I hope and pray that the overwhelming majority of my fellow Americans are as outraged and shocked as I am by the far too numerous episodes of Jewish students being harassed, threatened, and ostracized on far too many American college campuses since Oct. 7.
Frankly, if I had not seen the film footage with my own eyes, I would not have believed such heinous actions could take place on American university campuses and it seems disproportionately on our most prestigious campuses (Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Cornell, Tulane, etc.).
And even if I could have envisioned such blatant assaults on the First Amendment, I could never have imagined the deafening silence, or worse yet, the positive approval and excitement that such behavior has generated in many quarters.
When I read of students being physically injured, segregated and ostracized in class by professors, and physically impeded in walking across campus by a mob, I was incredulous.
As I watched these events transpire, I found my mind flashing back to images from my youth. I was 16 years old when James Meredith enrolled at the University of Mississippi and the federal government employed U.S. Marshalls and federalized National Guardsmen to guarantee his safety and his ability to exercise his right to “pursue happiness” at the university of his choice.
Other images followed closely. The National Guard under President Eisenhower enforced the court order desegregating Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957 and then Governor Wallace unsuccessfully stood in the way of integrating the University of Alabama in 1963.
Our nation was committed to protecting African American citizens’ right to study and learn where they wanted to without fear for their safety and peace of mind.
Now we have Jewish students being subjected to verbal and physical abuse. Our nation would not tolerate it being directed at black, Hispanic, Asian, or Islamic students. And yet, too many condoned and applauded such abuse when directed at Jews.
There are many causes for this resurgent and rabid antisemitism on our university campuses. The Islamic world has invested tens of billions of petrodollars in American universities over the last 30 years and too many university boards and administrations have prostituted themselves to the pro-Palestinian propaganda line. The victims have been more than a generation of unsuspecting students who have been “brainwashed” by such Islamist propaganda.
So, what do we do? I believe we have a responsibility to express and demonstrate our solidarity with our Jewish fellow countrymen.
In a very moving New York Times column titled “For America’s Jews, Every Day Must Be Oct. 8,” Bret Stevens explains:
“What was Oct. 8? It wasn’t just the day after the single greatest atrocity against Jews since the Holocaust. … It was the day when that atrocity was celebrated. Not just in places like Tehran, but also on the streets of Manhattan and on too many college campuses. And it was the day in which, instead of being universally denounced by institutional leaders, we began to see it often ignored or addressed in belated and carefully parsed statements of regret.”
Essentially, Stevens was counseling American Jews to understand that when “the chips are down” America’s Jews are basically on their own. I do not believe that is true. Now is the time to demonstrate that Bret Stevens is wrong.
I want to challenge Evangelicals to prove Mr. Stevens wrong by expressing our solidarity with our Jewish neighbors in tangible ways. I have previously expressed my plan to wear an Israeli American flag pen and to encourage as many of my friends as possible to do so as well.
We must do much more. I want to challenge Christian groups on college campuses and campus ministers to organize a concerted effort to accompany their fellow Jewish students to class and by their presence help protect Jewish students from harassment and abuse. Multitudes of Christians across America should make it clear that to get to our Jewish citizens you will have to come through us first.
Can people practice their First Amendment rights by expressing their support for the Palestinian cause? Yes. However, the right to support the Palestinian cause ends where the Jewish students’ rights to attend class and go about their lives on campus without fear or harassment begins.
As John Donne reminded us in the 17th century:
“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; …. any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.”
On my last visit to the U.S. Holocaust Museum, I observed a quote I have read numerous times from the German Lutheran pastor and theologian Martin Niemöllee:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Make no mistake about it. Expressing solidarity with American Jews is of paramount importance to everyone who believes in the American experiment in human rights and democracy. If we allow the Jews to be marginalized and intimidated, the freedoms of every American are diminished. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Let us all do the right thing and express our solidarity with our Jewish countrymen physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Dr. Richard Land, BA (Princeton, magna cum laude); D.Phil. (Oxford); Th.M (New Orleans Seminary). Dr. Land served as President of Southern Evangelical Seminary from July 2013 until July 2021. Upon his retirement, he was honored as President Emeritus and he continues to serve as an Adjunct Professor of Theology & Ethics. Dr. Land previously served as President of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (1988-2013) where he was also honored as President Emeritus upon his retirement. Dr. Land has also served as an Executive Editor and columnist for The Christian Post since 2011.
Dr. Land explores many timely and critical topics in his daily radio feature, “Bringing Every Thought Captive,” and in his weekly column for CP.
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