#Jarrod Tanny

[sethshead]

Annual reminder that Jesus was not Palestinian and that Palestine as legally defined region did not exist at that time, nor did the Palestinian nation. This is empirically documented fact. Jesus was born a Jew and died a Jew in Roman Judea. If “Palestine” was used in some Greek texts to describe the region it was because of the Philistines (who aren’t Arab in origin) having lived here once. I’m now hearing people saying Christianity is Palestinian in origin. This is also sheer idiocy. Even if we allow for the fact that Jesus isn’t the progenitor of Christianity (again he died a Jew, his followers were all Jewish and they defined themselves as a sect of Judaism, not a new religion) and attribute the foundation to Paul and people of his generation, which I would say is true. Paul was born a Jew in Roman Judea and died 70 years before the region was renamed Palestine. Jesus and the founding of Christianity has everything to do with the Jews and zero to do with Palestine and Palestinians. And it goes without saying they have nothing to do with Arabs and Islam, except insofar as Islam tells it story with Jesus (and for that matter Judaism) being part of its origin story, which did not happen until the 600s. I will also point out that those western activists (historically clueless) who are making this claim are actually doing a great disservice to the Palestinian people. Why? Because they are inventing ancient Palestinian history that is easily refutable by fact, as I have just done. Given how easy it is to undermine such claims, when people who don’t know much about the region (but joined the river to the sea crowd because that’s what the cool kids do) learn the truth they will become skeptical about other claims made by Palestinians, some of which are true, some of which deserve acknowledgment. But the American left doesn’t care. They don’t actually care about the Palestinians. They are driven by Jew-hatred, and Zionism is the most convenient demon in their social justice arsenal. They will never help free Palestine. But what they will continue to do is endanger diaspora Jewry, which is their goal, or at least a means to their end. Such was also the case with the Arab regimes who opposed a Jewish state from the very beginning. They weren’t advocating for Palestinians, they were advocating for non Jewish state anywhere min the region. The left has constructed a binary opposition that undergirds their theology that pits the evil oppressive (((Zionists))) against the eternally oppressed Palestinians. Their construct is false, an eschatological theology and nothing else, with both “Zionists” and “Palestinians” being little more than constructs they have thrown together to advance their revolutionary (and profoundly anti-Western) agenda. But if they want to claim Palestinians as the progenitors of Christianity then, well, let me point out, that “Christianity” persecuted the Jews severely at least until the early modern era and in some parts of Europe far beyond that time, culminating in The Holocaust. So sure, you want to claim Jesus for Palestine, then you also acquire all the baggage that comes with him.

-- Jarrod Tanny

It’s all just another form of supersession.

[nesyanast]

End of the year 5783 Jewish reading list I completed this year:

City of Rogues and Schnorrers - Russia's Jews and the Myth of Old Odessa by Jarrod Tanny

The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Herschel

The Jews of Silence - A Personal Report on Soviet Jewry by Elie Wiesel

The Story of the Jews 1000BC-1492AD by Simon Schama

Living a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant

Choosing a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant

The Secret Book of Grazia Dei Rossi by Jacqueline Park

Suddenly, Love by Aharon Appelfeld

Conservative Judaism - The New Century by Neil Gillman

A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

[eretzyisrael]

More than 80 scholars of Jewish and Israel studies have joined together to form an initiative to combat on-campus anti-Zionism: The Jewish Studies Zionist Network.

The organization is the brainchild of Jarrod Tanny, an associate professor of Jewish history at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.

The scholars who signed up for the initiative include Israeli political philosopher and author of The Virtue of Nationalism Yoram Hazony of the Herzl Institute, the University of Florida Holocaust historian Norman J.W. Goda and Georgetown University Center for Jewish Civilization Director Bruce Hoffman.

“As experts in Jewish studies with a commitment to the peace and welfare of all communities in Israel, the world’s sole Jewish state, we reject characterizations of Zionism and Israel that seek to discredit their legitimacy and that judge them according to standards not applied to any other nation,” the scholars wrote in an open letter published on the project’s website.

Tanny said that he founded the network after being “troubled at the extent to which anti-Zionism has become pervasive in academia,” according to a news release.

“We believe that the double standard to which Israel is held in the academy has not only stifled scholarship, but has created a climate of fear among faculty and students who wish to express their Jewish identity—a Zionist Jewish identity—in public,” Tanny said, adding that the network would “show the world that there are scholars and professors of Jewish and Israel studies who will no longer remain silent.”

The organization has a four-part mission to achieve its goal, according to its website. The plan includes stressing to the academic community that Israel is a legitimate state and that Zionism is a national self-determination movement like any other.

To that end, the network seeks to combat academic portrayals of Israel and Zionism that rely on misinterpretations of social science concepts such as apartheid, genocide and racial supremacy.

“It is our responsibility as educators to offer diverse perspectives to our students,” said Youngstown State University Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations Adam Fuller, who is also a member of the group’s coordinating committee.

The organization also seeks to ensure that campuses remain a “safe space” for students and scholars who identify as Jews and Zionists, according to its website.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

“Many have pointed out the fact that anti-Zionist activism on campus is by and large faculty-driven,” Professor Tanny says. “Such activism requires the presence of a number of vocal, anti-Zionist professors to truly radicalize the student body.”

The social pressure to conform to Israel-hatred is not just a problem for Jewish students, but Jewish faculty as well. The pressure is so strong that many will either join the crusade to label Zionism racism to strengthen their progressive bona fides, or will at least become ambivalent to the issue, thinking it best not to place oneself in controversy.  

The social pressure to conform to Israel-hatred is not just a problem for Jewish students, but Jewish faculty as well.

“There are many of us (Jewish studies academics) who believe that the anti-Zionism being propagated on college campuses is a serious problem and that it’s leading to the marginalization of Jewish students. But the Jewish studies professors who may be ‘closeted Zionists’ … don’t want to speak out, if they are still expecting their career to advance. They are genuinely worried that their politics will be held against them. What if they submit an article to a journal, and among the peer reviewers are this cohort of radical anti-Zionist professors?”

We discussed the symbiotic relationship between anti-Zionism on the quad and anti-Zionism in the teacher’s lounge. Activists denouncing what some outrageously call Israel’s “genocide” of the Palestinians feel emboldened by professors who are willing to, if not support their agitation outright, then at least justify it, especially if they are Jewish and can use their Jewishness as a shield against accusations of antisemitism.

These disturbing trends inspired Professor Tanny to launch the Jewish Studies Zionist Network (JSZN), a new initiative of scholars and educators in the field of Jewish studies who believe “that Zionism is a legitimate movement for the national self-determination of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland.”

[wewererogue]

City of Rogues and Schnorrers: The Myth of Old Odessa

“You’re gonna get robbed there, but you’ll have a great time!” (15)

[jewishphilosophyplace]

Guns & Free Speech?

  Thanks to my friends at FB, especially lawyers and all of you with lawyerly minds, for clarifying points of constitutional law. But as a recent post by Jarrod Tanny suggests, is it still free speech when the speakers bring assault rifles to a demonstration in the public square? To the best of my knowledge, the free speech arguments by the late Anthony Lewis did not even think to imagine this explosive element that is unique to today’s discussion. Once a gun is brought into the “conversation,” is it really a conversation? Or does the very introduction of a transform the very act of speech itself into something that should get far less protection? One can always say that speech is implicitly violent, even when it is not explicit, and that may be true, and even beside the point. You can also say that guns are the problem, not free speech. But in this country, a loose interpretation of the second amendment juts up right next to a strict interpretation of the first amendment. On the radical right, the belong now together in a tight circuit that was not the case in previous decades. It’s the loaded gun that has crossed the line of speech into something else.

http://ift.tt/2vTTMtK

[sethshead]

"We've all heard this by now. The piece quotes 3 JS profs who more or less acquiesce with the position (though they use neutral-sounding language) but they do not quote a single JS professor who thinks Wikipedia's action is deeply problematic (I am one who does and I can assure you there are more) and in the larger context of the assault on Jewish institutions and orgs by the left is deeply harmful for our community.

"The same year, Wikipedia editors banned the online encyclopedia Jewish Virtual Library for most uses due to concerns about its accuracy and pro-Israel bias. The Jewish Virtual Library? I use it to look things up for teaching all the time and it's a hell of a lot more informative than Wikipedia.I would have expected better of the JTA."

h/t Jarrod Tanny

[sethshead]

There have been quite a few strong statements of support from university administrators. This makes the silence of Jewish studies programs all the more contemptible. And perplexing. What are they afraid of? Offending SJP? It’s the biggest display of cowardice from our intellectual class in decades if not centuries.

Jarrod Tanny

[eretzyisrael]

“Should I worry about my child taking a Jewish studies course in college with Professor *****? They have signed numerous statements calling Israel a Jewish supremacist genocidal state. Is this what they will learn in class?”

Ever since I launched the Jewish Studies Zionist Network an alarming number of people from Jewish communities around the US have been reaching out to me. Why? Because of their growing frustration with the antisemitic bias that is now patently obvious in academia and the refusal of Jewish studies scholars to stand up to this antisemitism (I am not going to rehash a psychological analysis of the Jewish studies scholars’ motiveshere, but whatever they may be, harmful to Jews they most certainly are).

It is getting to the point where Jewish parents are reluctant to see their kids enroll in many colleges in the US and Canada because of campus antisemitism, or at the very least to avoid taking certain courses, especially those in Jewish studies, fearing they will be demonized as Zionists.

How horrible is that? Can you imagine African American parents or Muslim parents telling their kids not to take courses in their respective ethnic studies disciplines?

Why would Jewish donors even consider creating more positions that will empower tenured Jewish studies professors to at best ignore and at worst endorse campus antisemitism?

I can anticipate the inevitable response to my claim from my anti-Zionist colleagues in Jewish studies: “We are fighting for Palestinian rights, not against the Jewish community.”

Now even though I am skeptical of the sincerity of such a response, let us assume for a minute you honestly believe this. Here is my rejoinder:

(1) The methods by which academia (with Jewish studies endorsement) is “fighting for Palestinian rights” is having an antisemitic backlash with real world consequences for American Jews on college campuses. This is undeniable. It has been empirically documented.

(2) Given that your actions have helped precipitate antisemitism, one must ask the following question: does this mean that the liberation of Palestinians is a greater priority to you than the safety and security of your own community? How can you justify directing your actions to “rescue” a community far off in the Middle East when it leads to harm against YOUR community here in the United States? If you feel that this is justifiable then you have betrayed your community, a community that has entrusted you (and piled a ton of money into your programs) as the guardians of Jewish knowledge, uniquely equipped to educate everyone and enrich their understanding of Jewish history and culture. Instead you are using your powers – whether intentionally or not – to destroy us.

[eretzyisrael]

The March 2019 Duke-UNC conference happened too recently to be included in Anti-Zionism on Campus: The University, Free Speech, and BDS,  the first book published by an academic press to contextualize first-hand accounts from faculty and students who became ensnared in the systematic assaults against Israel—and by extension Jews—that have become commonplace in higher education. Through this collection we get a disturbing picture of how students and faculty in the self-proclaimed progressive movement have demonized and marginalized Israel, its advocates, and anyone who wishes to genuinely learn about the Jewish State. Although such progressives claim that anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism, because they are attacking a political entity and the ideologues who uphold it, not an ethno-religious community, these essays suggest otherwise. They make a strong case for those who argue that anti-Zionism is the “new anti-Semitism.” Indeed, if the two were distinct phenomena, why in the world would a room full of engaged university citizens ostensibly eager to learn about the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict applaud a performer who urges them to “go that anti-Semitic” and treats being “in love with a Jew” as a parodic badge of shame?

It is a badge of shame because these activists have one objective: to humiliate everyone who can be branded as “complicit in Zionism.” This includes faculty who sponsor events featuring Israeli speakers, students who publicly oppose boycott and divestment from Israel resolutions (BDS), and even those who advocate for the rights of the LGBT community in the Jewish State (rights they in fact possess, as opposed to the citizens of every other state in the Middle East).

As Professors Andrew Pessin and Doron Ben-Atar write, “Where some might see in Israel a prosperous (if flawed) liberal democracy, or the only modern example of an indigenous people reclaiming lost sovereignty over its homeland, the new campus orthodoxy sees only an apartheid regime founded on racism, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and colonialist imperialism,” all of which are terms they routinely deploy without empirical evidence. Zionism is illegitimate and “Jewish democracy is an offensive oxymoron” because it is impossible for a Jewish State to exist or to have come into being without the violent dispossession and displacement of the land’s alleged rightful indigenous inhabitants (thus, incidentally, the pitch-perfect phrasing of Nafar’s song: “Her skin is white, my skin is brown,” though of course it doesn’t describe Israeli reality).

This view, belligerently propagated by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), and similar activist networks, rejects outright the idea of a two-state solution to the conflict, precisely because it legitimates the Zionist project, which they argue is little more than European imperialism masquerading as Jewish self-determination. Rejecting the legitimacy of the “Zionist narrative” absolves Palestinian activists from any responsibility to engage respectfully with their opponents through debate, negotiation, and empathy. Such absolution is a license to boycott, malign, and threaten anyone who affiliates with Israel.