Hating us at Columbia and Barnard

Between our four kids and two of our sons-in-law, our family has earned many degrees from Columbia University. Our first daughter attended a joint program with the Jewish Theological Seminary. At that time Columbia College was not yet co-ed. Our second daughter was accepted into Columbia’s first co-ed program two years later, and the two younger kids followed a few years, a year apart from each other. This was followed by four masters degrees and one doctorate.

I’m so ashamed.

Not of our kids, for sure! But of the disastrous turn in the university, which has become a world-class leader of the scourge of antisemitism that is hitting and hating our Jewish world. We thought, with obviously great naivete, that we were doing well by our kids, supporting and paying enormous amounts of hard-earned tuition money to a place we knew to be among the very best in the world. We stand corrected, humbly and with grave embarrassment. We were wrong. Our Columbia shirts and insignia now will lie dormant and unworn. What once gave us pride, enormous pride, is now stained, soiled, sullied!

One of our daughters, who earned a BA and an MA from Columbia, spent many unpaid hours over three decades recruiting and interviewing for Columbia. She will now cease and desist.

Have it your way, Columbia! Without us. It’s time for a divorce. A complete separation. A time to forget you. But before I move on, I need to tell you that you are a disgrace, an embarrassment, a pathetic dying remnant of what you once were and what you could have been. We Jews fell in love with you. You met all our parameters of intellectuality and loving acceptance. It was a glorious symbiotic relationship. We brought out the best in each of us.

No more, Columbia. You’ve made your bed, and now you can lie in it. You’ve endorsed violence and rejected earlier apologies for a student who said “Zionists don’t deserve to live.” May these abominable unprincipled words come back to haunt you!

A survey published this week in the Columbia Spectator indicates widespread support among the student body for financial divestment from Israel and ending the Tel Aviv Global Center and its dual degree program.

As an elder, I simply cannot believe the frantic and despicable antisemitism that our world, our universities, and our communities, including the one in which I live, are espousing. I am of the generation that coined what now seem simplistic phrases, such as “never again.” Throughout my life I have felt safe in this country that we share with so many other groups, races, religions, and nationalities. I am of the Not Here generation, that generation that felt safe and protected here in these United States. I could see how enormous amounts of spewed hatred could take over in places like Germany. I simply was unable to ever imagine their circles of hate surrounding us here in New Jersey. And as at Columbia, I felt our children were safe at home or university. I felt my home community was a place of tolerance and civility, a broad mixture of religions and races.

As a Jew, a proud Zionist, I could not understand how the world could not relate to our Jewish struggle for freedom and tolerance. Throughout our long and often tortured history we have paid such an enormous price for world acceptance. Certainly, and I was certain of this, we would now live in peace. Israel and America would have it no other way. Two bastions of democracy working in concert to heal hatred that had been an eternal symbol of destruction towards our people. This time was the forever time. Or so I innocently thought!

Now I am not so sure. Citizens and groups in our own town have shown unrelenting animosity against us and toward Israel, ranting false accusations against us and Israel, a tiny nation, launched in peace and striving for affection and mutual respect among its neighbors. How many attacks of brutal terrorism must Israel endure before the neighbors in our own communities say enough? They call Israel an apartheid country, spreading lies and ignorance. My tears are falling at the mendacity of their distorted words and actions. They have sought a justification for their evil comments and for the inherent Jew-hatred which they encourage. They support terrorists who run amok, lunatics who wantonly kill, rape, torture, and imprison victims of all ages, from in utero to infancy to old age. All are eligible for their slaughter and many of our neighbors support the mayhem. It is truly beyond belief.

They speak of genocide. How absurd! How totally ignorant! In Israel Jews and Palestinians live together.

Have they ever walked the streets of Israel? It feels safe, doesn’t it? Women can walk alone at all hours of the night.

Have they ever been treated in an Israeli hospital by a Palestinian doctor? I have! The care was ecumenical. Perfect.

Who do they believe is likely to be the friendly taxi driver picking them up at the airport?

Who is the manager of the shop at the mall when they seek assistance? Oh, she’s the one with the hijab. She’s in charge.

Two weeks ago I shared our family’s Jerusalem apartment with a Palestinian painter who was repairing a patch of wall. I don’t really know him, but Muhammad, the building’s manager, sent him, so I trusted him, as I trust Muhammad. I gave him ice water on a hot day and he took it gratefully. We were not, and are not, enemies. We are fellow humans. He and I know it. Some of my neighbors in New Jersey don’t!

The newish light rail running through Jerusalem goes from one end of the city to the other. People from different backgrounds, Palestinians and Israelis, sit together. It’s a fascinating ride. I chatted with several of the other passengers, as I’m always interested in making conversation. No one cares where you live. They only care whether there are available seats. If only our NYC subways were so civilized!

Neighbors, please stop the hate! It endangers all of us. We need to be protective of one another. We have one chance at life so let’s not blow it by causeless enmity. Please!

All we are saying is give peace a chance!

Rosanne Skopp of West Orange is a wife, mother of four, grandmother of 14, and great-grandmother of eight. She is a graduate of Rutgers University and a dual citizen of the United States and Israel. She is a lifelong blogger, writing blogs before anyone knew what a blog was! She welcomes email at rosanne.skopp@gmail.com

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