Antisemitism at historic levels

To the Editor:

College students at pro-palestinian rallies are chanting:

“From the river to the sea, Palestinians will be free!” These are code words for the eradication of Jews living in Israel.

This moment in history, the Oct. 7 Hamas slaughter of Israeli civilians has created a storm of antisemitism on elite college campuses and from the political left.

Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad caused outrage when he told a Lebanese broadcaster that Hamas sought to replicate its massacre of Israelis “again and again” to bring about the Jewish state’s annihilation.

I was a neo-nazi in the 1970s and experienced first-hand the racism and rampant antisemitism of the radical right, whose numbers are rapidly expanding.

“Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” a fabricated text purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination, was then and continues to be popular in the white power movement.

A Cornell University student was arrested for online posts to threaten Jewish students, including threats to “stab” and “slit” the throats of male Jewish students.

There has been a spike in antisemitic and anti-muslim rhetoric on social media, said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Antisemitism is reaching historic levels, he said, adding that Jews are 2.4% of the American population and the targets of 60% of all religious-based hate crimes.

Jews have historically been front-line advocates for liberal causes.

Jewish Columbia University professor Shai Davidal woke up with the realization that his 7-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter, both dual citizens of Israel and the United States, could become legitimate targets of resistance.

Davidal said he feels abandoned by colleagues who whitewash and excuse barbarities that included the raping of Israeli women, and the execution of disabled children, who consider such horrors as a mere “military response.”

Robert Dorroh

Sonora