Among them is the former president of "Rights Watch"... This is how America punished critics of Israel

WASHINGTON -

Two recent incidents in American academia and politics have renewed the debate over the accusation of anti-Semitism, and the limits of what is permissible when criticizing female politicians towards Israel.

A debate is repeated in the corridors of the American capital from time to time about the limits of attacking Israel's racist policies towards the Palestinians, and how these views can destroy the political future of some.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had withdrawn the nomination of Professor James Cavallaro as an independent member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights due to his old tweets about the violations against the Palestinian people and the responsibility of the Israeli army for them. The withdrawal decision came several days after the US State Department announced his candidacy for this position.

On the other hand, Harvard University - the oldest and oldest American university - retracted its decision not to grant Kenneth Roth, the former head of Human Rights Watch, a research fellowship, which it had taken because of Roth's positions on Israel and his description of it as an apartheid state (apartheid). ).

Hakeem Jeffries (center), whom Cavallaro said was bribed and subject to the control of AIPAC (Reuters))

Definition dilemma

There is no agreed-upon precise definition of anti-Semitism so as not to be used to intimidate critics of Israel, but in general terms it means "a certain perception of Jews, which can be expressed as verbal or physical hatred towards Jews because they are Jews."

Although American Jews have assumed many high positions in political, economic and media life, with huge proportions that exceed their percentage of the total population of America, Jewish organizations talk about an increase in their exposure to "hate incidents" during the last two years.

Many experts believe that the influence of former President Donald Trump among the Republican right on the one hand, and the rise of the progressive trend on the other hand in the Democratic Party, and the openness of social media, are factors that contributed to the spread of anti-Jewish rhetoric.

However, the matter does not stop at the anti-Jewish rhetoric, as objective and documented criticism of Israeli policies towards the Palestinians has become sufficient to charge these voices with "anti-Semitism".

The political use of the definition expanded to include many critics of Israeli policies towards the Palestinians, and the concept of anti-Semitism was misused to suppress legitimate criticism and activities directed against Israeli government policies, including calls for the BDS movement.

The case of James Cavallaro

Academic James Cavallaro said that the Biden administration withdrew its candidacy for him because of his old tweets about the violations against the Palestinian people and the responsibility of the Israeli army for them.

The academic, who teaches at Wesleyan University, in addition to being a lecturer at other universities, including Yale and Berkeley, said that his primary mission is to "expose all violations in the areas he visits as an independent human rights activist."

Cavallaro founded the University Network for Human Rights, and documenting global violations against human rights is among the network's tasks. Cavallaro says that his work in Palestine was "objective documentation of a real case of the policy of separation and racial discrimination practiced by Israel against the Palestinians."

And the Associated Press reported that the Biden administration withdrew its candidacy for Cavallaro because of his description of Israel as an “apartheid state,” and his criticism of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies, describing him as “bribed, bought, and subject to the control of AIPAC,” the largest Jewish lobby in the country. United State.

Cavallaro rejected the decision to withdraw his candidacy, saying that "his candidacy would not have affected US policy toward Israel," describing the withdrawal of his candidacy as a small part of the "wider scrutiny of human rights advocates condemning apartheid in Israel."

Some hold Trump responsible for the escalation of hostility to Jews, despite his great bias towards Israel (Reuters)

Harvard backs off

The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University reversed its decision to refuse to offer a fellowship it had previously awarded to Kenneth Roth, after the decision to withdraw sparked widespread outrage over the issue of academic freedom and the limits of criticism of Israel.

After being awarded the fellowship by the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Kennedy School dean Douglas Elmendorf vetoed Roth's fellowship, and Elmendorf told colleagues he was concerned about perceptions that Roth's Human Rights Watch had a bias against Israel.

News that the university had blocked the former president's Human Rights Watch fellowship sparked a debate about academic freedom and donor influence, and more than a thousand Harvard students, faculty and alumni signed a petition criticizing the dean's decision.

Elmendorf was forced to backtrack, telling in an email to Kennedy School students and professors that his decision was a "mistake" and the fellowship would be awarded to Kenneth Roth.

Reports indicated that Elmendorf feared that the award of the Harvard Fellowship to Kenneth Roth would anger some of the university's rich Jewish funders and donors.

Roth accepted and was pleased with Harvard's change of heart, called for more transparency in funding for academic institutions, and called on Harvard to make a stronger commitment to academic freedom.

A Human Rights Watch report issued in 2021 concluded that Israel's policies towards the Palestinians in the occupied territories meet the legal definition of the "crime of apartheid."

A picture from one of the "AIPAC" conferences in Washington, an organization that represents the most powerful Jewish lobby in American politics (Reuters)

limits of freedom of expression

The above two examples are the latest in an escalating debate about when criticism of Israel turns into anti-Semitism, and when accusations of anti-Semitism, in turn, are used to silence critics of Israel.

In response to a question about the right of Americans to freely express their opinions as stipulated in the constitution, State Department spokesman Ned Price did not respond to freedom of expression as a constitutional principle that Americans revere.

Price said that the Biden administration "has always respected the well-established rights of American citizens to freedom of opinion as stated in the First Constitutional Amendment, but this does not mean that we will hesitate in any way to condemn opinions and statements that unfairly target Israel or seek to delegitimize it."

Price added that "once we knew the nature of Professor Cavallaro's comments, that they were completely inappropriate and inappropriate, and once that information came to light, we lost faith in this person and his ability to serve as a successful candidate."