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" If you bless Israel, I will bless you. If you curse Israel , I will curse you." Do you want for Columbia univesity to be cursed by the god of the Bible ?
- No, definitely not.
a conversation from the Hearing conducted by Rick Allen in Congress against Nahmat Shafiq, the president of Columbia University.
Brief History
Since October 7, 2023, European and American countries have witnessed widespread protests centered around the war in Palestine. These protests supported at times the Zionist side and at others supported the Palestinians. However following the recent crimes of the Zionist entity and the Palestinian media victory, and with the Zionist's stance on various military, political, legal, and economic violant fronts, and most notably today the media front , the dust has been blown off the history of the Palestinian cause before the educated in non-Arab countries. The past has become linked with the present before their eyes, and the Zionist entity's killings, rapes, colonization, and brutality are no longer ambiguous or strange. The humantarian result of this is their rise in political, economic, and social fronts against the Zionist's crimes.
And as a continuation of the economic, political, and cultural boycott, universities students have joined protests within their campuses. Student protests in the past few months have taken a completely different form, as they have become entirely supportive of the Palestinian side, changing their discourse from a general rejection of wars to a humanitarian discourse rejecting colonialist exploitation and racist ideology. The addressed party has changed from Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East and an extension of civilized Europe in the heart of the Arab uncivilized region, to their own governments and universities, demanding the application of the humanitarian slogans and the withdrawal of their cooperations and investments in occupied Palestine(1). This led to students being accused of the ready-made Zionist charges, which we will address later.
Several university presidents were summoned to the Pentagon to be questioned about their stance, which was to remain silent towards the protests that had become supportive of Palestine, which has been labeled as " the increase of anti-Semitism." Among these university presidents were those of Harvard, Pennsylvania, Columbia, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They took a moderate stance, which became apparent upon closer inspection that it`s primary goal was to minimize losses. They submitted their resignations under the political pressure, but they also did not stand against their students, unlike what Nahmat Shafiq ( Minouche Shafiq ), the president of Columbia did. She pledged in a hearing session on April 17, 2024, to personally stand for anti-Semitism. On the same day, the New York Police were called by her to disperse the protests and arrest more than 100 students. As a result, the protests not only increased but also turned into widespread students protest . that spread to several universities across the United States and Canada.(2)
Why the protesting
The state, as a legal term, is a collection of institutions that distribute among themselves the necessary competencies to manage the affairs of the people comprising the state, and to protect their interests and well-being. And I should add that well-being includes both mental and physical prosperity. These interests and well-being, their forms and manifestations, change over time with changing circumstances,and the evolving perspectives, and a deeper understanding of human nature, needs, and desires. These in general and more, constitute the philosophy that the state chooses to follow in its domestic and foreign policies.
The political system, in this context, is the tool through which the state applies its philosophy. It is the governing body that oversees its legislative and executive application. And as the philosophy of the state changes, as we have established, it is natural that a single ruling class cannot keep pace with this evolution, especially since it is not a stable development in most cases. Democratic systems, theoretically, are the easiest systems that allow for the change of the ruling class, making them the ideal systems for performing the state's function and achieving its people's goals. So, the ruling class changes, both legislatively and executively, with the changing needs of the people and the requirements of achieving their well-being. Thus, the relationship between the people and the state is a representative one, as a democratic state is one in which its ruler reflects the people in their desires, hopes, principles, and ethics.
Through the above, we have formed a familiar analytical model, which is the concept of a democratic state that we can use to understand current events in the United States by applying it to them.
Student protests are always a familiar scene , as university students are the educated class that is still fully engaged with public events. Additionally, protesters feel directly involved in the occupation crimes through the aid provided by the United States from its own treasury, which heavily relies on taxpayers' money. Since 1946 until 2023, this aid amounted to approximately 300 billion dollars, adjusted for inflation(3), with an additional 4 billion in since March 2024(4). Even more American universities have various investments that enable them to expand their institutional income, relying on grants from students and investors, which reached around 500 billion dollars in February(5). These investments mainly include the arms industry, technological development, and artificial intelligence, which significantly benefit Israel. All of this occurs while the American middle class economy declines, as evidenced by the inability to own property and the rise in consumer goods prices without real economic justifications.
The United States, especially, has witnessed many ongoing protests over the past months against the American policy that unconditionally supports the occupation crimes. These protests have exerted pressure and led to the revelation of the reference point of American policy. Initially, it was believed that the United States' embrace of the criminal Zionist policy had American geopolitical and security dimensions, which was objected to even then , even if the objection was not widespread.
However, the continuation of Zionist aggression and the movement of international community members from a neutral or supportive position regarding the Zionist entity to the Palestinian side or neutrality, and the United States' use of four veto powers during this war, all of which were against the Palestinians(6), with the latest being the prevention of Palestinian state membership in the United Nations, while the United States did not reap any tangible security or economic benefits. In addition , this constitutes a violation of the United Nations' primary mission, especially regarding the Security Council, which is to maintain international peace and security , through granting immunity to the largest violator in the international community. The disturbing frequency of the Zionist violations since the establishment of the entity is a clear failure of this mission.
All of this raises questions about the reference of American foreign policy. Does the United States act with its international counterparts based on its interests or the Israeli interests?
Domestically , the elected government, through fair elections, is aggressively suppressing its voters if they oppose the policy supporting Israel. police forces, under the pretext of maintaining security, clashes with protesters who did not pose a security threat, with their claim being the protection of Jewish citizens. Despite the participation of Jewish students and citizens in the protests against the Zionist entity , these forces also worked to protect Zionist gatherings, which, despite their small number and attendees, were nothing but hateful, racist, and hateful speech.
On the other hand, marches by the Neo-Nazis have been organized since 2023 mainly in Florida and other states(7). The neo-Nazi movement is a advocates white supremacy. It explicitly rejects any softer speech and is openly hostile to other races. It rejects the membership of women. These marches, like those of the KKK organization, do not face any objections, arrests, or even noise fines, despite their violation of the most important principles of the American moral system. This is the democracy in its finest form.
Meanwhile, Congress, in addition to states lawmakers, is rushing to enact laws to deal with ( anti-Semitism) , adopting the definition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance ( IHRA ) as outlined in the legislation titled - H.R. 6090, the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 -. This legislation constitutes a blatant violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects freedom of speech. However, it is clear that the American legislator hopes , even if only temporarily, to legalize the violent dispersal of protests .
We will address the definition of anti-Semitism later. Here, it is important to note the Israeli government's statement regarding the IHRA organization, which it proudly published on its official website: "The Holocaust and its legacy constitute a formative dimension of Israel's national memory and its identity as a Jewish and democratic state. This is reflected in Israel's extensive participation in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance commemorating the Holocaust and its unique contribution to the organization's mission and goals."(8).
The important thing is to carefully examine and compare the executive and legislative measures, their goals, and references. In facing extremist hostile groups with an actual criminal history and protests calling for freedom, civilian protection, and refusal to participate in crimes committed against them.
Through reviewing these events, we see that the democratic model does not apply to the current situation. While the relationship between the government in a democratic system and the people is one of representation, we see that the relationship between the American government and its citizens is not. Today, it is a relationship of confrontation and contradiction. The government sees itself as responsible for the citizens and as possessing the expertise and the correct opinion, and therefore, it does not represent the citizens but governs them because it is better able to determine and protect their rights. This is evident in the statements of Republican lawmakers defending the legislation mentioned, saying, "The bill is necessary to protect Jewish students and provide clarity to the agencies enforcing the law," and the statement of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Michael Burgess, "Now more than ever, it is important for the federal government's definition of anti-Semitism to be clear and uniform."(9). But what about the Jewish students participating in the protests? Will the law protect them?
The reason why the democratic model cannot be achieved despite the high integrity of the American elections and the distribution of powers based on experience through American governmental history is that the familiar democratic model we presented is based on an assumed foundation, which is fair competition between candidates with different views and priorities. Yes, there are no significant problems in voting or vote collection, but who will the American citizen vote for? Will they vote for the Republican candidate who believes that Palestinians should be killed with merciful means, or will they vote for the Democratic candidate who believes that they should be killed with cluster bombs so they don't suffer much? Thus, there is no real representation of the voters' desires in Congress, and the reason is the dominance of foreign pressure groups (lobbies) seeking to serve the interests of foreign countries over the United States by supporting candidates who support the policies of those countries in the election race, regardless of whether they are from the Democratic or Republican Party, it is preferred that they be from both. One of the most important of these groups is the Israeli groups, with AIPAC being the strongest.
The organization describes itself on its official website as follows: "We stand with those who stand with Israel. AIPAC is a bipartisan pro-Israel lobby. It is the largest pro-Israel lobby in America and has directly contributed resources to candidates more than any other lobby. 98% of AIPAC-supported candidates won in the 2022 general elections." In another section of the website, the organization states the amounts it spent on its political mission: "We supported 365 Democratic and Republican pro-Israel candidates in 2022 with more than $17 million in direct support through AIPAC."(10).
We reiterate that AIPAC is not the only organization, but it is the strongest. Therefore, we can imagine the extent of Zionist influence on American foreign and domestic policy.
Thus, to interpret American policy and predict its actions, we must adopt another model. In this regard, I quote from Dr. Hamid Hanoun Khaled in his book "Political Systems" at the end of his presentation of the characteristics of the dictatorial system: "It does not allow for the multiplicity of parties, there is olny one party that is linked to the dictator and expresses his ideas and plans. These parties are mostly based on absolute faith in the leader and bias towards everything he says. They turn into propaganda tools that promote the leader's arguments and statements, and then implement them. With the reminder that differences of opinion and internal opposition are not allowed within the party. Party members must carry out the orders and directives issued to them by the party leader."
The multiplicity of parties is the multiplicity of programs, goals, and political visions. Therefore, the multiplicity of political groups, as long as they share goals and visions, is not a real multiplicity, but rather a superficial one.And the political leader is not necessarily the government leader, and he is also not necessarily an individual leader.
The current American system, for a considerable time, does not constitute a purely democratic government as we have established, and it is not a purely dictatorial government either. It does not possess the characteristics of dictatorial systems, although the result it has reached is one. Which is the transformation of the relationship between the government and the people from a relationship of representation to one of contradiction and confrontation, and it will reach oppression and control after completing the legislative procedures. Thus, we are faced with a complex situation, a government based on principles designed for democratic systems, but these principles have been distorted and restricted in order to achieve the dominance of a single opinion, and thus these principles have deviated from their goal. This situation is not entirely new; it is the method followed by the strongest countries to control weaker countries. This government is also not an authoritarian government because the latter uses its centralized power to achieve its own goals. And not a foreign goals. Based on this, I see that the government that is formed according to this system can be summarized under the name of "dictatorship of the foreign ."
Anti-Semitism and Semitism
One of the most important tools used by the American government to implement Israeli policy is the concept of anti-Semitism because it is indeed a good approach for those who want to direct a society that has racism as one of its main problems and continue to fight against it.
Semitism is a racial classification given to people descended from the lineage of Shem, the son of the prophet Noah. Historians enumerate these as Arabs, Assyrians, Hebrews, and Armanes (11).
As for anti-Semitism, it is the hatred based on racist notions directed towards the descendants of Shem, and on this basis, anti-Semitism should include hatred against Arabs, Assyrians, Arameans, and Hebrews. However, what is interesting is the restriction of this concept to the hatred of Jews. Hatred of any of the descendants of Shem is not classified as anti-Semitism.
This is evident in the definition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance which states that "anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred of Jews." The truth is that the correct term is to paint hatred of Jews with anti-Semitism. Judaism is a religion, and Semitism is a race, and the difference between them is very wide. The Jews are not the Hebrews. The Hebrews are the original descendents of Israel who believed in the prophet Moses in Egypt and who mixed with the peoples of the world, and some of them renounced Judaism and believed in other religions . In any case, religion should not be confused with race . For the contradictions of the nature of the two concepts(12). The attempt to mix them is deliberate and ancient, and through it, the Zionists claim that they are the Semitic Jewish race. They are the only children of Israel and no one else, and therefore, they create a simple and superficial interpretation of the dispersion of the Jewish factions around the world. It is certainly the racism of the ancient world that no one escaped. If you criticize a Jew, even if he did not pray or light a candle in his life, you are certainly a racist living in the ancient world.
The importance of making a deliberate causation for the Jewish dispersion is to explain the contradictions that arise from turning Judaism into a race regardless of its reality. And this causation does not succeed at all in its goal, and we must ask if a Jew in four thousand years wanted to marry a non-Jew? What if one of them wanted to change his religion? Will he remain a Jew? Or will his race be Jewish and his religion be Christian, for example?
Zionist literature has long glorified the myth of the Jews and the non-Jews, for the Jews are the oppressed weak, the brave heroes, the rejected ones crowded on themselves. As for the non-Jews, they are Nebuchadnezzar, the Pope, the Catholic king,and Hitler.
This myth is an essential element in the Zionist portrayal of Israel as the only heaven and earthly paradise for the Jews. Therefore, any attempt to integrate or accept Jews in any society is a direct attack on Zionism. And how indicating it is on this notion is the beginning of the Israeli statement "The Holocaust and its legacy constitute a formative dimension of Israel's national memory and its identity as a Jewish and democratic state…”
The truth is that anti-Semitism is an accusation that has been employed in the modern era, where the war against racism has expanded, as a weapon in a racist hand. It used to divert the discussion attacking the terrorist colonial settler ideology into a whirlpool of self-defense, distracting it from colonialism, settlement, and terrorism. It's a crime without criminal act , as standing against aggression, killing, incitement, and racism is not a crime but a virtue.
The outcome I expect in the future is the abandonment of the Jewish element in the Zionist discourse. Zionism will become synonymous with Semitism, and afterwards , complete abandonment of the accusation of anti-Semitism in favor of a new accusation aligned with the new human rights movements. However, this depends on the success of the disappearance of condemnation of racism in current human rights movements, which is indeed the tone of Zionist discourse in Middle Eastern, African, and Asian societies where racism is not a significant problem, making it not a central axis in local human rights movements.
2. Summary of a hearing in the US House of Representatives.
3. Article published on the website of the US Council on Foreign Relations.
4. Article published on the website of Aipac.
5. Study published by the American National Association of Business College and University Employees.
6. Reports indicate that the United States first used a veto in 1970 and that it has reached 84 votes to date, with more than half of them to prevent the condemnation of Israel by the Security Council.
8. Israel page on the IHRA's website.
9. Comments from members of Congress in Politico nes website.
10. Aipac website.
11. Said Awad Bawazir, Landmarks in the History of the Arabian Peninsula, Second Edition 1966. Page 23.
12. For more detailed analysis on this concept check our article from the beginning of the war on Gaza
