Re: Anti-Semitism at area campuses (April 1)

Posted

Thank you for reporting on the most recent expression of Jew-hatred at Brown University, this time committed at Marcy House, a predominately Jewish residence hall whose walls were defaced with slogans such as “Holocaust 2.0.”

Your article noted that this incident, and the one involving the strong-arming of transgender “icon” Janet Mock by Brown’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine that resulted in her cancellation of a talk because of Hillel’s sponsorship, brought “national attention” to Brown. 

Why, then, was a story of such national prominence buried on Page 29 of The Voice’s 32-page issue, rather than receiving front-page treatment? Why no editorial denouncing these events, and rallying your readers to express their outrage to Brown’s administration?

Despite President Paxson’s statement that “there is no place for acts like this one on the Brown campus,” she is clearly wrong. An academic and social culture of anti-Jewish, anti-Israel agitation and intimidation flourishes openly at Brown, as well as at many other college campuses. This is exemplified by the activities of Students for Justice in Palestine, whose goal is embodied in its oft-chanted slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The river is the Jordan River, and the sea is the Mediterranean. So, the “justice” this group seeks is the complete destruction of the State of Israel. What would become of Israel’s Jews, you ask? I think that’s fairly encapsulated in the words scrawled on the walls of Marcy House: Holocaust 2.0.

How long do you think it would take for Brown to sever ties with a student organization whose goal was the eradication of the Muslim population of Gaza? Not long, I can guarantee you that.

Michael Mellion

Pawtucket, R.I.