In 2015, Mosaic took stock of the problem of anti-Semitism on college campuses, much of it tied to the anti-Israel agenda of the academic left. In the last five years, not much has improved, then-inchoate challenges have surfaced,and new dilemmas have emerged. The Tikvah Fund is convening a series of discussions to help Jewish parents, Jewish students, and Jewish educators think through Jewish life and learning on campus:

Is the American Jewish love affair with elite colleges coming to an end? Why have so many of American universities tolerated anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, and how should embattled college students respond? Does university culture strengthen or undermine Jewish identity and Jewish faith? Now, with the COVID-19 crisis in full-force, the American model of higher education may be facing its greatest disruption in a generation: the dorms have closed, the classrooms have moved to computer screens, and many students and families are wondering: what does this all mean? And could this be a moment when Jews—and all Americans—rethink and renew the higher learning in America?

Tikvah is pleased to announce a multi-part “townhall series” on the future of college assessed, analyzed, and debated from a Jewish perspective. We will be joined by some of America’s leading educators and experts—such as Jonathan Haidt, Alyza Lewin, and Ruth Wisse.

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.