PM Netanyahu: ‘Antisemitic mobs’ on US campuses are reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the surge of anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiments spreading across American universities and college campuses. In a video statement on Wednesday, Netanyahu condemned the rallies led by “antisemitic mobs” and urged administrators to stop them.  

"What’s happening in America’s college campuses is horrific. Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities. They call for the annihilation of Israel. They attack Jewish students. They attack Jewish faculty. This is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s. It’s unconscionable. It has to be stopped. It has to be condemned and condemned unequivocally. But that’s not what happened. The response of several university presidents was shameful,” Netanyahu argued. 

He noted that “fortunately, state, local, federal officials, many of them have responded differently but there has to be more. More has to be done. It has to be done not only because they attack Israel, that’s bad enough, not only because they want to kill Jews wherever they are, that’s bad enough; it’s also when you listen to them, it’s also because they say not only, ‘Death to Israel. Death to the Jews,’ but ‘death to America.’ And this tells us that there is an antisemitic surge here that has terrible consequences.” 

Nazis stop Jewish students from entering university.

Just thought a 1938/2024 side-by-side was in order. pic.twitter.com/W8qrTvRZAM

— dahlia kurtz ✡︎ דליה קורץ (@DahliaKurtz) April 21, 2024

From Massachusetts to California and New York, students have erected tent encampments and held a series of rallies over the past several weeks on various campuses. The mayhem at Columbia University in New York City has grabbed the attention of local and international media after Jewish students and faculty members reported antisemitic incidents. Last week, the university’s Orthodox rabbi urged 290 Jewish students to leave the premises and not return until it is safe to do so. 

This recommendation came after Columbia University president, Dr. Nemat Minouche Shafik, was grilled in Congress for not firing a professor who publicly praised the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists, instead calling it “awesome.” 

U.S. President Joe Biden slammed the recent “violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students” in a statement released before the Passover holiday.

While some media outlets referred to the protests as “pro-Palestinian,” others labeled them “anti-Israel” or even “pro-Hamas” rallies. In videos posted online, crowds can be heard chanting “Death to America”, “Burn Tel Aviv to the ground”, “Hamas, give them hell,” “Oh, Qassam Brigades you make us proud,” “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the river to the sea” – the ultimate call to abolish and delegitimize the Jewish state.

“We see this exponential rise of antisemitism throughout America and throughout Western societies as Israel tries to defend itself against genocidal terrorists, genocidal terrorists who hide behind civilians,” Netanyahu stated.

“Yet it is Israel that is falsely accused of genocide, Israel that is falsely accused of starvation and all sundry war crimes. It’s all one big libel. But that’s not new. We’ve seen in history that antisemitic attacks were always preceded by vilification and slander, lies that were cast against the Jewish people that are unbelievable yet people believed them.”

The prime minister added: “Now, what is important now is for all of us, all of us who are interested and cherish our values and our civilization, to stand up together and to say enough is enough. We have to stop antisemitism because antisemitism is the canary in the coal mine. It always precedes larger conflagrations that engulf the entire world.

“So I ask all of you, Jews and non-Jews alike, who are concerned with our common future and our common values to do one thing: stand up, speak up, be counted. Stop antisemitism now.”