By Jonathan S. Tobin
In the 1970s, Jewish students stormed the citadels of American Jewish power, intent on changing the way our institutions did business.
They wanted tired and disengaged establishment organizations to speak about the plight of Soviet Jewry and to infuse more Jewish sensibilities and practice into their work. They wanted action and bold leadership.
What are Jewish students complaining about today? Some of the young people I met at the recent annual plenum of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs believe the organized Jewish world is pressuring them for more activism than they find comfortable.
Specifically, they are uncomfortable with what they perceive as a mandate to march in step with, and to support anything undertaken by, Israel.
An unscientific poll of students who attended a session on how groups should deal with dissent on Israel seemed to indicate that they felt queasy about unapologetic advocacy for Israel.
I’m not sure these kids were representative. Yet many of those I talked with felt that Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, the main focus of Jewish life on campus, was too Israel-centric.
But even for those who didn’t wish to divorce themselves from Israel, distaste for anything smacking of allegiance to the position of the Ariel Sharon government rippled above the surface. They wanted freedom to express opposition to policies such as the security fence, settlements and what they consider harsh treatment of Palestinians by Israel.
Their point was that hostility to Israel runs deep on college campuses. So in order to influence those who don’t already support Israel (a group that may include the majority of Jewish students) they need to soft-pedal advocacy and make clear that they stand apart from the “hard-core” Jewish position.
Yet the culprit for them was not the atmosphere of bias but what they consider an oppressively pro-Israel agenda being foisted upon them. As one participant in the panel on this topic put it, there was “a lot of pain” expressed by these students.
If these kids think they are feeling pain, how would they characterize the emotions of Israelis who have undergone three-and-a-half years of a Palestinian terrorist war that has taken nearly 1,000 Jewish lives?
I don’t doubt that advocacy for Israel can isolate them at school. Nobody wants to be considered hopelessly out of touch with the spirit of his or her own time. But sometimes that’s what the situation requires.
As one young woman pointed out, the dominant “liberal politics” of the campus “dictates it’s not OK to be pro-Israel.” If that is true, the fault lies with campus “liberal politics,” not with Israel.
I also wonder why some of these students feel the only way they can successfully engage the opponents of Zionism at their schools is by joining the chorus criticizing Israeli policies.
Israel is an imperfect society, and its politics are rife with the corruptions and inefficiencies that bedevil any democracy. But none of those concerns have anything to do with the basic argument of the Arab-Israeli conflict: whether or not the Jews have a right to live in peace and sovereignty in their ancient homeland.
If the only kind of Jewish state a student can support is one that is perfect — or, at least, in conformity with the sensibilities of the American political left — then we are saying it isn’t possible to support any Jewish state.
And why are Israel’s campus foes not similarly inclined to note the shortcomings of the Palestinians? If they are not willing to do that, and if they assert Israel has no right to exist as a Jewish state, why should any Jewish student feel a need to establish common ground with them?
And the idea that Jewish organizations are pressuring these students is farcical. Groups like Hillel welcome anyone with no Sharon loyalty pledges required. The real pressure felt by some of these students is the need to conform to campus fashion.
I still think most Jewish students want to embrace Israel and are willing to speak in its defense. Those who are unafraid to speak against the lies and invective of the anti-Israel crowd deserve all the help we can give them.
As for the pain felt by those whose views keep them on the sidelines, they should get over it. Or even better, they should start questioning their political assumptions.
Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia.
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