The antisemitic, anti-Israel protests across American college campuses, most notably Yale and Columbia, have made many Jewish students fearful to the point a Columbia professor told them to stay home. Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli condemned the protests, saying this was not only "a very dangerous moment for Jews in America," but for the American people as well.
Chikli noted the irony of Columbia allowing these antisemitic protests to happen, as the school's motto is Psalm 36:9, "In Thy light shall we see light," which demonstrates "how far the University went from the core values that [were] the core foundation of the American heritage, the American culture, and what we see today."
"So this is something which is fascinating [and] extremely disturbing, but what is really going on? So, we have two different movements with different motives. But one thing which is common," Chikli continued, explaining how the current wave of antisemitism on college campuses is fueled by wokeness, progressivism, and "Neo-Marxism," Chikli said, "basically separates the world into two: Oppressors, the white man, and the Zionists."
On the other end are the "oppressed," who are "[Black Lives Matter], the Palestinians, etcetera." The appeal, Chikli continued, was its inherent simplicity, which allows one "to make it very, very trendy."
Moreover, the "woke" side's "main weapon is that most of the students have no idea about the real history of the Jewish people, the Zionist movement, or the Palestinians." Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) made note of this in February, as many of these pro-Palestine college students do not even know the geography referenced in the infamous "from the river to the sea" chant.
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But Chikli further warned that the other part of the current antisemitic frenzy in America comes from the Muslim Brotherhood, which he said is "extremely sophisticated" and behind movements such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and other organizations.
"What is common for both movements, the Muslim Brotherhood and the woke, both of them are totalitarian movements. Their enemy is freedom of speech. Their enemy is the freedom of belief. Their enemy is not just the Jewish State of Israel; they are enemies of the Jewish people. They are an enemy of Western civilization and Judeo-Christian civilization. And this is very, very important, and we are in a very delicate moment," Chikli concluded.
