<p>There is a recent article in the Wall Street Journal about this. I don’t have a child applying to Vassar but I would want to know more about this as well if I did. </p>
<p>My son is a Sophomore at Vassar and has felt a little uncomfortable with the Anti-Israeli activities and comments. He wrote a response to the WSJ which is in today’s paper. He feels that the Anit-Israel rhetoric is hostile misinformed and even permeates some of his classes. He had an incredible experience in Israel over winter break and does not feel comfortable discussing it on campus. However, this is not something that is specific to Vassar, it exists in many colleges and universities.The topic of Israel, the government, the myths and their realities is complex and nuanced. But do not pretend that you are having a balanced debate when one side is labeling the other incorrectly and with inflammatory language. Israel is surrounded by enemies; enemies who have one common mission; to destroy Israel. That is the reality. This is not something that many of the kids at Vassar understand from first hand experience. One does not have to agree with all Israeli policies to support their existence. And Hillel should NOT HAVE to give voice to the anti-Semites anymore than the women’s coalition should have to hear from rapists and sexists. But if they choose to open it up and it is the decision of the majority of the members so be it. </p>
<p>There is so much to love about Vassar for so many reasons. But this situation has upset me deeply as a Jew, as the mother of a student and as a Liberal. I told my son that something good was going to come out of this and it was going to make him stronger and help him to craft his arguments more carefully., Lets all try and learn from it and use the passion consturctively. That is what college shoudl be about: healthy debate not labelign the “other”</p>
<p>
I was quoting BDS’ aims to show that it isn’t a hate group. I wasn’t trying to comment on the objectives any farther then that. Sorry for the misunderstanding.</p>
<p>I’ve yet to understand why this is seen as being anti-Semitic or hateful… Why is boycotting Israel being equated with anti-Semites?</p>
<p>Bravo to twoboys2’s son. Please update this thread from time-to-time.</p>
<p>How big a deal was “apartheid week”? On the fringe? campus-wide?</p>
<p>stressedoutt, no political debate here that will lead to someone shutting down this thread shut down. </p>
<p>On that note, I will merely answer you by stating that the pro-Israel Jews are recognizing that the BDS movement wants Israel dead and a Muslim state to replace it. That’s the meaning of the proposed “one-state solution”. It is anti-Semitic to wish for the demise of the only Jewish country on earth. Big difference between criticism and demise.</p>
<p>My son committed to attending vassar next fall. Is this “hillel” the only jewish group at the school?</p>
<p>No other Jewish group is listed on the website.</p>
<p>Momlax: I’ve been doing some investigating. Chabad on Fulton is near campus. Might be worth investigating.</p>
<p>stressedoutt, I’m enjoying your posts. My son is at Vassar. He is a cultural Jew, non-religious, as was I when I attended Vassar. We are not Zionists. It’s important to recognize the difference. A liberal arts college like Vassar (and like Swarthmore, the first school who changed their Hillel chapter to allow free speech, including anti-Zionist speech) is going to tend toward opinions such as anti-genocide – genocide, for example, of the Palestinian people by Israel. Some people really feel that this is going on. You would not expect to receive no questioning remarks about your lovely trip to Johannesburg during apartheid, and you should not expect to talk about the great time you had in Israel when conditions there in Gaza and the occupied territories are what they are. </p>
<p>I was appalled by that Wall Street Journal article. Her calling discussion of concepts such as “colonialism” as using “buzz words”. What’s a buzzword, a word that doesn’t correlate with your own beliefs? Zionism isn’t a buzz word? I thought the article was highly insulting to people who actually care about these very difficult world problems. I understand that undergraduates can get strident about these discussions, but then people who see themselves as the underdog or siding with the underdog tend to be loud – they understand that their voices are their strongest resource. However I have not heard that <em>anyone</em> is in danger on the Vassar campus and there are plenty of Jews there, students and faculty, who seem to be having a fine experience.</p>
<p>We’ve already decided that my daughter will not be going to Vassar. I know Israel isn’t perfect, but Israel is a heck of a lot better than any other country in the world would be if hostile neighbors had tried for decades to push its people into the sea. Israel would not be in possession of the West Bank if the Arabs had not tried to destroy the country in multiple wars. I guess DMelanogaster did not learn history at Vassar. Most Israelis want to vacate the West Bank. The problem is the fear that the West Bank would turn into another Gaza with daily rounds of rockets aimed at Tel Aviv if the Israelis left. Read this article a friend sent to me and weep. Mondoweiss is a pro-BDS website that spouts anti-Semitic propaganda. Even the author was a little surprised by the bigotry against Jewish students at Vassar he witnessed at a meeting. I will support an open Hillel movement when Muslim groups agree to host Zionists for the purpose of an “exchange of ideas”. Ha, ha, ha. The Vassar prof who invited this reporter to attend a meeting on campus bit off more than she could chew, and the Vassar spokesperson who allowed this reporter to stay at the meeting should loose his/her job: <a href=“Ululating at Vassar: the Israel/Palestine conflict comes to America – Mondoweiss”>http://mondoweiss.net/2014/03/ululating-israelpalestine-conflict.html</a> </p>
<p>“I guess DMelanogaster did not learn history at Vassar.”</p>
<p>Ugh. I’m out. Good luck to your daughter.</p>
<p>Read the recent attached letter (open link) by 39 Vassar professors supporting the Boycott of Israel by the ASA. This was a response to Vassar’s President Hill opposing the ASA position. Note the use of buzzwords (such as oppression, systematic maintenance of illegal occupation domination and dispossession of Palestinians, apartheid, BDS, human rights abuses), in the letter by these people who will be educating your children and then decide for yourselves if Vassar is the right place for them. Make up your own mind whether they will be comfortable their and receive a balanced liberal arts education.</p>
<p><a href=“Open letter in defense of academic freedom in Palestine/Israel and in the United States – The Miscellany News”>The Miscellany News;