This article in The Atlantic, a very good piece, is written by Theo Baker, who, only a sophomore, is already a skilled journalist. (His reporting also helped bring down Stanford’s President for promulgating bogus research.) The article is long but engrossing, and describes the intense friction between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli (mostly Jewish) students at Stanford, a school that in recent years has been damaged by an infestation of ideology. (Remember the deplatforming of conservative Judge Duncan, which led to the firing of Stanford’s equity dean?)
Baker takes the trouble to interview almost everyone concerned, including Stanford’s President Saller and Provost Martinez, as well as a number of students on both sides, and in the end manages to convey the view that, as it is here in Chicago, most of the trouble is being fomented by aggressive, angry, and loud pro-Palestinian students. (Baker seems to be Jewish.) But the incidents he describes are fascinating and well researched.
You might be able to read the article by clicking below, but if it’s paywalled you can find it archived here.
I’ll give just one excerpt, but you really should read the whole thing. If I don’t miss my guess, Baker has a good career in front of him.
Zionists, and indeed Jewish students of all political beliefs, have been given good reason to fear for their safety. They’ve been followed, harassed, and called derogatory racial epithets. At least one was told he was a “dirty Jew.” At least twice, mezuzahs have been ripped from students’ doors, and swastikas have been drawn in dorms. Arab and Muslim students also face alarming threats. The computer-science section leader, El Boudali, a pro-Palestine activist, told me he felt “safe personally,” but knew others who did not: “Some people have reported feeling like they’re followed, especially women who wear the hijab.”
In a remarkably short period of time, aggression and abuse have become commonplace, an accepted part of campus activism. In January, Jewish students organized an event dedicated to ameliorating anti-Semitism. It marked one of [temporary President] Saller’s first public appearances in the new year. Its topic seemed uncontroversial, and I thought it would generate little backlash.
Protests began before the panel discussion even started, with activists lining the stairs leading to the auditorium. During the event they drowned out the panelists, one of whom was Israel’s special envoy for combating anti-Semitism, by demanding a cease-fire. After participants began cycling out into the dark, things got ugly.
Activists, their faces covered by keffiyehs or medical masks, confronted attendees. “Go back to Brooklyn!” a young woman shouted at Jewish students. One protester, who emerged as the leader of the group, said that she and her compatriots would “take all of your places and ensure Israel falls.” She told attendees to get “off our fucking campus” and launched into conspiracy theories about Jews being involved in “child trafficking.” As a rabbi tried to leave the event, protesters pursued him, chanting, “There is only one solution! Intifada revolution!”
At one point, some members of the group turned on a few Stanford employees, including another rabbi, an imam, and a chaplain, telling them, “We know your names and we know where you work.” The ringleader added: “And we’ll soon find out where you live.” The religious leaders formed a protective barrier in front of the Jewish students. The rabbi and the imam appeared to be crying.
Saller avoided the protest by leaving through another door. Early that morning, his private residence had been vandalized. Protesters frequently tell him he “can’t hide” and shout him down. “We charge you with genocide!” they chant, demanding that Stanford divest from Israel. (When asked whether Stanford actually invested in Israel, a spokesperson replied that, beyond small exposures from passive funds that track indexes such as the S&P 500, the university’s endowment “has no direct holdings in Israeli companies, or direct holdings in defense contractors.”)
The image of a rabbi and imam, weeping as they’re trying together to protect the Jewish students, is unforgettable. It reminds me a bit of the Four Chaplains during World War II who went down with their ship.
h/t: Susan
That groundless and pointless animus suggests a savagery that originates in a primal fear of outsiders. I’m reminded of the chimp bands that confront and often kill members of an outside band. The perps must get a reflexive joy out of affirming there own identity through membership in a violent gang. A tendency that must reside in all of us. Too sad.
Good reporting by Baker.
Two decades of anti-bullying campaigns seem to have left some children behind.
I’d say it’s more like students think Israel and by extension Jews in general are bullies.
The media has been repeating Hamas propaganda with no regard for their obvious motive to exaggerate and outright lie.
A day or two ago Elder of Ziyon reported that Hamas accused the IDF of raping women in Gaza. Then the woman who was the source admitted it was a lie. She said she thought it would help morale.
Al Jazeera quietly removed the story but did not report that the woman lied.
Hearing this from the perspective of a student was particularly interesting:
Black and White thinking was one of the dangerous habits of thought outlined by Lukianoff and Haidt in The Coddling of the American Mind back in 2018. Righteous anger becomes its own tactic
+1
I feel for President Saller. He doesn’t deserve the crap he is dealing with.
On a positive note, I am glad that young journalists like Theo Baker can still emerge from the chaos to bear witness. He is one of tomorrow’s leaders.
Thanks for the link to that article. Well worth reading, as you say.
The image of a rabbi and imam, weeping as they’re trying together to protect the Jewish students, is unforgettable. It reminds me a bit of the Four Chaplains during World War II who went down with their ship.
Indeed! Will read the full article later this evening.
And at no point does anyone consider calling the police? At no point does anyone sue the student groups for harassment? (You don’t even have to win the suit. You just have to demonstrate that you’re unwilling to turn the other cheek.)
As a Stanford alum I have been watching from afar with concern as many of these battles have occurred but Baker (only a Sophomore!) has truly cut to core the essence of this ‘war’ on campus where there are little attempts at dialogue, understanding or empathy across the divide. Isn’t this exactly the opposite of what universities of higher learning are supposed to be about? If several thousand students and faculty who are living a rather privileged daily reality far from the devastating violence on either side cannot attempt better than name-calling, tearing down signs, harassing, bullying behavior how can we expect the millions who actually are living the effects of this on-going actual war to ever come to the table to create a lasting peace? Where are the leaders and educators?
This fellow alumna finds it very distressing as well. Af my reunion last October I thankfully saw or experienced only a few pro-Palestinian protestors. Theo Baker, who is Jewish, is the son
of the excellent reporters Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, both of whom I have followed for years. I look forward to reading Theo’s article in my paper copy of The Atlantic. Is it in the March or April issue?
Thanks for the connection to Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. Wow, young Theo seems to absorbed a lot in those conversations over the dinner table. Very well-done repoting!
The Hoover Inst for War and Peace is either on-campus or close by. Are they sponsoring any talks or things of that sort?
You would hope they would.Condi Rice spoke very intelligently at the reunion.
Just a side remark: “feeling like they’re followed” is really meaningless, while explicit threats and tearing down mezuza’s are real events.