Green Party’s presidential candidate in the US, Jill Stein, has stated that legitimate criticism of Israel is often incorrectly deemed as anti-Semitism.
Stein was briefly detained at a student-led protest at Washington University in Missouri.
Her remarks came after an American news agency reported that nearly 900 people have been arrested on US campuses since April 18, 2024, when New York police forcefully removed a pro-Palestinian protest camp at Columbia University.
Since then, students at dozens of universities have set up encampments, calling for an end to the war and for their universities to cut ties with companies selling weapons to Israel.
The demonstrators also want an end to US military aid to Israel.
On Saturday, April 27, 2024, alone, about 275 people were arrested from protests at Northeastern University in Boston, Arizona State University in Phoenix, Indiana University at Bloomington, and Washington University in St Louis.
On Sunday, April 28, 2024, students pitched a new encampment on Yale University’s campus in the northeastern state of Connecticut, a week after Yale police broke up a protest camp at the university and arrested 44 students for trespassing.
An encampment calling for an end to Israel’s war on Gaza was also established over the weekend at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), where there have been days of protests.
Speaking with a news agency, Stein, who is Jewish, stressed, “Zionism is not Judaism.”
She noted that Zionism has been “controversial within the Jewish community.”
“In fact since its origins in the 1800s, and that controversy continues today. And the consequences of Zionism is that Jews came in as refugees and said, ‘This land is ours, and we are ethnically cleansing this land.’ And that’s not OK,” Stein averred.
Stein said that the current crisis did not start with the Hamas attacks in southern Israel.
“October 7 was just the latest phase of violence that has been mostly perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinians, starting from the Nakba, some 75 years ago. And unfortunately, Jews – and I know myself because I was raised as part of this – have been taught a certain version of history which is not quite accurate.
“As more and more historical documents come to light, it’s very clear there has been an outrageous tradition of violence against Palestinians from the get-go.”
Jill Stein
She added, “So Zionism is something that needs to be debated and being anti-Zionist is not the same as being anti-Semitic.”
Faculty members at several universities have expressed their supports for students, including at universities in California, Georgia and Texas, where they adopted votes of no confidence in their leadership.
Pro-Palestinian Protests Not A Threat To Jewish Students
Meanwhile, students from universities in Australia have joined their global peers in organising on-campus protests for Palestine.
The Australian Jewish Council has rejected claims that pro-Palestinian student protests in the country are a “threat” to Jewish students and staff.
“Attempting to silence or censor these protests by deceitfully accusing them of antisemitism is a dangerous overreach that if acted upon, risks stifling free speech on campuses. Universities must be places where diverse perspectives can be voiced and debated openly,” the Council said in a statement.
Dr Elizabeth Strakosch, Executive Officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, also said, “We should be proud of all of the students, many of whom are Jewish, who are speaking out against this unfolding genocide.”
“The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental democratic freedom that universities should uphold and defend. The student protests against the unfolding genocide in Gaza are legitimate expressions of political speech and human rights advocacy.”
Dr Elizabeth Strakosch
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