Demeaning, diminishing, destroying

In the case of African Americans, it was slavery and the Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court in 1857 that upheld that evil practice, justifying it by claiming Blacks were not citizens of the United States. An earlier "compromise" in 1787 declared that for purposes of representation in Congress, enslaved Blacks in a state would be counted as three-fifths of the number of white inhabitants of that state. Jim Crow laws enacted by Southern Democrats went further by preventing most Blacks from voting.

In modern times, the unborn have been denied their right to live through abortion and the claim by some that fetuses are not fully human, thus justifying the procedure.

Which brings me to the current demonstrations against Israel and Jews on many college camp uses.

The language hurled against Jews is often similar to words used by the Nazis in the 1930s. The purpose was to diminish their value among the German people so that killing them would be tolerable, or at least ignored.

In 2022, Stanford University, the University of California and Tel Aviv University published a study of how words were used by the Nazis as tools to accomplish their evil goals.

The dehumanizing process included words such as "rats, lice, cockroaches, foxes, and vultures." These words were used in speeches, articles, pamphlets and posters, noted the researchers. All were designed to rob Jews of their humanity. In fact, the vile rhetoric preceded the Nazi's rise to power and fueled their eventual political triumph. Jews were represented as incapable of human feeling. European Jews were smeared as agents of evil, and demons. The objective was to overcome the moral barriers established largely by Christian theology and allow for their mass extermination.

Compare that with the language on posters, signs and in the mouths of some of today's college demonstrators. Israel and the Jewish people, the victims of mass murder and kidnappings on Oct. 7 and in the Holocaust, are now blamed for committing "genocide" by trying to root out Hamas terrorists who have vowed to do it over and over again until Israel is destroyed. Talk about your double standard!

Two of many examples compiled by the Anti-Defamation League show what modern Jews and Israel are up against: " At the University of Michigan, where students began their encampment on April 22, protesters hung a banner next to their tents that read "LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA." Intifada is a reference to two historical periods in the late 1980s and early 2000s during which Palestinian terrorists committed indiscriminate acts of violence against Israelis, including suicide bombings, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,000 people.

"At Columbia on April 20, protesters held signs that included such messages as ‘Fight for worldwide Intifada' and chanted familiar slogans like ‘Globalize the Intifada' and ‘There is only one solution; Intifada, revolution.' "

Read the entire report at https://www.adl.org/resources/blog/campus-antisemitism-surges-amid-encampments-and-related-protests-columbia-and-other.

University presidents have encouraged these outrages by largely surrendering to the mob. Columbia has begun suspending some students, but where are the academics denouncing this language and behavior? President Biden condemns the "antisemitic protests" and "those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians", but is his lukewarm response an attempt at not offending Muslim voters in the key state of Michigan? How cynical. While giving lip service to his "support" of Israel, Biden orders Secretary of State Antony Blinken to pressure Israel into a ceasefire in Gaza. But wouldn't that just allow Hamas to regroup and engage in more murderous acts?

The Jewish people have a slogan "Never Again" in reference to the Holocaust. With the incendiary language and threatening behavior rolling across many college campuses, we may be approaching "again."

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Cal Thomas, America's most-syndicated columnist, is the author of 10 books.