#US / It was never really about antisemitism, was it?
Harvard Divinity School (HDS) has appointed Rabbi Shaul Magid, a self-described "counter-Zionist," as a Professor of Modern Jewish Studies in Residence to combat "anti-Israeli bias". #Harvard's anti-Semitism task force found that "politicized instruction" was creating an environment where #Jewish students couldn't fully participate in academic life.
Magid acknowledged rising anti-Jewish sentiment but defended the anti-Israel protest movement. He called the Jewish state “illiberal” and “chauvinist.” In his 2023 book, *The Necessity of Exile*, he presented Zionism as a historical ideology that served its purpose but should be abandoned with other ethnic nationalism and colonial thinking. He positioned his opposition as part of a broader critique of exclusionary nationalist ideologies, not as antisemitic. He argued that #Zionism had its time and work, and it can be set aside, along with Manifest Destiny, #colonialism, and other chauvinistic ideologies. He advocates for a one-state solution where Israel would be both Jewish and Palestinian without being structured on the notion that this land belongs to anyone.
Hiring a Jewish scholar and rabbi to address campus antisemitism seems to be a perfect choice. Yet Rabbi David Wolpe, a former Harvard anti-Semitism advisory group member, believes Magid’s hiring doesn’t solve Harvard’s issues with Jewish students. The criticism of Harvard, now due to Magid’s “counter-Zionist” views, suggests the real objection was to perspectives that challenge Israel’s policies or Zionist ideology.
In fact Wolpe’s criticism that Magid’s views don’t “represent anything like the mainstream view of the American Jewish community” further supports this interpretation - the issue appears to be ideological conformity on #Israel rather than protection from #antisemitism. But did anyone really doubt it was about anything else?
freebeacon.com/campus/harvard-…
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Harvard Hires ‘Counter-Zionist’ Professor in Effort To Fight ‘Anti-Israeli Bias’ in Classrooms Harvard Taps 'Counter-Zionist Professor' to Fight "Anti-Israeli Bias'
Shaul Magid, who has called the Jewish state “illiberal” and “chauvinist,” will be Harvard's inaugural Professor of Modern Jewish Studies in Residence.Alana Goodman (Washington Free Beacon)
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