StandWithUs seeks Rutgers investigation of anti-Israel program that barred Jews

LOS ANGELES (Press Release)–“We deplore the blatant anti-Jewish discrimination that occurred at the anti-Zionist event ‘Never Again for Anyone’ on the Rutgers University campus on Saturday night, January 30,” said StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein.

“Apparently the organizers are afraid of anyone who might expose their lies and prejudice. We hope Rutgers University will investigate and take proper measures to ensure that such essentially anti-Semitic actions don’t recur. But we applaud the pro-Israel students and community members who came out in droves and chanted and sang Jewish songs in the lobby when they were barred entry into the event itself.”
 
Rutgers student organization BAKA (Students United for Middle Eastern Justice) co-sponsored the presumably public event, but when it became apparent that pro-Israel attendees would outnumber BAKA sympathizers by almost four to one, the organizers became alarmed. “There are so many Jews here,” exclaimed one BAKA member who was wearing a “Smash Israeli Apartheid” T-shirt. 
 
The admittance policy abruptly changed, according to attendee Shoshana Smolen, a Rutgers student and StandWithUs Emerson Fellow. The voluntary donation suddenly became a mandatory fee for everyone but BAKA members, and non-BAKA members were denied entry, especially those wearing kippahs, according to some reports. When pro-Israel students tried to gain admission by signing up to join BAKA, they were unable to do so. “All student organizations, according to university regulations, need to be open to any and all students for membership. However, BAKA was not allowing Jewish students to join, and therefore they were barred from entering the event,” reported Smolen. She and other students plan to investigate whether BAKA violated university policy.
 

Pro-Israel students had planned a peaceful protest. “The plan was to have a large constituency of people in the audience wearing uniformed T-shirts that read ‘Don’t Politicize the Holocaust.’ At a pre-scheduled time, they would all unzip their sweatshirts to expose the message and walk out in silence together. Simultaneously, another group of students would lead a peaceful protest outside of the event. However, this whole initial plan had to be changed almost immediately,” explained Smolen.

“It is not surprising that the ‘Never Again for Anyone’ event deteriorated into outright discrimination against Jews. The organizers are trying to politicize the Holocaust and use it as a weapon to demonize Israel and its supporters. Anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are usually bedfellows,” said Rothstein. “In Britain this ‘Never Again for Anyone’ tour was denounced as ‘offensive’ and ‘inappropriate,’ and when the event’s main speaker, Holocaust survivor Hajo Meyer, sued someone who called him a Jewish anti-Semite, he lost his case in the German courts. Events like this try to foment a new anti-Semitism by spreading horrendous lies to promote hatred and prejudice against Jews and Israel. Rutgers University and all reasonable, decent people must stand up to denounce this shameless manipulation of the Holocaust.”
 
“The good news is that Israel’s supporters have shown that they will not stand by silently. They mobilized together, proudly protested this perverse event, and publicized it so that Israel’s supporters could all join together in protest,” concluded Rothstein.

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Preceding provided by StandWithUs