Bogus anti-Semitism smears against Muslim students at Harvard during Israeli Apartheid Week

Alex Shams The Electronic Intifada 13 March 2013

Awareness of Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights is becoming more mainstream at Harvard.

Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee

In the last few days, the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee has been attacked by various outlets of the right-wing Zionist press spreading a vicious lie that we have targeted Jewish students at Harvard with fake eviction notices (see “Jewish Harvard students receive mock eviction notices,” Arutz Sheva (Israel National News), 7 March 2013).

The claim is not only baseless and slanderous, it also carries echoes of last year’s outrageous accusation against Florida Atlantic University students, who were falsely accused of targeting Jewish students and subjected to intense pressure for a simple awareness-raising campaign about Israel’s practice of evicting Palestinian families and destroying their homes. These false allegations and the ensuing pressure escalated to death threats against Palestinian solidarity activists there.

In the last week, a blogger at The Jewish Journal, Orit Arfa, has followed up on the claims at Harvard and called for a campaign against Muslim students in response, raising the banner of a religious war against Harvard students based on completely unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism (“Jewish Harvard students: Be smart!,” 7 March 2013).

These rightwing groups have pretty much outdone themselves this week in attacking students and inciting hatred. So how did this all happen?

Eviction flyers

This year’s Harvard Israeli Apartheid Week, organized by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, attracted widespread campus attention as usual. The week began with an advertising campaign that included mock eviction notices placed in dormitories across the university.

These notices informed students that their dormitories were to be demolished before explaining that the notices were actually intended to raise awareness about Israel’s systematic destruction of Palestinian homes. They were posted on the outside of suite doors in dormitories across campus, a common place for flyers.

In the last two years Israeli Apartheid Week has become a central part of the activist calendar at Harvard University, drawing hundreds of students to events and conferences and reframing a dialogue about Zionism and the State of Israel at one of the country’s most prestigious institutions of higher education.

With each passing year the discourse has noticeably shifted, and critique of Israel’s egregious policies of apartheid and human rights violations against the Palestinian people has become increasingly a part of the campus mainstream.

In response to this year’s Israeli Apartheid Week, The Harvard Crimson, the major campus newspaper, published an editorial that began by dressing Israel down for its discriminatory policies “in the territories” and its history of human rights abuses, but cautioning its readers that the word “apartheid” itself was divisive (“Keeping us apart,” 8 March 2013).

It was a sign of the sea change in campus debate that the relatively conservative student newspaper felt the need to begin by condemning the State of Israel before being able to discuss the use of the word “apartheid.” Editorials with a similar tone would have been unthinkable even a year or two ago. The campus newspaper has been accused of having a history of anti-Palestinian bias. It has repeatedly condemned Palestine solidarity actions and academic conferences on the topic before they even occurred, as well as subjecting pro-Palestinian authors to unusually intense pressure. Surprisingly, however, this latest editorial struck a relatively less Zionist tone than past articles.

Israel lobby’s “outrage”

Tellingly, Harvard Students for Israel did not express much outrage about the flyers themselves, with the main statement coming from the group’s co-chair Sara Kantor, who was quoted in The Harvard Crimson saying Israeli Apartheid Week is “inherently problematic” (whatever that means) and that she “felt bad responding” because the week doesn’t promote dialogue. Not exactly condemnation from the most pro-Israel group on campus (“Mock eviction flyers incite debate,” 5 March 2013).

For reasons that are unclear, the Anti-Defamation League then decided to make its voice known on the matter, issuing a statement expressing “outrage” that the campaign attempted to “silence and intimidate pro-Israel advocates” (“ADL: Mock eviction notices at Harvard intimidate students,” 5 March 2013).

The statement was of course extremely silly; we had posted the flyers on the doors of suites, a common location for posting advertisements, and while the style of the advertisement may have been provocative, there was absolutely nothing “intimidating” about them.

Blatant lie

At this point, however, the story took a much darker turn. As news of the eviction notices spread, Israel’s Arutz Sheva decided to publish its aforementioned piece with the blatant lie that only Jewish students at Harvard had received the eviction notices, suggesting that the Palestine Solidarity Committee had somehow targeted Jewish students exclusively.

The claim was an outrageous slander, and there was no evidence to suggest this was even a remote possibility, neither as reported by The Harvard Crimson newspaper nor by the ADL statement.

In effect, the right-wing Zionist press was inciting outrage through a complete fabrication of anti-Semitism, spreading a rumor that implied we had somehow compiled lists of Jewish students and targeted them with the flyer. Not only was the claim completely fabricated, but, as it was repeated in other outlets, some even referred directly to reporting from The Harvard Crimson even though the paper made absolutely no suggestion of an attempt to target Jews.

Since then, the claim has been reprinted in Atlas Shrugs, the blog of infamous rightwing extremist Pamela Geller, under the title “#MyJihad at Harvard,” and Algemeiner, among many other sites giving the lies credence.

Incitement to violence

Orit Arfa, the blogger for The Jewish Journal, repeated the claims in her post, urging Jewish students at Harvard to respond by fighting fire with “hotter fire” and targeting “the Muslim groups.” She claimed that “Muslim student unions fight dirty,” and urged Jewish students to “make the Muslims go cry to their superiors” by posting notices on the doors of the Palestine Solidarity Committee with notices saying things like, “If Jews do not leave this land, preferably at the hands of other Jews, we have the right to kill you in the name of jihad,” or “72 Virgins Await for You in Heaven if you Kill Jews.”

Not only was Afra calling for reprisals against “Muslims,” even though the Palestine Solidarity Committee is not a “Muslim” group, she was practically attempting to incite religious warfare on campus. The Jewish Journal should be ashamed of the blatant falsehoods spread by this blogger and we urge its editors to denounce the calls for the campaigns against Muslims at Harvard she has made, if not disassociate themselves from her altogether.

The last week’s attacks on the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee reflect the increasingly virulent use of claims of “anti-Semitism” to bolster Zionist propaganda and to launch attacks on Palestine solidarity activism across the country.

How the ADL blatantly misconstrued a poster campaign into an attempt to “silence” students is inconceivable. And given the amount of outside advertising for Zionist events and trips that occurs on the Harvard campus (without even the pretense that any student group is organizing them), it is laughable that the ADL somehow convinced themselves that Harvard PSC could “intimidate” students with an informational flyer.

The spread of blatant lies and baseless accusations by Arutz Sheva, The Jewish Journal and other outlets reflects the sad reality of the right-wing Zionist press today. While the Harvard Crimson and the student population more broadly have become increasingly aware of the realities of Israel’s brutal policies of segregation and widespread human rights abuses, these media outlets react with fabricated claims of anti-Semitism in order to deflect blame.

As the world increasingly awakens to the reality of Israel’s apartheid state, much of the Zionist press falls further into a world of violent delusion where calling for campaigns against “Harvard Muslim students” is an acceptable response to an informational poster campaign.

Alex Shams is a second-year graduate at Harvard University and a member of the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee. Last year, he was an organizer of the One State Conference at Harvard. He is currently on the organizing committee of the Right of Return Conference, scheduled for next month at Boston University.

Tags

Comments

picture

Jewish Harvard student replied on

As a Jewish student at Harvard, i just wanted to say that the Palestine Solidarity Committee has been nothing but respectful in their work on campus -- while many pro-Israel students had political disagreements with the flyers, i don't think anyone on campus felt targeted for being jewish or sensed any anti-semitism.

i'm ashamed of Jewish media's distortion of reality and fear-mongering among American Jews --- THIS is what prevents true dialogue/discussion, not educational flyering on campuses!

picture

Peter Loeb replied on

Those who oppose Israeli oppression are entitled to be bitter. Read the poem BITTER
FRUIT OF THE TREE by Sterling A. Brown (1901-1989,poem from 1936). I cited
it in my comment in EI entitled "Poem to all in the Palestinian Resistance" of
EI : 2/20/13. As an alum of fifty years I hope to remember Harvard as a fountain
of informed discourse, not a source of hate. As the poem eloquently points out
there is no requirement that those who are objects of genocide (See Genocide
Convention of 1948, Article 2) lavish love on their oppressors. The fact that I am
of Jewish "heritage" should make no difference. I am afraid of what this "Israel" has
made itself and feel no sympathy for it. It is Israel's genocidal actions which are
devisive. I support all who make the world aware of these Israeli horrors .

picture

mary menzer replied on

I have learned, as I am sure you have, that if one is anti-zionist, then one must also be ant-semetic. I am so tired of it. As if the two terms were synonymous. This is a useful way to instill guilt and fear. And since the international community is still beating itself up over the Holocaust, it is willing to look the other way as Israel commits its crimes against humanity. I just read this morning that one of the problems with a 2 state solution is the residents in the settlements. Why is that a problem? They should be told to pack up and leave just as the Palestinians were- or were the Palestinians even given time to pack? I am so sick of everyone tiptoeing around Israel, fearful of offending the Jews!
Just had to vent...
Mary

picture

Aftab Mohammed replied on

I wonder what Alex Shams view is on the possible right of return for all those Jewish families that lost their homes and property when forced out of arab lands just before and after the formation of Israel? Will the conference in Boston cover this often over looked topic? Speaking as a Muslim I do think that it is important that fairness on the right of return issue pervades both sides - don't you?

picture

Maarten replied on

as you call it, is plain delusion.
The jews in Arab countries were not expelled as the Palestinians out of Palestine.
Moreover. They were not expelled at all. The Shabak did everything it could to convince the jews living in Arab countries to leave for israel. By bombing jewish places and spreading terror under the jews in Iraq and Egypt. Read your history and you will know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1...

and the Lavon affair

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...

picture

Aftab Mohammed replied on

Well as you are using Wikipedia :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J...

Don't get me wrong - I am ware that the jews often used some force to convince their people to move - but come on - that's simply not the whole truth is it? Jews were forced out - in large numbers - its clear what went on.

Seems you might want to read up on the history a bit more yourself.

picture

Arsalan replied on

Same old Zionism, same old lies.

Things are much worse and funnier here.
I remember when a friend of mine was the head of the Islamic Society here. The Head of the Union of Jewish students sent himself an an anti-Semitic Email. And then cried to the University authorities that the Islamic Society was sending him anti-Semitic emails to get my friend expelled.
But it turned out the Idiot had used his OWN university account to send it!
How stupid can a Zionist be?
My friend showed the university it was from the head of the UJS's own account so he wasn't expelled.
But unfortunately no disciplinary action was taken against the UJS or its head because the University stated that the evidence against him isn't strong enough because someone could have hacked his account.
You know those guys are untouchable.

picture

eGuard replied on

In The Jewish Journal, Orit Arfa's blog has a banner that shows her wrapped in what appears an Israeli flag (worn as a prayer shawl) and holding a gun.

picture

Haifawi replied on

Do you mind putting links to the Arutz Sheva and Pamela Geller pages that spread this falsehood? This helps with winning the narrative battle because many centrists will be skeptical about something from "electronicintifada"