“Israeli Apartheid Week” in May 2010 on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus. Photo: AMCHA Initiative.

I have never been a great fan of labels. Well, shoes notwithstanding…

The propensity to label people according to what their perceived political persuasions or affinities are and pigeon-hole them into boxes labeled “leftist” or “right-winger” is slowly killing off constructive discourse. With smug assuredness, those who propagate ideas of liberalism and pluralism boast about inclusion and “safe spaces” for those of diverse opinions — as long as you hold a certain opinion.

Nowhere is this more prevalent than on university campuses around the world. Once bastions of free thought and expression, university campuses have now become hotbeds of incitement and exclusion. Certain groups have become virtual pariahs and have found themselves increasingly excluded from representation and discourse.

Yup, I am talking about Jewish students.

Anyone who is supportive of Israel is automatically labeled as right wing, and this comes with the ubiquitous dangerous connotation of being “intolerant,” “prejudiced” and, in the case of Israelis, accused of being “war criminals.” On some campuses, Jewish student organizations are not even invited to participate in debates on certain subjects because the cause du jour is to oppose Zionism and everything related to it.

Universities are very fond of flinging out statements claiming that they have created “safe spaces” in which students can engage in and debate issues. Except if you are Zionist. The tent does not expand that far.

Often what is seen as leftist or the Palestinian narrative is deemed important and truthful information, but if you work in Israel advocacy or are a staunch Zionist, you are perceived as spreading propaganda or “hasbara.”

Anti-Israelists love to throw the word hasbara around with self-righteous indignation. While I congratulate them on knowing a Hebrew word, they are completely ignorant about Zionism. Having relegated it to the unwanted pile of “isms” (read fascism, Nazism, Communism), these self-proclaimed know-it-alls don’t have the faintest idea about Zionism, how it has evolved over the years, how it is manifested in Israel — the very country they level their vitriol towards — and how broad the tent is. Zionism has grown from just the simplified version of being the right of the Jewish people to have a country in their national and historical homeland to a broad and wide encompassing ideology that celebrates gay rights, promotes the rights of woman, is the very definition of human rights, and, of course, is identified with the technically savvy startup nation.

Instead, Zionism has been vilified not only by student groups, but also by professors seeking to promote their own agendas. This has allowed for a climate of fear and intimidation to spread through a lack of respect for the dignity of the individual and for the rights of others to hold and express different intellectual positions.

Israel Apartheid Week is the epitome of this. This festival of Israel-bashing and flagrant antisemitism makes its annual world tour in March of every year, starting in South Africa, the Ground Zero of the BDS movement, and then on to the US, Europe and South America. Masquerading as the defenders of Palestinian rights, the BDS movement is nothing but an antisemitic wolf in human-rights clothing. My apologies to wolves everywhere, but you get the point.

Chants of “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea,” which in essence means the destruction of a country, as well as the death of eight million women, children and men, is commonplace and Jewish students are often terrified to be identified. Some prefer not to attend classes and other remove their kippot (yarmulkes) or any Jewish insignia. This is hate speech, not a freedom movement, and it incites anger, leads to hatred and culminates in violence, as is evident in the rise of antisemitic attacks worldwide.

During the apartheid years in South Africa, any voices of criticism and dissent were silenced. Today anyone who vouches their support for Israel on campus is effectively silenced. This is reverse apartheid. Bully-boy tactics used by these nouveaux fascists who proudly proclaim themselves liberals mean that any attempts to share Israel’s records with regards to human rights often means accusations of “pink-washing” or “war crimes,” as well as: “They are settlers and deserved whatever they got.”

These are not fair-minded, liberal, and/or pluralistic people by any stretch of the imagination.

Gone are the liberal tenets that include freedom of speech, dignity for all human beings regardless of color, religion, creed and ethnicity, respect for others’ perspectives and the right for everyone to live in security and safety. Israeli speakers should be able to speak on campus without near riots erupting. Supporters of Israel should be able to debate the facts and give their opinions without being physically threatened or intimidated.

This is no longer student activism, but rather a free-for-all to vent any latent antisemitic prejudice. Major donors to some universities have pulled funding from projects that have been exploited to push a one-sided agenda. Perhaps more of this needs to happen or students need to do something quite radical — visit Israel and get the facts on the ground.

It may be the smartest class they ever take.