On the second night of Passover, we as Jews living in America are dealing with the feeble-minded demonstrations by college students on some of our most prestigious universities’ campuses which not only gives cause for concern, but it comes with a dark shadow of the past. Never before have so many ignorant college students who have no understanding of what has occurred in Israel and Gaza demonstrated what they liken to a resistance movement. Make no mistake boys and girls, Hamas is no resistance movement.
Mobs of supporters demonstrating for a cause they are either mistaken about or do not really comprehend who they are idolizing. The college students shouting things to whoever will listen, as the worldwide antisemitic behavior continues to rise, concerns those who have lived through the late 1930s and the rise to power of the former Nazi Party.
The Nazi Party emerged in Germany following World War I. Initially a small right-wing extremist group, it gained prominence during the Great Depression. Due in large part to economic forces, the worldwide economic depression hit Germany hard during the early 1930s. Millions were unemployed, and national humiliation after World War I fueled discontent. This left a population longing to believe in something and eager to get out of the rut they were in. Not unlike those who are agreeing with the actions of Hamas who are playing bait and switch with their rhetoric in an attempt to make it that they are the in the right, when on this past October 7, they willfully, knowingly, and deliberately raped, killed, burned and brutally murdered babies, children, women, and men.
In the 1930s, The Weimar Republic struggled to maintain a parliamentary majority. Dissatisfaction with the status quo benefited the Nazis as groups of German followers were so eager to follow the lead of anyone willing to spew hate and anger. Adolf Hitler, a powerful orator, tapped into voters’ anger and desperation. The Nazis promised to restore German values, reverse the Treaty of Versailles, and put people back to work.
In their goal to do this, the Nazis gained seats in the Reichstag, becoming the largest party by 1932. In 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor, paving the way for the Nazi dictatorship and the launch of his worldwide campaign to destroy anything or any group that he deemed less than his fellow Aryan German Race.
Which created the rise of power of the Nazi Party and their attempt to spread their hate speech and rule to every corner of the globe. In recent times, pro-Palestinian demonstrations have erupted on American college campuses denouncing the rights of Israel to defend itself against the unspeakable atrocities that took place on October 7.
Similar to the turmoil of the 1930s, tensions are escalating. Pro-Palestinian protests have led to canceled in-person classes and student arrests. College administration executives have failed to not only protect the lives of all students, most importantly the Jewish students who are the target of hate crimes and hate speech but to curb the growing sentiment that has forced law enforcement to intervene. Jewish students at multiple universities have been told that the universities cannot definitively protect them, which is a wake-up call for the American Jewish Community. Jewish students have been physically, verbally, and emotionally abused. Some Jewish students have been spat on like the Nazis spit on the Jews in Poland and other countries when taking control of them. Additionally, they have been told they can complete the semester virtually, which is banishing Jewish students from campus. That in and of itself is its own form of discrimination.
Last week, NYPD officers arrested students participating in a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Columbia University. The “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” prompted online classes and calls for the university president’s resignation. Columbia University has made some terrible decisions in the past two weeks as it seems to have over the last decade or so. Faculty who are pro-Israel and proud Jews have been locked out of the campus as well as other faculty members are supporting the encampment in the middle of Columbia’s campus. What kind of example is Columbia setting for the future generation? That one ideology can overpower and deter another from attending classes, or from living on a campus that was theirs as well just a couple of months ago?
New York University and Yale University have also witnessed pro-Palestinian demonstrations. At NYU, protesters were taken into custody, and dozens of students were arrested at Yale. The ongoing conflict in Gaza has divided students. While many protests have started out peaceful, concerns arise over antisemitic rhetoric and Jewish students’ safety.
The White House which states they condemn violence and intimidation targeting of Jewish students, has taken no real action to curb the ongoing unrest here in the United States. It must not be part of the current Democratic rhetoric as they are too busy trying to imprision their political opponent.
When taken in the light of historical and contemporary contexts, coupled with troubled economic times, political instability, and social tensions can shape the rise of movements and protests. While the specifics differ, the impact on society remains significant.
More importantly, the impact on the Jewish population is a flashback to the 1930s and the beginning of a time in history that the Jewish People and other supports have stated will never happen again.
Open your eyes, everyone, it is happening right in front of your faces. The administrations of the most prestigious schools in the United States are standing and watching, doing absolutely nothing to protect their own students who pay large sums of money to attend “prestigious” schools, that preach religious, political, and ideological free speech. What has been uncovered now at these universities is a systematic anti-Israel and antisemitic agenda that has been prevalent since these schools first opened their doors. Now, it seems that these institutions can no longer hide their true behind-the-scenes anti-Jewish agendas. This is precisely what happened in the 1930s. People turned a blind eye. Even if they knew what was really going on, they did not argue with the growing power of the Nazi Party.
The only difference here today everyone in 2024, is that our Jewish sisters and brothers were brutally raped, burned, assaulted, and murdered by a terror group that does not care about any other group in society except themselves. This is often times put to the test, since they put innocent women and children in front of their own members, somehow convincing them that dying for no reason at all is a good thing.
Wait, what I just described is exactly what Adolf Hitler’s plan was. To rid the world of the Jews. After the Jews, where do you think he would have looked next?
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