…it’s easy to confuse genuine criticism of Israeli policy for anti-Semitism. We are blessed that the State of Israel is a world power. Such international actors are regularly criticized. Indeed, such criticism helps to keep the world from falling into a worse place than it is. Some are focused on what they see as the unfair standards by which Israel judged. There is surely something to this. But the same can be said of criticism of the United States. While anti-Semitism may get into the mix, there is surely more here than simple prejudice.
When one turns to the situation on campus, one similarly wants to be alert to anti-Semitism without confusing it with legitimate differences of perspective. Part of what we – I – feel about Israel is something like family-feeling. And others belong to other families. As mentioned, there are, from time to time, campus incidents that cry out for our attention. At the same time, we need to question the reports we read, especially when authored by those with strong commitments on the issue in question.
Howard Wettstein, “Being Jewish On Campus”, Conversations, Issue 24 (Winter 2016/5776), 126.