On Sunday Mar. 6, the Vassar Student Association (VSA) voted to pass the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) resolution, which needed only a simple majority, by a vote of 15 in favor and 7 opposed. The resolution calls for the VSA’s political statement of support of the BDS movement. The organization did not pass the concurrently submitted BDS amendment, which would have required the VSA to restrict funding from the Vassar Student Activities Fund. The amendment needed a 2/3 majority but failed by a vote of 12 in favor to 10 opposed.
To bring the resolution to student referendum, the VSA needs to be presented with 120 signatures (5% of student body). To bring the amendment to referendum it would need 360 signatures (15% of student body).
Congratulations VSA. The passage of your resolution is a great achievement. Gone are the days when the VSA and this newspaper were the realm of the privileged, with no access to coloreds.
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The wealthy “victim” alumni would like to foist themselves like the House of Lords on top of Vassar College. Unfortunately they can’t get to grips with the fact that the world has changed since they passed out..
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Why is it that there is even a poll of American Rabbis who are afraid to speak the truth about Israel. It’s because of the smear campaign conducted by many racist organizations like StandWithUs. It is the same smear campaign that was brought to Vassar. And it has failed.
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Read, what Peter Beinart, a Jewish intellectual has written. And question the honesty of these wealthy “victim” alumni.
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“An organization genuinely committed to the two-state solution, therefore, would oppose at least some settlement growth. It might, for instance, publicly object when the Israeli Finance Minister declares that his government has doubled funding for settlements. Or when the Israel government designates 90 settlements—including some deep in the West Bank—as “national priority development areas,” eligible for special government subsidies. But as far as I know, neither the Israel Action Network nor the Anti-Defamation League has ever publicly condemned settlement growth. In 2012, AIPAC’s National Council voted down a resolution that merely called on Israel to dismantle those West Bank outposts illegal under Israeli law.
In truth, establishment American Jewish groups don’t really support the two-state solution.
read more: http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.572593”
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In the above Peter Beinart exposes the total hypocrisy of the right wing pro Israel crowd, The crowd that bellows antisemitism at every corner, but is totally silent when it comes to Israeli Apartheid.
Calling “apartheid” at a country that brings in Africans from Ethiopia and Eritrea and where an Arab Muslim woman was the valedictorian at the country’s top science university and a Christian Arab woman was the valedictorian of its best medical school seems to indicate the author writes the word without even a clue as to its definition.
Treatment of African refugees in Israel. Am I so clueless or is it the same set of smears from the wealthy “victim” crowd.
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http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/u-s-state-department-report-criticizes-israeli-treatment-of-african-refugees-1.517003
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The U.S. State Department in its latest human rights report elevated its criticism of Israel’s treatment of African refugees.
The report for 2012, issued April 19, said “the treatment of refugees, asylum seekers, and irregular migrants” was a “most significant” human rights problem. That was added to the three areas singled out by the department in the 2011 report: terrorist attacks against civilians, which the reports blame principally on Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip; Israel’s discrimination against its Arab citizens; and discrimination against women.
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In the 2012 report, the “Protection of Refugees” section singles out the Israeli government allowing nongovernmental groups only limited access to the refugees – a practice the 2011 report does not mention.
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read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/u-s-state-department-report-criticizes-israeli-treatment-of-african-refugees-1.517003
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By “wealthy ‘victim’ crowd” I assume you mean Jews?
Yet another contradiction of the “victim” crowd spiel. Thanks for reminding me on that.
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Any more talking points ?
Before you repeat allegations made against Israel you should make some effort to check their veracity. The Palestinian Arabs are a fountain of lies against the Jews, lies that are repeated around the world by Arabs and by dupes like yourself. You should read an article by Isaac called Truth or Propaganda http://www.logosjournal.com/is… . In it he quotes a reporter who actually went to check Palestinian atrocity claims only to find they were total made up slander. It’s feels good to be a hero for a cause and it’s boring and mundane to check facts which is why there are so many suicide bombers and activists for the wrong causes. I encourage you to read the following web sitehttp://www.mypracticalphilosop… which is full of paranoia creation by the muslims toward Israel. Here is just a sample.
Valliollah Naghipourfar, cleric and professor of Teheran University, who claimed that Zionists use genies to undermine Iran; in April 2013 well-known Iranian cleric and close confidante of Ayatollah Khamenei warned about “global Jewish sorcery”; in December 2010 Said Mohamed Abdel-Fadli Shusha, governor of South Sinai, spoke about a shark sent by “Mossad” to hurt tourists in Egypt”;
Israel unleashes rats and pigs against Jerusalem Arabs: According to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, Wafa, Israel is “using wild pigs to drive Palestinians out of their homes” and “Rats have become an Israeli weapon to displace and expel Arab residents of the occupied Old City of Jerusalem.”
“Israel responsible for fatal shark attack and lethal jellyfish in Red Sea”: According to South Sinai Governor Mohamed Abdel, “Mossad throwing the deadly shark (in the sea) to hit tourism in Egypt is not out of the question, but it needs time to confirm.”
Saudi Arabia “arrests” a vulture as part of a “Zionist plot”: According to a BBC report, the vulture appears to have been tagged by Tel Aviv University researchers studying migration patterns; even so, “the bird could meet a horrible punishment in the notoriously severe Saudi justice system.”
This is a shameful day in Vassar’s history. I never thought that students at my beloved college would vote for a resolution that at heart promotes the destruction of Israel as the Jewish homeland, With this vote, Vassar is on its way to becoming Judenfrei. What Jewish student in his or her right mind would consider going to a school where anti-Semitism, thinly disguised as anti-Zioniism is not only accepted but encouraged by the student body, the faculty and the administration?
Megan Tallmer
Class of 1973
It is sad that some people insist on equating support for human rights and international law with antisemitism.
Perhaps I could suggest a correction to your headline?
“VSA, To Its Great Shame, Passes BDS Resolution, Demonstrating Support for Antisemitism”
Yup, there’s no other way to view the BDS movement since it seeks to eliminate the universal right of self-determination (enshrined in the second clause of the UN Charter) of the Jewish nation and only for the Jewish nation among all others in the world. And this at a time when the BDS movement and now the VSA ignore the grave crimes, which are far, far worse than anything happening with Israel, in virtually all of the other countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Africa, parts of Europe, Asia and Latin America.
The fact the VSA passed this resolution after 8 departments invited a speaker who, unchallenged by faculty or students, asserted accusations akin to historic blood libels against Jews, seems to be in line with the BDS vote’s outcome. Congratulations to Vassar. Rest assured, next year you will end up with more students who support this putrid form of bigotry and fewer of those who understand that this is not a school which good people would want to attend.
Perhaps I could suggest a correction to your headline and ensuing propaganda spiel?
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“VSA, To Its Great Accomplishment Passes BDS Resolution, Rejecting Support for Apartheid”
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Yup, there’s no other way to view the right wing pro Israeli movement since they seeks to eliminate the universal right of self-determination (enshrined in the second clause of the UN Charter) of the Palestinian people and pretend that the UN never gave the Jewish people a land called Israel, and want to steal more land.
It is sad that some people insist on equating support for human rights and international law with antisemitism.
While millions of people worldwide are suffering real and extreme persecution at the hands of Islamists, it is Israel, the Middle East’s only democracy — where no one is above the law, where citizens all have equal rights and no one is murdered for expressing his political views — that is targeted and bullied by these so-called “human rights activists” and academics. Deaf and blind to the real sufferers all around the world, these Jew-haters seem in reality just brainwashed, misinformed neo-anti-Semites.
Such self-importance, such bigotry. Orwellian human rights in action.
This is indeed a shameful day in Vassar’s history.
Roberta Elins-Dinkes
Class of ’76
That’s funny. You folks run a newspaper. You should be champions of free speech even if you don’t like that speech. Yes, I criticized your school and your VSA. Suck it up and have the courage to publish criticism. Your school certainly demands its right to “free speech” when it invites hateful bigots such as Puar and allows its VSA to vote for an antisemitic boycott movement.
Oh, and your censorship of my comment critiquing your school is one thing but your censorship of my response to “Raj’s” “apartheid” comment demonstrates severe bias, if not ignorance, on your parts.
Hi there,
Your comments were not censored. All comments must be manually posted once they are received, inevitably causing a delay before they are made public.
-Kelsey (Miscellany News online editor)
Great. Thanks.
bar,
Not to worry my comments are always censored. Liberals love to censor those they disagree with. Isn’t it ironic.
Shame on you!
RS, Class of 2003
It is always startling to see many people still siding with a military occupier, who has held a people under siege for over 60 years, who keeps stealing lands from them, and collectively punishing them, all crimes condemned by the international community. The hatred for the downtrodden is obvious. It is also hard to comprehend why people still prefer to take the narrative from said occupier, and ignore the victims of this occupation.
Victims of a military occupation have every right to protest and react to years of oppression.
It is strange that the occupier with all it’s might, weapons, and trained military, gets away with the killing of hundreds of Palestinians, saying it is defending itself (from unarmed civilians).
Good job Vassar college.
The UN itself has ratified this occupation and the Oslo Accords, which govern current status, were signed by Palestinians and the international community.
The “downtrodden” have been offered peace multiple times over the past 80 years, including at least 5 offers of statehood that we know about. They had enough agency to turn down each and every offer and to launch wars after 2 of them (they were in the midst of a war when a third was made). So this isn’t about hatred. This is about one side, the “downtrodden” side, that so hates the other side that they refuse an accommodation. They refused accommodation when they were the majority, and in fact pursued violence and restrictive access to holy sites back then, and they refuse it now when they are “downtrodden” although they get more votes in the UN than the USA does.
As for oppression, it mostly comes from their own governments. And the deaths come from attacks launched against Israel and Israelis. The facts are tough to swallow, but they are indeed facts. There could be a Palestinian state that’s 79 years old, or one that’s 15 years old right now. Even without a state, Israel left Gaza and the PA controls 98% of Palestinians since that’s how many do not live in areas controlled by Israel. Have they made peace? Have they built something up? Or have they continued to incite and start wars? Not a single Palestinians should or would be dead without their leadership acting as they have and without the endless brainwashing. Sadly, people such as you support this corrupt leadership and the sad status quo they have inflicted on all their victims, who happen to be mostly Palestinian, but also Israeli.
bar
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You just got caught fibbing above on how wonderfully Israel treats its African refugees. I guess now it’s on to the next fib. Why is it such a pattern of half-truths.
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The UN Ratified the ILLEGALITY of the occupation. And here you are pretending that the UN stated that the Occupation is all wunderbar.
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Give us the details of the supposed Peace offerings. Of course you won’t. Because it would further expose you fibs. Did you mean the Bantustans offered to the Palestinians. Did you mean the offerings with a thousand conditions Israel attached ? Which one ? Well i guess it’s so much easier to fib and move on.
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“They refused accommodation when they were the majority” – Do tell, which part of that process where they involved or consulted. Yet another fib.
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” Not a single Palestinians should or would be dead without their leadership” – That would like saying not a single Israeli would be dead without their leadership. Don’t blame the victims (either side). Look at what you’re covering up for. A brutal occupation and a system of apartheid.
Good point, raj, are you suggesting Israelis treat African more like your beloved Muslim Boko Haram does?
Or are you more inclined to recommend Omar al-Bashir as a role model? You know, they guy who committed the genocide of the Sudanese Animists in the 1990s.
Congratulations, VSA. In response to your courageous vote, you will receive a great number of hostile emails, many attempting to conflate any criticism of Israel with anti-semitism, as is evident in the comments above. It gives me great pleasure to know that you have risen above these tired canards, and have taken a stand for justice. BDS represents a response to the call of civil society, and your vote indicates that you will listen to the voices of the oppressed over their oppressors. I can only hope more universities are soon to follow, justice is inevitable, but it may take a while.
Antisemitism in any shape and form is distasteful. It is time to make the BDS movement responsible for their racist actions, and thus Vassar falls into that responsibility for their hateful actions. If the student body wants to destroy Israel, then it’s time to make Vassar and it’s students responsible. Do not send your children to Vassar. Do not donate to Vassar. Do not hire students from Vassar. That’s it.
Congratulations to VSA, SJP and JVP on standing up against the racist apartheid practices of Israel. You are acting in the best tradition of the students who 30 years ago opposed the racist apartheid regime in South Africa. I hope you get the 360 signatures necessary to put the amendment to the VSA Bylaws up to a referendum. BDS is the most effective non-violent tactic that could help end the persecution and dispossession of Palestinian people. Keep up your good work. you are a credit to Vassar and to all of us who believe in human dignity and freedom for all people.
While Saudis repress all their people (other than the royal family whom have private $500 million dollar private airplanes)… and while Saudis execute gays, women and Shi’ites on trumped up charges… and while Saudis export Islamist hatred across the globe…we focus our angst on Israel – the only country in the Middle East where Palestinians have the right to vote and where Palestinians serve in Parliament -for deep down we are really just
Brown Shirts pretending to be humanitarians.
While Abbas serves in his eleventh year of his four year term, and while Hamas rules with fear,
repression and intimidation, while education under the Palestinian elected officials focuses on Mein Kampf-like messages, and while women killers and baby killers are glorified by the perverse and despicable Palestinians we focus our angst upon Israel – the only country in the Middle East where Palestinians are free to protest and are allowed the luxury of free speech -for we are really just Brown Shirts pretending to be humanitarians.
While Pakistanis ethnically cleanse that once entirely Hindu country of its few remaining Hindus we focus
our angst on Israel – a country with a Palestinian Supreme Court member – for deep down we are really just Brown Shirts pretending to be humanitarians.
While Egyptians ethnically cleanse that country of its two thousand year old Coptic community we focus our
angst on Israel – a country with a more diverse demographic profile than any Muslim country in the Middle East -for deep down we are just Brown Shirts masquerading as humanitarians.
While Islamists turn Nigeria into the next Sudan with gang-raping and child kidnapping and mass killings becoming
commonplace we focus our angst on Israel – for we are hypocritical Muslim apologists -and deep down we are really just Brown Shirts pretending to be humanitarians.
While Sunnis insatiably kill Shi’ites, and Shi’ites endlessly kill Kurds, and while Kurds endlessly kill
Sunnis and every variation of this blood-letting theme, we focus our angst on Israel – the only country in the world that has increased its green space – because we are just Brown Shirts pretending to be humanitarians.
While Yemenis turn that bread basket of the Arabian Peninsula into a place of starvation we focus our
crocodile tears on Israel for deep down we are really just Brown Shirts pretending to be humanitarians.
While Islamists in Southern Thailand kill off over 5,000 Buddhists in the span of a few years we ignore their plight and turn our focus on Israel – a country that has contributed more medical and scientific advancements per capita of any country in the world – for we are today’s Brown Shirts, today’s Goebbels’ acolytes goose-stepping like a gaggle of mindless geese.
Now how about censoring North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc states that execute their citizens by public hanging or imprison them forever. The VSA resolution reflects nothing more than antiSemitism, pure & simple. Or perhaps it reflects financial support by certain governments. The boycott movement has hurt only palestinians- they have lost their jobs in Israeli companies such as SodaStream.
This “wealthy” alumna will continue to support needy students obtain a college education – the students are Israeli soldiers & the educational institutions are Israel’s great universities. Israel as a Jewish state will grow stronger & stronger!! Vassar has shamed itself nationally & has become irrelevant.
Judy, let’s just quickly shift a few of your statements away from Israel. What happens if we change Israel to America, and Jewish to Christian? We get:
This “wealthy” alumna will continue to support needy students obtain a college education – the students are American soldiers & the educational institutions are America’s great universities. America as a Christian state will grow stronger & stronger!!
Does that read like a statement written by a thoughtful, critically-thinking, and well-educated person? Or does it come off as inspired by nationalism, militarism, and repressive politics?
Congratulations to the student groups involved in bringing this healthy debate to campus. Human rights must be for all people, of course. And a country with its military can’t escape the censure of war crimes by designating itself a religion. Does a religion slaughter 550 children in Gaza? Was the butchery done in God’s name?
These are the moral issues of our time, since our country is the principal backer of Apartheid Israel.
You want apartheid? Try this.
The top ten countries for persecuting Christians over the last year were ranked: North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Pakistan, Iran and Yemen, according to Open Doors USA, an organization that monitors and exposes Christian persecution around the globe. Particularly, the “2014 World Watch List”, a rather nuanced report, has highlighted these nations based on deep structures of persecution.
Take note that nine out of ten of these countries are Islamic.
Looks like Islam is on par with North Korea.
Even the proponents of this resolution must realize that it will have zero impact on the Israeli economy. Even if it did it would do nothing at all to aid Palestinian Arabs. Frustrated at being unable to have any meaningful impact on events in the Middle East, the BDS movement has to content itself with promoting division and intimidation on US and European campuses. If they can’t do anything to Israel, they can at least make Jews and other supporters of Israel feel unwelcome on campus.
It is the politics of posturing and the first, last and only resort of the bully.
The issues of this Boycott are absurd. I was in Israel and saw that there is no apartheid as Palestinians circulate freely in Jerusalem, but Israelis cannot go to certain parts of Jerusalem because they are Arab areas–so if anything the apartheid is against the Jews in that case. It’s anti-semitism with a new face–and makes me very sad to see Vassar students falling for the anti-Israel propaganda being sold everywhere in US colleges and universities. They should turn their attentions to the countries in Africa and Asia where there are truly more enormous injustices and abuses.
This is anti-semitism with a new face. And if the students cannot recognize this it is because they have no
sense of history–a very dangerous form of ignorance.
Suzanne Jill Levine
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Simple Question. Did you get off the plane ?
” Unfortunately they can’t get to grips with the fact that the world has changed since they passed out…”
Oy Gevalt. I knew that even Vassar girls could get tipsy once in a while, but I never dreamed the place wouldn’t go to pot over the years. They gotta put a stop to that binge drinking..
Hooray for the anti-Jewish bigots on campus. You must be proud that you have tainted the value of your college diploma. The joke is on you. When you apply for a job or graduate school, or are introduced in a social situation, you will be seen as a Hamas and Hezbollah sympathizer. You have wasted 65K a year (plus the loan interest that will be accruing) to go to a school in which ignorant and hateful activists seek to demonize the only liberal democracy in the Mideast. The worst part is that the faculty members lack the moral backbone to condemn the Jew haters in SJP and JVP. Such cowards. Enjoy paying off your school loans, especially when people toss your resumes in the trash can. I feel sorry for the small cohort of students who have the guts to speak out against the Bigotry, Demonization and Stupidity crow. For those students who lacked the courage to speak out against the anti-Zionist hate mongers, you missed your chance to speak truth to hate.
The Raj rant in this comment string, kind of reminds me of some of Trumps followers. Just like Trump, if you say bigoted and hateful things, the skins heads, white supremacist and neo-nazis will cling to you like flies to Sh****t. The mere fact that you have someone like Raj posting multiple comments about what a wonderful day this is for Vassar that the BDS resolution passed means that VSA, faculty and administration got what they deserve; Applause from racists, bigots and anti-Semites or people that simply like to pile on to the latest group think social media rage.
Dear Alex Cooper
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Get a grip. You’re “version” of “antisemitism” lost. In my little way i exposed the falsehoods of multiple posters like Mr Horowitz, the Fairness to Israel “victims”. It is not something i like to spend my time doing. But every time i read the self entitled “victims” posting yet another false narrative, I think of Palestinian children blown to smithereens by an Israeli bomb (and of course covered up by Israel and its supporters). I also think of Israeli civilians killed by mad Palestinians.
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I exposed the half-truths. The reason all the wealthy “victims” hate me is because my exposing their false narrative has stuck.
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Do you think Vassar students are so dumb they blindly believe everything i post. No. They believe because i quote Jewish intellectuals like Peter Beinart who expose the fraud of groups like “FTI which talk from both side of their mouth about “peace”
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Since you compared me to Trump and his supporters, i’ll provide you with a better comparisons. People like you are like the last gasp of Afrikaaners in Apartheid South Africa. Using religion and privilege in their last gasp to suppress the coloreds
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You lost. Deal with it. Everyone knows Israel is an apartheid state.
Really “Raj”? Everyone knows that Israel is an apartheid state? Here is someone who disagrees with you, and I daresay he is better qualified than you are to make the determination. Certainly he is braver as he uses his real name.
http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/55250/dr-denis-maceoins-letter-edinburgh-university-students-association
Vassar Student Association (VSA) is an anti-semitic organization that supports bigotry/discrimination against the Jewish state but not against Arab or Muslim states.
The Vassar Student Association (VSA) appears to demonize Jewish nationalism, yet VSA accepts Arab nationalism and Muslim nationalism.
The BDS movements rejects the Jewish right to self-determination and calls for the erasing/destruction of the worlds only Jewish state, so as to form yet another Muslim state. It’s a hate movement. And this is what Vassar students supposedly support?
These activists are “stuck” on Israel. Neither logic,
reasoning, or factual evidence will penetrate their mindsets, so determined are
they to vilify Israel. Sarcasm though just might work—especially if there are
any among them who still have the capability to feel shame.
Usually when they are questioned as to why they avoid the much bigger problems
evidenced by Israel’s neighbors, the answer is usually to say that they are
concerned with all human rights abuses everywhere in the world, but their focus
today just happens to be Israel. What they don’t say is that their focus is
permanently stuck there—and their actions show that they have no interest in
any other country, just Israel, Israel, Israel.
Its amazing what 7 decades of conditioning of American minds one can do when they own the media. Palestine was wrong 68 years ago in May. That is a grave injustice that must be righted. The zionist impostor narrative is rightfully being exposed – albeit 68 years too late.
I’m constantly congratulating liberals on their being elected as spokes’tards for Islam.
To all of those who support BDS and SJP, boycott this please:
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/28341/Default.aspx
This American Army veteran was murdered yesterday in Tel Aviv. Raj, SJP and BDS support the rights of the people who commit these crimes.
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/crime/2016/03/09/army-vet-stabbed-death-israel-attack/81529702/
Please read the below report on BDS and anti-Semitism.
http://www.amchainitiative.org/first-hard-evidence-antizionism-fueling-antisemitism
As a part-time teacher at the University of California at Irvine (and a non-Jew), I can personally attest that anti-Semitism lies at the very root of this anti-Israel drive on our campuses.