The Resurgence of Antisemitism in American Higher Education

August 06, 2024 1 min read

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Paul Larkin
Heritage Foundation

Excerpt: The text of the Constitution prohibits the adoption of a religious qualification as a prerequisite for holding federal office, and the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause bars the federal or state governments from denying anyone the ability to adopt whatever religious beliefs he or she chooses to treat as sacred.

But culture can be upstream or downstream of the law. In the case of antisemitism, American society did not extirpate it; it merely drove antisemitism underground, where it lay in wait for a chance to return. Sadly, it is back, as the events on America’s campuses have proved in the months since Hamas launched its brutal, murderous, and savage attack on Israel and its people on October 7, 2023.

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1 Response

Norman Ravitch
Norman Ravitch

August 09, 2024

Jews have encountered anti-semitism for centuries. The USA was no exception but for a variety of reasons there was also considerable good will in this country for Jews and their religion and history. The current anti-semitism is perhaps no surprise for Jews in America and elsewhere but it is harsher than usual and on the Progressive Left as well as the Fascistic Right. People of good will need to oppose it no matter what form it takes.

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