Why?

As I write this, campuses at Columbia and Yale - two of the supposed “elite” universities in America - are practically under siege by pro-Palestine protesters, proclaiming their unyielding opposition against the Jewish state.

Signs, placards and slogans declaring support for Hamas, Houthis and Hezbollah adorn every corner, putting to rest once and for all the lie that “anti-Zionism isn’t antisemitism”.

Jewish students have been made to seek shelter inside the East Village university library as pro-Palestinian protesters pounded on doors and windows. Sahar Tartak, a Jewish student and editor-in-chief of Yale Free Press, was reportedly stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag.

Across major cities like London, New York, Sydney and Stockholm, mass protests have been held practically every weekend since the events of 7th October, 2023.

Of course, in one sense, this is not anything new. Antisemitism has always been foundational characteristics of both Leftists and Muslims, who combined make up practically every single one of the demonstrators.

But, as the incorruptible Douglas Murray has explained, this is the time when all pretences evaporated once and for all, all the smoked clear, the curtains fell and everyone could see where people stand. A line has been drawn, not so much in sand as in granite, and any illusions of finding common ground - whether the quixotic “Two State Solution” between Israel and Palestine, or anti-Westerners and anti-totalitarians - have been shattered.

Why?

Why does Israel evoke such fervent, primal, vehement and violent response? After all, it can’t be because of innocent victims - far more civilian lives have been lost by the hands of Assad in Syria, in Sudan and Yemen than will ever be caused by Israel.

Nor is it about historical grievances. Countless more examples, such as the plight of the Kurds (who suffered an actual attempt at genocide), would need to take precedence in any even semi-consistent logic.

But of course, it has nothing to do with facts. As countless people, such as the indomitable Konstantin Kisin, have shown, many of the protesters have no idea what river or sea they want Palestine to be free within, they cannot offer a single coherent response to what should happen to Israelis currently on the land, they can barely point to Israel on a map.

In fact, you could win money all day on betting that not a single one of these protesters know who Theodor Herzl was, what the Balfour Declaration states, read a single book by Benny Morris, or can say anything remotely intelligible about the Oslo accord.

Ask them about 1936, 1947, 1967, 2000 or 2008 and they will be more likely to guess that these were years where America won the World Series than the number of times Arabs rejected a two-state solution.

With “Socialism and Liberation” sign behind them, these two students sum it perfectly:

I could go on and on. These spoiled urchins don’t care the slightest about Palestinians. Just like they didn’t care about Iranians when they posted #WomenLifeFreedom on their social media accounts, only to now express support for that very same regime who murdered Mahsa Amini.

They don’t know enough to care.

So… why do they protest?

What is it about Israel that so violently animates them? What is it about the plight of Palestinians that supposedly tugs so deeply at their heartstrings, that is missing in Syria, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan or Nigeria?

What moves a privileged student in Columbia, paying $85, 000.00 per year for their indoctrination, to encourage the military arm of an Islamo-fascist entity like Hamas to murder her fellow citizens for their support of the Jewish state?

Why?

How is this happening? People who know precisely nothing encourage the annihilation of one people for their nationality, attack their fellow citizens for their religious associations, and bestow their wholehearted backing to groups who would readily slaughter them if given the chance - and still believe they are on the right side of history?

What accounts for this cognitive dissonance?

What, if not hatred of Jews?

How is it that, in 2024, Jewish people are too scared to walk on their own streets, are threatened with arrest for being “visibly Jewish”, even attacked for their religious identity?

Were the vows of “Never Again” really this hollow?

No, this isn’t Berlin, 1939. That’s not the point. It doesn’t need to be a prelude to genocide to be immoral. Hatred of Jews is sufficient. Combining the worst elements of Islam with Nazism is sufficient.

The question about how we can return to normalcy has been asked. The answer is probably not never - but it should be. There shouldn’t be any going back from this.

The mask has well and truly fallen off, and it now should be plain for everyone to see that we are sharing our Western society with enemies of it. We now see how far the termites have spread, and how well they have dined.

Christopher Hitchens, remarking on travelling to Czechoslovakia in the 70’s and North Korea in the oughts, explained that trying to resist as much as you can to deploy clichés, you nonetheless will be forced to refer to Kafka and Orwell when describing their societies. And as much as I wish to abstain from it, there’s just no avoiding the trite shibboleth “First they came for the Jews, and I said nothing.”

Because they have come for the Jews. Israel is just a convenient front to whitewash their antisemitism with. Unlike other forms of bigotry and racism, antisemitism seems to be hardwired within a portion of any given population. At times, it lays dormant, waiting for a spark to ignite it back to life. And it will always come back, each time in a new guise, but the same old hatred.

And as we stand at this critical juncture when it once more has been awoken, the lessons of history implore us not to remain bystanders. Antisemitism, with its insidious ability to reinvent itself, demands a vigilant, unwavering resistance.

We now know who the enemies are. It’s up to us to fight them.