So the intelligentsia is not so smart after all. What is it that sparked my brilliant epiphany? It is the well publicized host of rallies, lectures, and protests, which have sprung up on college campuses, like crocuses in spring, by those who would delegitimize Israel. This annual rite of spring marks the rejuvenation of Israel-Jew hatred. It even has a name, Israel Apartheid Week.
This week marks the beginning of the 7th annual Israel Apartheid Week (IAW). It has been extended from a one week hate-fest to two weeks because one week was not enough time to fan the flames of hatred against Israel and those who support her. It is interesting to note that there is precedence for setting a period of time aside for Jew hatred. In Tom Segev’s biography of Simon Weisenthal he mentioned that, according to Wiesenthal, one day a year, in some European Universities, a day was set aside as ‘Jew Free’ day. It was a day on which Jews were not allowed to attend class or take exams. Neither the universities’ administrations nor its left-wing and right-wing professors objected. At least they all agreed to something.
I must confess that I too, like so many others, had been hoodwinked by the notion that there is a direct correlation between intelligence and the ability to differentiate between right and wrong, good and evil. I should have known better than fall for the popularly held notion that intelligence, coupled with hard work, enables one to accumulate vast amounts of knowledge, which in turn ensures that one will make wise decisions. One need only look at history, which is replete with examples of brilliant minds making terrible choices and committing horrendous acts in the name of their misguided perceptions of reality.
But history is not the only teacher that shines the light of reason upon the foolishness of the intelligentsia. We need only to look as far as today's scurrilous mistreatment of Israel by the many utterly misguided elite in the academic community. Those ivory tower denizens, those keepers of the flames of enlightenment, abhor being judgmental, except when it comes to Israel. When Israel is the target of their derision, then judgment is justified, warranted and even necessary, according to them.
The most dangerous, of those who would delegitimize Israel, are those intellectually dishonest propagandists who infect the lecture halls of our universities. Their names are preceded with titles, such as Dr., Professor, Assistant and Associate Professor and appended with letters like MA, MS and PhD. However, sadly in too many cases their titles belie their biases and the letters defining their degrees spell half-truths and distortions. Too many academicians deceitfully sacrifice honesty and clarity upon the altar of their misbegotten ideologies.
So thanks to our invisible partners for peace, groups like the Palestinian Civil Society (PCS), sponsor activities such as the, Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS), action against the only democracy in the Middle East. How ironic that the PCS demands from Israel complete compliance to the ideals of democracy while not demanding even a fragment of those freedoms from the Arab states. Hopefully the boiling cauldron of rage, that has recently boiled over in Egypt, Libya, and et al. will sharpen the acuity of the world’s vision so they see that the Arabs’ plight is brought on, not by Israel, but by the hands of their cynical and corrupt leaders.
Unfortunately, those in academia are too often tethered to the notion that the claims of two opposing sides of a conflict are morally equal. For them the cause of the differences between adversaries is the result of not seeing the other side's point of view. For them there is an unwillingness to discern right from wrong, and good from evil which constrains their ability to condemn evil. For those well meaning folks, who worship at the throne of 'equality' there is no right or wrong. For them there are no absolutes; everything is just a matter of one’s opinion. I find it fascinating that the "judge not" generation is non-judgmental when it involves matters that they care little about, but if the issues in question push their buttons then look out. I guess it is understandable for them not to make value judgments, if they hold no values sacred, if everything is just a matter of personal opinion.
The ideologies, espoused in many of our universities, are often the scions of failed social systems which once they have taken root begin to rot. Other than the genocidal Islamic terrorists, who want to wipe Israel and America off the map, and your run of the mill anti-Semites, most Israel bashers are either misinformed or misguided, thanks to the theology of secularism which is nurtured by an irrational antipathy toward Jews. They are "do-gooders" at the expense of being "do righters". Posturing as tolerant and pretending that they harbor no prejudice they bathe themselves in their self illuminating glow of enlightenment while casting a very dark shadow over the ‘truth’ and the governance of the rule of reason.