Isaac de Castro, the cofounder of a group that monitors anti-Semitic incidents at American universities, reports on some recent cases:

At Columbia University, Jewish students were spat on and called murderers on their way to class, and professors have told their students anti-Semitism is no longer an issue [of concern]. At Cornell, a student assembly member was threatened . . . if he did not vote for BDS (boycotting, divesting from, and sanctioning Israel). At the University of Southern California, the student-body vice-president resigned from her position after being the victim of bullying and harassment for [identifying] as a Zionist. At Tufts, a student-judiciary member was silenced when discussing an unquestionably anti-Semitic referendum because his Jewish identity allegedly made him biased.

But what starts at universities refuses to stay there:

California’s ethnic-studies model curriculum . . . was unanimously passed by the state Board of Education. The lesson plans aim to teach children a racial hierarchy, in which Jews are the only group described with the word “privilege.” In previous version, Jews were not even mentioned. Capitalism was cited as a form of oppression along with racism and Islamophobia; anti-Semitism was not. Students who have been exposed to, and conditioned by, these illiberal tenets in college are entering the workforce and [are now themselves in a position] to reach the vulnerable minds of young kids to create a tightly knit cycle of indoctrination.

An Instagram post by the U.S. Palestinian Community Network commenting on the lukewarm changes made in the curriculum [thanks to the work of] Jewish advocacy groups reads, “Zionists have no place in the classroom!”

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.