Israel, a tiny country the size of New Jersey, is the only state in the Middle East that substantially recognizes individual rights, such as legal equality for men and women, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the freedom to engage in same-sex relationships. Compared to its neighbors—Islamic dictatorships that trample rights and violently oppress their populations—Israel is an oasis of enlightenment and liberty. Yet many American and European professors increasingly show support for anti-Israel movements and tyrannical regimes that aim to erase Israel from the map.
Iran is among the most brutal. According to the U.S. State Department, “The Islamic regime in Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terror,” and the “regime elites squander the people’s resources and opportunities, while suppressing freedom and basic human rights.”1 As of this writing, for more than a month Iranian “security forces” have been violently cracking down on widespread protests, which sprang up after the regime’s so-called morality police reportedly killed a young woman for not wearing a hijab correctly.2
Iranian leaders call for “death to Israel,” “death to England,” and “death to America.”3 They fund terrorist groups that wreak havoc in countries neighboring Israel, forming a “ring of fire” around it with the goal of annihilating the tiny democratic republic.4
Yet according to the academic watchdog group Canary Mission, which documents people and groups promoting hatred of the United States and Israel, more than eight hundred professors on North American campuses participate, to varying degrees, in efforts to undermine Israel. So do many in Europe. Among the most vocal anti-Israel professors are David Miller, recently fired from the University of Bristol; Amin Husain at New York University (NYU); and Marc Lamont Hill at Temple University. They are working to erode Israel’s stability, credibility, and security. This despite—or perhaps because of—the fact that Israel is a vital partner and strategic ally of the West. . . .
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Endnotes
1. “The Islamic Republic of Iran: A Dangerous Regime,” U.S. Department of State, https://2017-2021.state.gov/the-islamic-republic-of-iran-a-dangerous-regime/index.html (accessed October 25, 2022).
2. Jon Hersey, “Iranian Freedom Fighters and the Winds of Reason,” The Objective Standard, October 6, 2022, https://theobjectivestandard.com/2022/10/iranian-freedom-fighters-and-the-winds-of-reason/.
3. “Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei Reaffirms ‘Death to America’ Slogan, Calls to Bring U.S. Leaders to Trial,” MEMRI, July 18, 2015, https://www.memri.org/tv/iranian-supreme-leader-khamenei-reaffirms-death-america-slogan-calls-bring-us-leaders-trial.
4. Uzi Rubin, “Iran’s Missiles and Its Evolving ‘Rings of Fire,’” Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, January 9, 2020, https://besacenter.org/iran-missiles-rings-of-fire.
5. Cnaan Liphshiz, “Nearly 200 Scholars Back UK Lecturer Who Called Jewish Students Israel ‘Pawns,’” Times of Israel, February 22, 2021, https://www.timesofisrael.com/nearly-200-scholars-back-uk-lecturer-who-called-jewish-students-israel-pawns/.
6. Ben Bloch, Twitter, February 18, 2021, https://twitter.com/realbenbloch/status/1362432493593505796.
7. David Miller, Twitter, June 23, 2022, https://twitter.com/Tracking_Power/status/1539861575053594624.
8. “Zionism,” Anti-Defamation League, May 3, 2022, https://www.adl.org/resources/glossary-terms/zionism.
9. David Miller, Twitter, October 15, 2022, https://twitter.com/Tracking_Power/status/1581363577805754368.
10. “About government and state-affiliated media account labels on Twitter,” Twitter Help Center, https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/state-affiliated-iran.
11. “Amin Husain,” Canary Mission, https://canarymission.org/professor/Amin_Husain (accessed October 25, 2022).
12. “Amin Husain,” Canary Mission; Jessica Custodio, “Profs Promote Antifa-esque Video Encouraging Followers to ‘F**k Sh*t Up,’” Campus Reform, February 17, 2020, https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=14391; Isabel Vincent, “NYU Professor Founded Anarchist Group That Attacked Subways Last Month,” New York Post, February 15, 2020, https://nypost.com/2020/02/15/nyu-professor-founded-anarchist-group-that-attacked-subways-last-month/.
13. Susie Day, “Time on the Clock of the World: Amin Husain on How We Handle Trump,” Verso, March 16, 2017, https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/3131-time-on-the-clock-of-the-world-amin-husain-on-how-we-handle-trump.
14. “Amin Husain,” Canary Mission, https://canarymission.org/professor/Amin_Husain.
15. “Marc Lamont Hill Tells #DSA That #BLM Would Like to ‘Dismantle the Zionist Project,’” February 8, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_XKRks0RqM.
16. Connor Williams, “CNN Contributor Gripes That Iron Dome ‘Takes Away Hamas’s Military Leverage’ over Israel,” mrcNewsBusters, August 4, 2014, https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/connor-williams/2014/08/04/cnn-contributor-gripes-iron-dome-takes-away-hamass-military’.
17. Jonathan A. Greenblatt, “Al Jazeera Propagates Hatred. Is It Also a Foreign Agent?,” The Hill, August 10, 2018, https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/401145-al-jazeera-propagates-hatred-is-it-also-a-foreign-agent/; “Muslim Brotherhood in Qatar,” Counter Extremism Project, https://www.counterextremism.com/content/muslim-brotherhood-qatar.
18. “Qatar: 6500 Labourers Died, 24,000 Suffered Human Rights Abuses on World Cup 2022 Projects,” Organizer Voice of a Nation, June 6, 2022, https://organiser.org/2022/06/06/84415/world/qatar-6500-labourers-died-24000-suffered-human-rights-abuses-on-world-cup-2022-projects/.
19. Malak Harb, “Qatar Detains Workers Protesting Late Pay before FIFA World Cup,” PBS News Hour, August 22, 2022, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/qatar-detains-workers-protesting-late-pay-before-fifa-world-cup.
20. Ryan Mauro and Alex VanNess, “Clarion Exclusive Report: Foreign Influence Ops on U.S. Universities,” Clarion Project, September 5, 2019, https://clarionproject.org/us-universities-foreign-funding-clarion-intel-exclusive/; “Northwestern Qatar University: Qatar’s Multimillion-Dollar Plan to Influence American Media,” Canary Mission, February 2022, https://canarymission.org/campaign/Northwestern_Qatar_University.
