Bollyn, allege Jews created this "plan" with U.S. assistance with the goal of invading Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries in order to gain control of resources in that area, the Anti-Defamation League said.

These extravagant claims may seem like unbelievable anti-Semitic propaganda. Nonetheless, many Americans still hold anti-Semitic views. Nearly 35 million Americans retain these beliefs, which is approximately 14 percent of our population. According to a 2005 survey by the ADL, Americans with the most anti-Semitic sentiment view Jews as having too much power in the United States, too much power in business and too much control of Wall Street.

Although the term anti-Semitism was coined in the late 1870s, anti-Jewish sentiment didn't upsurge in America until shortly after World War I. In the 1920s, Jews were often identified as political radicals, and legislators limited the number of Jewish immigrants from Eastern European countries. Universities, including Harvard, Columbia and Cornell, placed quotas on Jewish enrollment. Some institutions even limited the number of teaching positions available to Jews.

On Sept. 22, swastika flags were displayed on various portions of at least four freeways in Los Angeles. The attack, which came during the beginning of Jewish High Holidays, may not signal an increasing trend in anti-Semitism, but ADL's 2005 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents noted an increase in incidents directed toward Jewish institutions.

In an effort to educate Americans about the causes of anti-Semitism, Yale University has created the first university-based center to study anti-Semitism, the Yale Initiative for Interdisciplinary Study of Anti-Semitism. The center plans to offer courses, conferences and seminars teaching students and scholars the manifestation of anti-Semitism and ways to combat it, said Charles Small, the center's director. Although not the first American organization to discuss anti-Semitism, Yale's prominence may help garner more attention to a problem that has existed for years. 

In 2002, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, a non-profit organization, was created to address increasing anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incidents on campuses across the nation. Dr. Edward Beck, president and cofounder of SPME, said its creation was largely a response to an anti-Semitic incident that occurred at San Francisco State University, where students conducting a pro-Israel rally were surrounded by pro-Palestine protesters holding signs that said, "Hitler did not finish the job."

SPME, created to discourage these acts, hopes to motivate faculty to urge students "to develop effective responses to the ideological distortions, including anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist slanders, that poison debate and work against peace," its Web site said. 

SPME welcomes scholars of all faiths to join, but so far a little more than 20 institutions have created chapters of the organization. In order to educate students on helpful solutions to achieving peace, this organization needs to reach out to more universities across the nation.

SPME and Yale's new center are just two examples of groups taking steps to help educate our country on the dangers of hatred not only for Jews but other religions and races as well. We should use these groups as tools to fight ignorance across the country. Students and teachers should initiate discussions on anti-Semitism and racism or invite civil rights experts to speak at campus functions. Until we come to an understanding about anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice, we can never truly fight it.

Send comments to dccampus@mail.uh.edu