Few topics provoke as much passion on America’s college campuses as the constellation of issues surrounding Israel and Islamic terrorism.
On the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I had an opportunity to discuss these issues in a speech before hundreds of college students. What I found gave me hope as a supporter of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. It may surprise many Americans, but anti-Semitism has slithered out from under its rock in Europe and across the globe.
Israel enjoys more support in the United States than it does in Europe. One exception has always been college campuses.
A 2011 study by the Institute for Jewish and Community Research found that more than 40 percent of 1,400 students surveyed said that anti-Semitism existed on their campus.
When I accepted an invitation to deliver a speech at the University of North Carolina for an event titled “Reflections on Sept. 11th,” I assumed there would be trouble.
My apprehension grew when I heard that some professors at the school were not happy about my being invited to speak and that the anti-Israel Students for Justice in Palestine was planning to disrupt the event.
But my apprehension disappeared once I arrived on campus. There were a few demonstrators, and some heckling as I started my remarks. But I was welcomed by a huge turnout from the local community. The audience received my message openly.
There have been other reasons for hope lately. A 2014 report by the Anti-Defamation League found that “In the last decade we have witnessed a significant and encouraging decline in the number and intensity of anti-Semitic acts in America,” including a “significant decrease” of incidents on campus.
These findings are no doubt partly a result of the work that pro-Israel groups are doing to make campus life more hospitable to Jewish students and supporters of Israel.
The ADL has a program that trains incoming students to identify and fight anti-Semitism at school. And Christians United for Israel (on whose executive board I serve) works to cultivate solidarity with Israel through our “CUFI on Campus” program.
What encouraged me most during the North Carolina event was an exchange I had during the question-and-answer segment of my presentation.
A college-aged Palestinian woman engaged me in a spirited debate about Islam’s role in terrorism.
Then she said that she wanted to apologize on behalf of her faith for the terrible things done to Americans in the name of Islam.
It was a disarming remark, and one that was met with hearty applause from the assembled students. It also gave me hope for a future in which Israel and Islamic terrorism can be discussed and debated with the intellectual openness that is supposed to define the college experience.
