In these times of change and uncertainty, who will lead the world? - opinion

Will it be leftists or the far right? Or will there be a global theocracy led by Muslims? Forget about Joe Biden or Rishi Sunak or even Emmanuel Macron; they will fade into the history books. I have heard many Jewish people describing the world that we are living in as Kafkaesque. I have heard others describe it as topsy-turvy, where evil masquerades as good, right is wrong, and victims are called perpetrators.

In my own attempt to understand the craziness, I refer back to Dr. Morris Massey, an American sociologist who wrote a book called The People Puzzle. One of Massey’s famous phrases that he used to explain the evolution of society was:“What you are is where you were when...”

Massey, through his research, encourages us to explore our social origins from the time of our birth, our family upbringing, our education, and our life experiences. He talks about geopolitical events that influence our attitudes and perceptions as we grow older. These differ from generation to generation and usher in what can only be described as paradigm shifts. Originally, he referred to four generational categories.

The first category is termed “Traditionalist” and relates to people who were born in the 1930s. This generation represents a society of highly conservative values. The traditionalists grew up at a time when religion, authority, education, and the law were paramount. All this changed after the WW II. Following the traditionalist era, the 1930s and ‘40s, people emerged from the WW II with a strong drive to change the world into a more democratic and representative society.

Globally, the next phase of values morphed into the Sixties. Massey called this the Rejectionist era. It became a turbulent time of social change and rebellion, mostly led by young people who were students at universities across the globe.

Those of us who are old enough to remember the riots at Kent State University in the United States, and sit-ins at the Sorbonne in Paris and the London School of Economics and many other academic institutions will understand what is meant by Rejectionism. It was a social movement that made young people aware of the injustices that were taking place around the world. Even though there was no social media, no cellphones, or email, the mass media of the day spread the stories like wildfire. Television was the main source of news.

In the US, the Vietnam War was the first televised war in human history. Young people were exposed to what was happening in Vietnam, South Africa, and Europe. Many of the Rejectionists allied themselves with the extreme Left and the anarchists who declared war on the establishment. It was an exciting time for young people who immersed themselves in the counter-culture music, art, and promiscuity (euphemistically referred to as “free love”). Recently, I re-listened to an album of the rock tribal musical Hair, which typified this era. What is so strange now is to see the resurgence of what I call “Neo-Rejectionism” – students across the world behaving in exactly the same way as the “flower children” of the ‘60s whose mantra was “Peace and Love.”

Sadly, the one difference now is that the current mantra has nothing to do with peace and love but more to do with hate and violence. This is strongly represented by the organization called ANTIFA, a name which goes back to Germany in the 1930s. It is a Left-wing political movement composed of autonomous groups and individuals who oppose fascism, racism, and other forms of Right-wing ideology.

ANTIFA and uninformed, misguided radicals

ANTIFA members generally embrace Leftist ideologies, such as Marxism, the Green movement (eco-warriors), and so-called human rights activism currently manifesting itself as antisemitism. The organization engages in disruptive activities including mass protests. They are known for their “black bloc” tactics, which involve wearing black clothing and masks to maintain anonymity and avoid surveillance during protests. Lately ANTIFA has been the subject of significant controversy and criticism. Their critics claim that some of their methods, particularly those involving violence or property damage, are counterproductive and undermine their moral standing.

Writer and journalist Andy Ngo has been following ANTIFA in an attempt to understand its motives and activism. In 2019, Ngo was attacked by these activists and severely injured. Recently in an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw, he began to share his perceptions that many of the students in the US who are participating in the pro-Palestinian protests are heavily influenced by the ANTIFA ethos.

He claims that there are many professors occupying key academic positions in American colleges who were once extreme Leftists and anarchists who participated and even led some of the radical demonstrations in the 1960s and ‘70s.

He believes that many of the Gen Z (Generation Z) youngsters of today have learned their craft by being indoctrinated by their teachers and professors. What stands out today is their lack of moral clarity and critical thinking. There are numerous interviews being shared on YouTube of young students demonstrating at pro-Palestinian marches, where they shout “From the river to the sea.”

When questioned, most of them have no clue about the geography or history of the Middle East. They cannot name the river or the sea that they chant about. They are simply led by the antisemitic demagoguery that is being sponsored and spewed out by the American Muslims for Palestine, The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, OSF (George Soros), and Jews for Palestine to name but a few. They generally ignore the facts of what happened on October 7, and their activities are strategically organized and orchestrated across the globe.

I currently spend many hours mentoring and training people around the globe. Most of these folks are 40 years my junior. One of the most alarming aspects of dealing with some of these people is their arrogance born of ignorance. This was clear when footage of the campus protesters was released on social media. At Columbia University, masked students were approached. When asked by the media correspondents about their knowledge of what happened on October 7 and various other details about the lead-up to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Hamas, they refused to answer. You could see them looking to their fellow protesters, who were watching them like hawks.

“I’m afraid I can’t answer that.”

“Why not?’ the interviewer persisted.

“Because we are told not to answer any questions from journalists.”

“Who tells you not to answer?”

“Our organizers,” the young student answers sheepishly.

Later, it emerged that a very high proportion of protesters on US campuses were not students at all. Many of them are people in their 40s and 50s who come from pro-Palestinian activist organizations. They spend much of their time targeting gullible young people who are drawn to the bravado of counter-culture and feed into the narrative of the extreme Left. Many of them, like protest leader Johanna King Slutsky, do themselves no favors. Video footage of her on YouTube has gone viral. In her case, she was filmed saying that she wanted humanitarian aid of water and food to be brought to the protesters who were holed up in Hamilton Hall at Columbia:

“Well, uh, first of all, we’re saying that they should be obligated to provide food for students who pay for a meal plan here.” She then appeared to clarify that the protesters were just asking that the university allow food to be brought to them.

“Do you want students to die of dehydration and starvation or get severely ill, even if they disagree with you? If the answer is no, then you should allow basic – I mean, it’s crazy to say because we are on an Ivy League campus, but this is like basic humanitarian aid we’re asking for. Like, could people please have a glass of water,” she said with a straight face.

“We’re asking them to not violently stop us from bringing in basic humanitarian aid,” she said while wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh. Slutsky’s academic biography appears online. She writes about her PhD dissertation, which reads as follows:

“My dissertation is on fantasies of limitless energy in the transatlantic Romantic imagination from 1760-1860. My goal is to write a prehistory of metabolic rift, Marx’s term for the disruption of energy circuits caused by industrialization under capitalism. I am particularly interested in theories of the imagination and poetry as interpreted through a Marxian lens…”

One need read no further to gain an insight into the personal convictions of this young woman. She reflects the mindsets of a high proportion of her fellow students and activists. Current research reveals that from 2001 to 2021, US higher education institutions received $13 billion in funding from foreign sources, with Qatar contributing donations totaling $4.7 billion to universities in the United States.

More recent research exposes the unbelievable scale of Qatari funding to Cornell, with over $1.95 billion donated directly to the university from 2001 to 2023. Foreign Muslim funding of universities extends to Europe as well, with Cambridge and Oxford accepting donations for over three decades. The Said Foundation, which has been awarding scholarships to Arab students at UK universities for many more years, has also partnered with INSEAD, France’s most prestigious business school.

Radical Leftists, anarchists, LGBTQ, and Islamists make strange bedfellows in a world where a war is being waged to control the hearts and minds of the younger generation. What is more troubling is the fact that these young people are being groomed by demagogues and agitators to become the future leaders of what we once called Western civilization. It seems as if they are being quietly manipulated by the Islamists who are passionately committed to the establishment of a caliphate. With the uncontrolled massive migration of asylum seekers from Muslim countries to the West, they are rubbing their hands in glee as they see the world turn on Israel and the Jews. The big question is when will the free world wake up and realize what they are sleepwalking into?

As I write this, the EU elections have taken place, with a massive move to the Right for countries such as Austria, Belgium, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Hungary. Even in South Africa, the ruling ANC party lost its majority, winning only 40% of the vote. Important elections are due in the UK and the US. Despite these political shifts, there is still a sense of foreboding in the air concerning the future.

This is especially true among Jewish communities around world who worry how future leaders will stem the flow of radicalism, Islamism, and antisemitism. In the meantime, we in Israel continue the struggle to defend ourselves not only against the rockets, drones, and missiles but also against the libelous smears and slander that the mainstream media keep hurling at us, even when we heroically rescue our hostages from the jaws of hell. ■

Robert Hersowitz has established an international reputation as a management and management development consultant, designing and delivering programs and workshops to a wide variety of organizations in Europe, the US, the Middle East, and Africa.