Last Friday a group of Jewish faculty members at Columbia University and Barnard College wrote an op-ed for the student paper titled “Protecting our university from Trump’s cruel agenda means resisting his instrumentalization of antisemitism.” The phrase “instrumentalization of antisemitism” is their way of saying that allegations of anti-Semitism are being used by Trump and others to oppose pro-Palestinian protesters. The authors (there are 15 names listed) claim that the protesters have been unfairly labeled pro-Hamas.
An immediate threat arrived in the form of a White House executive order and “fact sheet” purporting to “combat antisemitism.” Framed by chilling rhetoric about “leftist, anti-American universities,” the order calls for deporting student visa holders accused of protesting Israel’s war in Gaza, characterizing them as…
