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The Jerusalem Post

Israeli students around the world report: "There are more PLO flags here than in Ramallah"

 
 Members of the Australian Palestinian community hold banners and a flag as they stand on a balcony of the Sydney Town Hall during a protest against Israel's military action in Gaza July 20, 2014. Israel said on Sunday it had expanded its ground offensive in Gaza and militants kept up rocket fire in (photo credit: David Gray/Reuters)
Members of the Australian Palestinian community hold banners and a flag as they stand on a balcony of the Sydney Town Hall during a protest against Israel's military action in Gaza July 20, 2014. Israel said on Sunday it had expanded its ground offensive in Gaza and militants kept up rocket fire in
(photo credit: David Gray/Reuters)

A sharp rise in antisemitic incidents against Jewish students at campuses in North America. MK Oded Forer is working on classifying Zionism as a protected value.

A 700% increase in antisemitic incidents against students has been reported in North America, and 37% of Jewish students are forced to hide their identity. And these numbers are not unique to the US alone. There have been increasing reports of Jewish students who are victims of antisemitic incidents in France, Australia, and Scotland. Despite that, there is an increase in the participation of Israelis and Jews in pro-Israeli events.

In light of the rising tide of antisemitism that is being hidden under the veil of anti-Zionism, MK Oded Forer - chairman of the Aliyah, Absorption, and Diaspora Committee - said that he is working on classifying Zionism as a protected value, which he believes would help Jewish and Israeli students globally. Forer also noted that "the fight against antisemitism on campuses around the world is a fight for the entire Jewish identity. [...] The reactions of the heads of the universities in the world to the antisemitic incidents are too weak."

MK Oded Forer chairs a discussion in the Knesset about expediting conversions for those serving in the IDF during the war with Hamas in Gaza, November 13, 2023. (credit: KNESSET SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE)
MK Oded Forer chairs a discussion in the Knesset about expediting conversions for those serving in the IDF during the war with Hamas in Gaza, November 13, 2023. (credit: KNESSET SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE)

"The international television networks present Israel most negatively," said Yadin Alder from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. "Since the war broke out in October, stones have been thrown at my window," Alder said. He also expressed dismay at having to remove the Israeli flag at his apartment. Alder said that he knows that Jewish students at the same university hide their identity.

Further comments from Israeli politicians

Former Canada student MK Dan Iloz (Likud) also commented on this trend, saying that "in [his] worst nightmare [he] did not imagine that the dean who taught [him] could not say that the calls for the genocide of a people are incitement to violence." Iloz believes that the government should do more to combat this trend of antisemitism at colleges and universities around the world. "The Jews of the world are in a state of emergency," Dan Iloz commented.

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MK Ohad Tal from the Religious Zionist Party said that Jews are at war not only in Gaza and Lebanon "but also in universities around the world." He also said that the budget aimed at aiding around the world should be improved. Yesh Atid politician MK Simon Davidson says that, similarly to the college students, Israeli athletes also face "anti-semitic incidents around the world."

From the Foreign Affairs ministry, Ran Natanzon called for a combined effort of all organizations to fight antisemitism.

CEO of "Mosaic United," Meir Holtz, said that there should be a public appeal in the near future worth eight million NIS and that "the Israeli government will invest 48 million shekels to deal with antisemitism on campuses around the world."

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