College campus protesters refuse to understand evil nature of antisemitism

Among the antisemitic chants that Jewish students have heard on college campuses is the following one: “Zionists/Jews, back to Poland!”

History tends to repeat itself.

In the aftermath of commemorating Yom Haatzmaut – Israel’s Independence Day year 76 – on May 13-14, we should remember what happened during the mass genocide of 6 million Jews and what the state of Israel means to the Jewish people and to the world.

The “Go Back to Poland” shouts by the protesting anti-Israel/pro-Hamas mobs on college campuses hit a very raw nerve with the Jewish people. In October 1938, Nazi Germany engaged in a policy of removing the nation's Jewish population to Poland. For the first time in modern human history, an entire people were marked for death no matter where or how they lived – and only because of their Jewish origins (including those who chose to become Jewish through conversion).

The Jewish people have not forgotten what happened just eight decades ago, and we are joined by our many friends who also remember the scourge of hatred toward Jews throughout history. In 1938, people dismissed what was going on in Nazi Germany as “an internal matter." They said that Jews had "brought this on themselves” and that the violence and rhetoric were isolated in nature.

That's why the recent incidents at our prized universities – where protesters have openly supported Hamas, its terrorism and its charter (which calls for the death of all Jews) – are reminders of the link between hate rhetoric and violent action.

Israel is fighting for its survival; it is fighting to live in a world where its citizens need to know that missiles, terror, rape and mass killing will no longer reign among its population. The lectures from the college campus protesters regarding Israel’s actions in Gaza are reminders of how much of the world failed to understand the power of evil during the 1930s.

In the aftermath of incidents which saw Jewish students and professors being physically and mentally abused, we should all be grateful that the U.S. House of Representatives, with Democratic and Republican support, passed legislation that will prevent such antisemitic activity from ever again seeing the light of day. Shame on those who voted against this much-needed legislation, and shame on those who have learned nothing from the horrors of the Shoah and the destruction caused by antisemitism throughout history.

Instead of cries to protect Hamas, the world should be screaming for Red Cross visits to the remaining Israeli hostages who were taken from their homes in barbaric fashion on Oct. 7, 2023. The world should also be screaming for a complete and unconditional Hamas surrender: The terror and savagery being carried out by Hamas and Hezbollah, under the direction of Iran, must end. Never again will the Jewish people, and all who remember along with us, tolerate calls for genocide against Jews.

The difference between May 2024 and 1938 Germany is that there is a vibrant and strong state of Israel to protect its people against a repeat of history. The people of Israel are united in preserving their Jewish state; they are thankful for the freedom Jews have in Israel, the United States and elsewhere where Jews live free from the fear of antisemitic savagery.

I was in Israel just a couple of weeks ago, standing at the ancient Kotel, where the Jewish people celebrated their holidays and brought their peace and thanksgiving offerings before God. When I saw those sacred stones, I remembered that the Jewish people have been in their holy city of Jerusalem – in their holy land, the land of Israel – longer than the English have been in England.

Memory is a huge part of what guides us during these difficult days; the memory of what Israel means to the Jewish people and the world in its struggle against evil – and the memory of the consequences of the Shoah that decimated our people.

The Jewish people have learned much from the past, and that is why we will never forget the phrase "Am Yisrael Chai," which means the following: "The people of Israel live forever.”

Rabbi Dr Stuart Altshuler leads Temple Beth Sholom in Sarasota.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: College campus protesters ignore history - and fuel antisemitism