The Defense of the Jewish Community
1) Anti-Israelism and Anti-Semitism in American Educational Systems
2) Studies of Anti-Semitic Beliefs and Attitudes
3) Polls on Israel, the Middle East, and Terrorism
1) Anti-Israelism and Anti-Semitism in American Educational Systems
A report on anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism in America's educational
systems will be released Fall, 2003. This groundbreaking work systematically
looks at the way that anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism are expressed
and promoted, both on college campuses and in primary and secondary
educational systems in the United States. We have gathered extensive
data and make a strong case that both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities
need to be doing much more to combat the anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism
that is being taught to our young people all over America.
Colleges & Universities
The American educational system has become a “theater of anti-Israelism.”
While it may seem like a new phenomenon, anti-Israelism on campus has
a long history, dating back even to the 1940s, and taking a turn for
the worse after the Six-Day War, when Israel was painted not as a David,
but as Goliath. Current anti-Israel efforts on campus are supported
by a well-organized national network of anti-Israel, socialist, Muslim,
Arab, “peace”, and other like-minded groups.
The arguments employed against Israel come from within the university
itself, from within the faculty ranks. In the 1980s an “intellectual
revolution” swept through the field of Middle East Studies with
the advent of Palestinian-American professor Edward Said, who, according
to Martin Kramer, “enshrined a hierarchy of political commitments,
with Palestine at the top.” (Ivory Towers, 37) Said made it acceptable
for professors to openly discuss their political perspectives —
but only if that perspective was an anti-Israel one. Today, professors
teach classes that could be called propaganda, participate in rallies
against Israel, and sign petitions for divestment from Israel.
The anti-Israelism emanating from the Middle East Studies departments
is exacerbated by a campus “protest culture” that, largely
dormant since the 1980s anti-apartheid campaign, has found new relevancy
in protest of Israel. The linkage of Israel to apartheid South Africa
has given rise to the divestment campaign, an initiative that is not
a grassroots action, but rather is highly orchestrated and instigated
by, among others, a legal advisor to the PLO, Francis Boyle who teaches
law at the University of Illinois. The Christian Science Monitor reports
that Alan Dershowitz “says there is ‘nothing grassroots’
about the growing (divestment) campaign, and that Professor Boyle is
a paid consultant of the Palestinian cause. Boyle acknowledges that
his expenses were paid when he served as legal advisor…to the Palestine
Liberation Organization.” (10/8/02)
Most disturbingly, the anti-Israelism on campus has crossed over into
overt anti-Semitism. Indeed, at the University of Colorado, Boulder,
swastikas were drawn on a sukkah; at the University of California at
San Diego flyers appeared on campus that said Jews permit the sexual
abuse of children; and on the UC Berkeley campus, identifiably Jewish
students were assaulted on repeated occasions.
The introduction of the divestment campaign, the acculturation of students
to anti-Israel views, and the lowering of anti-Semitic norms on campus
are part of a deliberate, pre-meditated campaign to target the hearts
and minds of America's youth —indeed, our future leaders.
Kindergarten-12th Grade
Even the youngest students in public and private schools across America
are targets of the global anti-Israel campaign, as a more subtle effort
to undermine Israel is underway in K-12 education. Leading these efforts
are well-organized and well-funded Muslim and Arab groups who are working
with textbook publishers, teachers and administrators to promote their
views in public school classrooms.
Groups such as the California-based Council on Islamic Education have
been working closely with textbook publishers to review and develop
textbook content. According to the American Textbook Council, “For
more than a decade, history textbooks have done the Council’s bidding,
and, as a result, history textbooks accommodate Islam on terms that
Islamists demand.” (Islam & the Textbooks, 26)
In addition, Arab and Muslim groups are producing their own handbooks
on religion and the Middle East, and providing these materials as supplemental
teaching resources for K-12 teachers. With glossy pages and beautiful
photographs, these materials are stylish and top quality. The oil company,
Saudi Aramco, produces one such publication, Saudi Aramco World, which
is distributed to teachers and features articles about Arab and Muslim
history, culture, society and religion throughout the Arab world, including
Palestine.
However beautiful, these materials often are replete with distortions
and are blatantly anti-Israel. A group AWAIR (Arab World and Islamic
Resources and School Services) produces a resource called the Arab World
Notebook, a 500-page teachers’ resource. The Notebook says, for
example, that peace has been precluded “because of Israeli resistance
to any peaceful settlement and Israel’s continued occupation of
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”
Furthermore, Muslim educational groups hold conferences around the
country for K-12 educators to attend free of charge. For example, AWAIR,
in conjunction with the Washington-based nonprofit, the Middle East
Policy Council, offers a series of fully funded teacher workshops entitled
Teaching About the Arab World and Islam. A recent profile of the program’s
director notes that she “had a tremendous impact on schools nationwide,
speaking in 160 cities in 42 states. Demand is so great that [she] hopes
to increase [her] workshops.”
Publication in Process
Anti-Semitism & Anti-Israelism in America's Educational Systems
The Defense of the Jewish Community
2) Studies of Anti-Semitic Beliefs and Attitudes
The Institute has completed the first round of national polling on
anti-Semitic attitudes of Americans. Using innovative questions about
Holocaust denial, accusations of Jews killing Christ, and others, we
have documented that anti-Semitism is higher among 18 to 34 year olds,
and that most Americans hold at least one anti-Semitic stereotype. Further
research will explore more fully the attitudes of 18 to 34 year olds
to evaluate the origins of those beliefs, the relationship of anti-Israelism
to anti-Israelism, and anti-Semitic beliefs by religious groups.
This study asks innovative questions that have never been asked before
in studies of anti-Semitism. We were able to demonstrate that those
who identify with the Democratic Party tend to be more anti-Semitic
than those who identify with the Republican Party. We showed that the
age-old anti-Semitic charge that Jews were primarily responsible for
killing Jesus Christ is alive and well in the United States. We showed
that anti-Semitism among Americans is rising. These data are extremely
important in understanding anti-Semitism.
Publication:
Tobin, Gary A. and Sid Groeneman.
Anti-Semitic Beliefs in the United States. Institute for Jewish
& Community Research, San Francisco, 2003. (- 595Kb PDF)
3) Polls on Israel, the Middle East, and Terrorism
Eight successful polls were fielded post-9/11. All were random samples
of approximately one thousand Americans. The Institute designed the
questionnaires and the fieldwork was subcontracted to ICR, a polling
firm with great legitimacy in the field, conducting polls for ABC News,
the Washington Post, and other news organizations. The Institute continues
to do regular polls on attitudes about Israel and the Middle East, and
terrorism. We work closely with Cliff May from the Foundation for the
Defense of Democracy, the American Enterprise Institute, the Hoover
Institute, Stanford, and other organizations to publicize our work.
We consistently show that the American public is more pro-Israel than
pro-Arab, that there continues to be an enormous mistrust of Saudi Arabia,
Syria, and the Palestinian Authority, as well as the expected mistrust
of Iraq and Iran, that Americans consider Israel to be a far more reliable
ally than most other countries, and other such findings.
The data reveal that the American public remains strong in their support
for Israel, while Americans view Palestinians more negatively. The majority
of Americans connect the Palestinians with terrorism. Still, a substantial
minority of Americans supports the creation of a Palestinian state.
Publication:
Tobin, Gary A. and Groeneman , Sid. American
Public Opinion Toward Israel & U.S. Policy in the Middle East: Post
September 11, 2001. Institute for Jewish & Community Research,
San Francisco, 2001. (- 510Kb PDF)
