Today, only one question remains: is there a Jewish future in the Ivies? Does the crisis have a solution or are the hallowed gates that generations of American Jews once viewed as the pathway to success irrevocably closing?
There are some great US universities that are standing up to anti-semitism on campus. I have a daughter at one of them -Washington Univ. in St. Louis (WashU). As a parent of a Jewish college student, and a graduate myself of two Ivies, I am so so and relieved happy she is there. Chancellor has excelled in this hard time. School literally opened up a mid-year transfer program in December to welcome students who were no longer comfortable on their campus. An amazing place and leadership. Kudos to WashU
I will never forgive the wider Jewish leaders for not seeing this coming. Israel Apartheid week has been prevalent for over 2 decades in most campuses. Students for Justice in Palestine has been harassing Jewish students without any issue for just as long throughout the country. Most tenured professors embraced antisemitic Soviet style communism. The legacy Jewish organizations did nothing and in fact most embraced the DEI and progressive movements ignoring its threat to Jews. They parroted the mantra of freedom of speech without any thought to protecting Jewish students. That was left to a handful of grassroots student led groups.
The question isnt is there a Jewish future in the ivies. The question is why should Jews waste their time, energy, and money on these irredeemable useless academies. The ivies are only important because the elite in society prop them up. Maybe it's time to reevaluate who we consider elite and what we consider a good education.
Mr. Oren, the primary founder of the University of Austin is Pano Kanelos. Bari Weiss is one the earliest supporters and is on its board of trustees. Their board of advisors is also filled with exceptional people (including Ayaan Hirsi Ali, one of my treasured heroes). I encourage your readers to visit their website starting here:
Thank you for this important article. I will share it. I went to Yale as an undergrad 1992-1996. Most of my friends were Jewish, though I am not. My friends are afraid about sending their kids to college now. I have no children, but if I did, I would definitely not send them to any of these schools where antisemitism is a requirement.
Wow. This is really had to read. I quit giving money to my alma mater - UC Berkeley - because of all this, including fears of bodily injury. I knew anti-Zionist meant anti-Semitic, but the degree of all this I really didn’t comprehend. I too will be returning to Israel unless there is a bright light on the horizon. Thank you for writing this.
It’s been coming for some time, the dumbing-down of America. However, it’s not only America. Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand are graduating mindless ideologues who have infiltrated all aspects of society. They have no clue about the history of “Palestine” nor do they want to know.
Instead of humanity evolving, it’s devolving into the abyss.
It is some comfort that this anti-Semitism, and anti-Americanism. in premier universities is leading to a decline of academic standards. Princeton's Classics department is removing the requirement to learn Greek and Latin. Claudine Gay's academic record, and refusal to disclose the data on which she based her statistical studies, is only the visible tip of the iceberg.
A great deal of the mathematics and physics I studied as a student traces back to just two universities: Heidelberg and Gottingen. After the anti-Semitism of 1930s Germany they have declined to insignificance and it is satisfying that both now rank below the Technion in mathematics:
At some point, university reputation and past glory will not make up for deficiencies in learning and academic rigor. Israeli scientists working in Israel have won 6 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry in the last 25 years; that's as many as Germany and one more than France. One Israeli has won the Fields Medal in Mathematics: https://www.jpost.com/israel/israeli-wins-nobel-of-mathematics-185255
Your suggestion that students, and more importantly faculty, should consider the advantages of an Israeli university education are right on!
The Israeli and Jewish affirmation of study, life, and human success is antithetical to the ironic, scoffing, and self-hating posture of the Western intellectual left. Grafted on to this, of course, is the remnant of 500 years of papal antisemitism and projected guilt over Europe’s African colonization project with the attendant demand to give way to unqualified students from favored backgrounds.
The only realistic direction is to, without anger or apology, fight back. Through the courts and ballot box where possible. When it comes to Israel, through diplomacy and force of arms. At the end of the day we should accept being hated if we are also sufficiently feared that the monsters choose other targets
On October 7, the Hamas terrorists were armed, the Israelis massacred were defenseless. The unanswered question is why did Israel disarm its citizens most of whom are IDF veterans and leave them vulnerable to mass rape and murder by Hamas? An incredibly stupid decision and the Israeli government is clearly culpable. Every Jewish family in Israel (and the US) should have a 9 mm handgun, an AR15 rifle and plenty of ammunition for both. Every adult and teenage member of the family should be proficient in their use. Have anti-gun Jewish politicians in both countries learned nothing from the Holocaust and the latest slaughter? Isn't it time for the Jewish people to tell them to go fuck themselves?
The anti-Israel bias was clear to me when my daughters were at the University of Arizona 20 years ago. I and my Israeli friends frequently bemoaned the total lack of PR from Israel and large Jewish organizations. On one occasion, I went to the U of A Hillel House and asked them why they aren't doing anything to combat the SJP and BDS groups on campus. I was told that it wasn't their domain. Not their domain? Now it is their domain as well as every Jewish organization. The problem is that they are now playing catch-up to the excellent PR work of the Palestinian supporters.
We shall survive!! Through thousands of pogroms over centuries, temple destructions, holocausts, Marxism, communism, and all the other isms, we prospered, achieved goals, took vacations, had happy families, and ultimately and rightfully returned to create the state of Israel that is thriving!! Attacked, yes, but thriving and able to withstand aggression. This runs counter to the millions who don’t wish us our existence! They are the losing ones, trying to beat “ the losing horse” as he ends the winner after all! The jealousy and bitterness these patent losers display should turn us in even tougher and more determined to succeed Jews, and primarily and mostly be united “one for all and all for one”!!
I love the idea of more and more American Jewish students going to Israel for their education, but I also hope the elite universities change dramatically.
Wait so Ivy League schools taking billions from fucked up Muslim dictatorships more racist than the KKK would result in antisemitic curriculum? Nooooo, impossible! I thought universities were beacons of truth-seekers and the socratic method. Leftists would never compromise the last surviving Jewish community in the Middle East for $$$? Leftists are super moral and virtuous.
There are some great US universities that are standing up to anti-semitism on campus. I have a daughter at one of them -Washington Univ. in St. Louis (WashU). As a parent of a Jewish college student, and a graduate myself of two Ivies, I am so so and relieved happy she is there. Chancellor has excelled in this hard time. School literally opened up a mid-year transfer program in December to welcome students who were no longer comfortable on their campus. An amazing place and leadership. Kudos to WashU
I will never forgive the wider Jewish leaders for not seeing this coming. Israel Apartheid week has been prevalent for over 2 decades in most campuses. Students for Justice in Palestine has been harassing Jewish students without any issue for just as long throughout the country. Most tenured professors embraced antisemitic Soviet style communism. The legacy Jewish organizations did nothing and in fact most embraced the DEI and progressive movements ignoring its threat to Jews. They parroted the mantra of freedom of speech without any thought to protecting Jewish students. That was left to a handful of grassroots student led groups.
The question isnt is there a Jewish future in the ivies. The question is why should Jews waste their time, energy, and money on these irredeemable useless academies. The ivies are only important because the elite in society prop them up. Maybe it's time to reevaluate who we consider elite and what we consider a good education.
Mr. Oren, the primary founder of the University of Austin is Pano Kanelos. Bari Weiss is one the earliest supporters and is on its board of trustees. Their board of advisors is also filled with exceptional people (including Ayaan Hirsi Ali, one of my treasured heroes). I encourage your readers to visit their website starting here:
https://www.uaustin.org/our-people?duty=board+of+trustees
Thank you as always for a superb column today. Blessings.
Thank you for this important article. I will share it. I went to Yale as an undergrad 1992-1996. Most of my friends were Jewish, though I am not. My friends are afraid about sending their kids to college now. I have no children, but if I did, I would definitely not send them to any of these schools where antisemitism is a requirement.
Wow. This is really had to read. I quit giving money to my alma mater - UC Berkeley - because of all this, including fears of bodily injury. I knew anti-Zionist meant anti-Semitic, but the degree of all this I really didn’t comprehend. I too will be returning to Israel unless there is a bright light on the horizon. Thank you for writing this.
Sammy Alzofon
It seems to have been hiding in plain sight. We chose not to believe it. October 7 th ripped the veil off of the truth…
It’s been coming for some time, the dumbing-down of America. However, it’s not only America. Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand are graduating mindless ideologues who have infiltrated all aspects of society. They have no clue about the history of “Palestine” nor do they want to know.
Instead of humanity evolving, it’s devolving into the abyss.
It is some comfort that this anti-Semitism, and anti-Americanism. in premier universities is leading to a decline of academic standards. Princeton's Classics department is removing the requirement to learn Greek and Latin. Claudine Gay's academic record, and refusal to disclose the data on which she based her statistical studies, is only the visible tip of the iceberg.
A great deal of the mathematics and physics I studied as a student traces back to just two universities: Heidelberg and Gottingen. After the anti-Semitism of 1930s Germany they have declined to insignificance and it is satisfying that both now rank below the Technion in mathematics:
https://www.qschina.cn/en/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2023/mathematics
At some point, university reputation and past glory will not make up for deficiencies in learning and academic rigor. Israeli scientists working in Israel have won 6 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry in the last 25 years; that's as many as Germany and one more than France. One Israeli has won the Fields Medal in Mathematics: https://www.jpost.com/israel/israeli-wins-nobel-of-mathematics-185255
Your suggestion that students, and more importantly faculty, should consider the advantages of an Israeli university education are right on!
The Israeli and Jewish affirmation of study, life, and human success is antithetical to the ironic, scoffing, and self-hating posture of the Western intellectual left. Grafted on to this, of course, is the remnant of 500 years of papal antisemitism and projected guilt over Europe’s African colonization project with the attendant demand to give way to unqualified students from favored backgrounds.
The only realistic direction is to, without anger or apology, fight back. Through the courts and ballot box where possible. When it comes to Israel, through diplomacy and force of arms. At the end of the day we should accept being hated if we are also sufficiently feared that the monsters choose other targets
On October 7, the Hamas terrorists were armed, the Israelis massacred were defenseless. The unanswered question is why did Israel disarm its citizens most of whom are IDF veterans and leave them vulnerable to mass rape and murder by Hamas? An incredibly stupid decision and the Israeli government is clearly culpable. Every Jewish family in Israel (and the US) should have a 9 mm handgun, an AR15 rifle and plenty of ammunition for both. Every adult and teenage member of the family should be proficient in their use. Have anti-gun Jewish politicians in both countries learned nothing from the Holocaust and the latest slaughter? Isn't it time for the Jewish people to tell them to go fuck themselves?
The anti-Israel bias was clear to me when my daughters were at the University of Arizona 20 years ago. I and my Israeli friends frequently bemoaned the total lack of PR from Israel and large Jewish organizations. On one occasion, I went to the U of A Hillel House and asked them why they aren't doing anything to combat the SJP and BDS groups on campus. I was told that it wasn't their domain. Not their domain? Now it is their domain as well as every Jewish organization. The problem is that they are now playing catch-up to the excellent PR work of the Palestinian supporters.
We shall survive!! Through thousands of pogroms over centuries, temple destructions, holocausts, Marxism, communism, and all the other isms, we prospered, achieved goals, took vacations, had happy families, and ultimately and rightfully returned to create the state of Israel that is thriving!! Attacked, yes, but thriving and able to withstand aggression. This runs counter to the millions who don’t wish us our existence! They are the losing ones, trying to beat “ the losing horse” as he ends the winner after all! The jealousy and bitterness these patent losers display should turn us in even tougher and more determined to succeed Jews, and primarily and mostly be united “one for all and all for one”!!
I love the idea of more and more American Jewish students going to Israel for their education, but I also hope the elite universities change dramatically.
Wait so Ivy League schools taking billions from fucked up Muslim dictatorships more racist than the KKK would result in antisemitic curriculum? Nooooo, impossible! I thought universities were beacons of truth-seekers and the socratic method. Leftists would never compromise the last surviving Jewish community in the Middle East for $$$? Leftists are super moral and virtuous.
The Ivies need Jews. Jews don’t need the Ivies.
Gosh!!! I am Columbia College '66 and former faculty Public Law and Government... until 1977.
Quit teaching since the kids just want grades.
TY, Neal Hugh Hurwitz... among the many Jews on CU faculty 1967-77