Jonathan Greenblatt Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt condemned a member of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Benedictine University for asking a Holocaust survivor to denounce the Israeli government’s “ethnic cleansing.”
The member Ayah Ali asked Grinnell College Religious Studies Professor Dr. Harold Kasimow during his Oct. 24 speech on campus, “Do you support or do you condemn the establishment of the Zionist Israeli state, and whether it’s okay to exile and completely — the complete ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, the way that the Jewish people were exiled and ethnically cleansed?”
Kasimow said that while he was displeased with the current Israeli government, he believes that both sides need to work together to achieve peace. He then added, “Yes, I think Israel should exist.”
Ali asked again, “Do you support or condemn the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people? Because the establishment of the Israeli state and the idea of Zionism ties back to the right of the Israeli state at any cost, and that cost is the Palestinian people.”
She then said, “I am the result of experiences that you have been through. I am a survivor of the Intifada” before adding that she was “disappointed” that he’s remaining “neutral” on the matter.
Kasimow replied that he doesn’t “have enough knowledge” to give her a straight answer but said that there’s blame on both sides on the conflict and he hopes that there will be a two-state solution.
Ali then said she was “very hurt” at Kasimow’s answer and walked out of the speech.
Earlier this week, Holocaust survivor, Harold Kasimow spoke at Benedictine University. He described to us what it felt like to undergo horrific circumstances such as the Holocaust at a very young age. pic.twitter.com/njgmerzf8J
— Benedictine SJP (@BenUSjp2) October 27, 2019
Having witnessed the systematic persecution and murder of millions of Jews, Mr. Kasimow continuously explained that he did not want to see another child suffer as he did, and that “It is our responsibility to see that this does not happen again.” pic.twitter.com/U6D5ro1tBz
— Benedictine SJP (@BenUSjp2) October 27, 2019
Greenblatt tweeted, “To demand this elderly Holocaust survivor condemn Israel is outrageous & deeply offensive. Yet another example of SJP’s anti-Semitic practice of marginalizing Jews and reducing their identity to their connection to Israel.”
To demand this elderly Holocaust survivor condemn Israel is outrageous & deeply offensive. Yet another example of SJP’s anti-Semitic practice of marginalizing Jews and reducing their identity to their connection to Israel. https://t.co/ce3H0yIqk3 https://t.co/XJLR1hNSup
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 29, 2019
Other Jewish groups weighed in.
“Not that we needed it but here’s the latest proof that the anti-Israelism plaguing universities is anti-Semitism, plain and simple,” the American Jewish Committee tweeted. “ Can @NationalSJP explain how demanding that an American Holocaust survivor answer for the actions of Israel’s [government] does a damn thing for Palestinians?”
Not that we needed it but here's the latest proof that the anti-Israelism plaguing universities is antisemitism, plain and simple. Can @NationalSJP explain how demanding that an American Holocaust survivor answer for the actions of Israel's gov does a damn thing for Palestinians? https://t.co/i4QQd4XQez
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) October 29, 2019
The Simon Wiesenthal Center similarly tweeted, “Fed a steady diet of Jew-hatred, these young Palestinian students enjoy harassing a Nazi Holocaust survivor – who politely retorted the hate.”
Fed a steady diet of Jew-hatred, these young Palestinian students enjoy harassing a Nazi Holocaust survivor – who politely retorted the hate. https://t.co/kLeagGSb5I via @madmimi
— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) October 29, 2019
StandWithUs CEO and Co-Founder Roz Rothstein, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, said in a statement to the Journal, “SJP has a long record of hijacking and exploiting the narratives of various marginalized communities. Now they’ve taken it a step further by disrespecting and harassing a Holocaust survivor, and derailing an event that had nothing to do with them. Universities should call out SJP for what it is: a hate group that tries to use every platform as an opportunity to dehumanize Israelis and spread misinformation and anti-Semitism.”
A university spokesperson said in a statement to the Journal, “Benedictine University does not support nor tolerate speech that is hateful to any group. As an inclusive, Catholic, and Benedictine institution of higher learning, we provide a values-based education that revolves around developing the whole person. This includes learning that being respectful and tolerant of groups and individuals is a core value each world citizen must support.”
The statement added that they “expect students, faculty, staff, and guests to adhere to the Benedictine values upon which we were founded – including hospitality, community, and love of Christ and neighbor. We thank Dr. Kasimow for joining us at Benedictine and sharing his experiences with our community.”
SJP Bendictine defended Ali in a Twitter thread. “If we are against oppression, we need to be against ALL oppression, and if Mr. Kasimow stands against ethnic cleansing, then it is expected that he be against ALL ethnic cleansing, and he has failed to apply his same principles to the victims of the Palestinian Occupation,” they tweeted.
Inspired by his words and beliefs, an SJP Benedictine member mentioned a current situation that is ongoing: the genocide, ethnic cleansing, and exile of Palestinians living in under occupation.
— Benedictine SJP (@BenUSjp2) October 27, 2019
Palestinian children have suffered from the lack of basic human rights and are targeted because of their identity. However, to our surprise, Mr. Kasimow was in full support of the Israeli state that is built upon the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.
— Benedictine SJP (@BenUSjp2) October 27, 2019
If we are against oppression, we need to be against ALL oppression, and if Mr. Kasimow stands against ethnic cleansing, then it is expected that he be against ALL ethnic cleansing, and he has failed to apply his same principles to the victims of the Palestinian Occupation
— Benedictine SJP (@BenUSjp2) October 27, 2019
Kasimow and his family hid from the Nazis in Lithuania from 1942 to 1949 until the family successfully escaped to New York. Kasimow was three years old when the Nazis took control of Lithuania in 1941.
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