Erwin Chemerinsky: "Nothing Has Prepared Me For The Antisemitism I See On College Campuses Now"

Chemerinsky explicitly asserts one of the most important relevant facts: criticism of Israel does not entail antisemitism. To pretend otherwise is to fall into the same sophistry that the left uses as a tactic at every turn: any criticism of group x, or anything closely associated with group x, is x-ism/anti-x-bigotry. It's absolutely imperative to call bullshit on this kind of loathsome sophistry.

   But, as a matter of fact, there just does seem to be a lot of antisemitism running through anti-Zionism / criticism of Israel. 

   Antisemitism is like some kind of evil spirit that possesses this or that group. It apparently used to be very common on the right--and without a doubt still is on its insane extremes. When there was an actual Klan, Jews were its Public Enemy #2... Currently, though, it seems most prominent on the left--perhaps, again, largely just because the left is more visible, controlling all our prominent institutions. And the contemporary progressive left basically goes overboard with everything. In particular, it loathes the groups it imagines to be oppressors. What began as egalitarian feminism turned into aversion to men. What began as a concern to advance the interests of blacks now prominently manifests itself as aversion to whites. (Hence all the talk of "dismantling"--i.e. destroying--"whiteness.") In fact, being successful is nearly sufficient to be loathed by the left. Jews are a minority...but a very successful one. They're already halfway to oppressor status. Add the Israel/Palestine situation...and you get what we have.

   I don't know and don't know how to find out how prominent antisemitism is on the anti-Israel left. I certainly don't want to paint legitimate criticism of Israel as antisemitism. But we're seeing defense of and outright praise for brutal Hamas terrorism (including positive laudatory representations of the ultralights used on 10/7 and tearing down posters of the kidnapped) and mob attacks against groups of Jews even in the U.S. (as at The Cooper Union). And Hamas terrorism didn't produce the mass demonstrations that Israel's response has produced.

   I don't have anything insightful to say about this.

   But I'm officially concerned.