The founder of the pro-Israel International Campus Movement is warning of history repeating itself as anti-Semitism continues to rage on university and college campuses across the United States.
Ilan Sinelnikov, founder and president of Students Support Israel (SSI), a pro-Israel student movement, told Fox News Digital that history is repeating itself, pointing to recent anti-Israel protests on the Columbia University campus in New York City. He said he is doing so.
After all, history repeats itself.
“At the end of the day, history repeats itself,” he said. “It’s similar to the harassment and intimidation of Jews across Europe in the ’30s. At that time, Jewish students were not allowed to enroll in universities, and people tried to prevent Jewish students from enrolling. He was creating a human chain for this purpose.
“Jewish students are threatened and harassed on college campuses. I was on the phone with a Jewish student who goes to Columbia University, and she said, ‘I’m going to pack my bags and take the first flight home. I don’t want to be on this campus anymore.”
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Anti-Israel activists set up an encampment on the Columbia University campus in New York City on Monday. The university announced that all classes will be held virtually today in response to ongoing demonstrations on campus. (Peter Garber)
Sinelnikov said Jewish students no longer feel safe at one of the country’s “most prestigious universities.”
“Cut to the chase, at the most prestigious universities, Jewish students do not feel safe walking on their campuses for fear of harassment or physical assault,” he said. “When you look at all of this, the similarities are frightening.”
Mr. Sinelnikov reminded people that the Holocaust “didn’t happen overnight” but slowly permeated society.
“People need to realize that this is what is happening in our highest education institutions,” he said.
What happened in the Holocaust didn’t happen overnight.
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“What happened in the Holocaust did not happen overnight,” he added. “Years of brainwashing and hatred against Jews, especially in the education system, have spread to young people.”
On April 15, a New York City police officer shot Elisha “Rishi” Baker, 21, center, after someone set the American flag on fire during an anti-Israel demonstration outside the New York Stock Exchange. Take away the Star-Spangled Banner. (AP Photo/Andres Cudacchi)
The founder of the SSI movement said that Jews are portrayed as “subhuman” on college campuses.
“And this is what we see on our campuses today. So they’re trying to portray Jews as subhuman,” he said. “People are shouting, ‘Get rid of all the Zionists!'”
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Sinelnikov said that as he watches footage of anti-Semitism on campus, he can’t help but observe striking similarities between the Holocaust and modern-day anti-Semitism.
“You can’t ignore the similarities between then and what’s happening now,” he says. “Some people may think it’s an exaggeration, but the reality is that bad things happen in our history, and just when people think it will never happen, it happens.”
“This is the writing on the walls of college campuses and the higher education system,” Sinelnikov said.
Anti-Israel activists gather on the Columbia University campus in New York City. (Peter Garber)
Sinelnikov said the worst that could happen is for Jewish students to leave the university.
“At the end of the day, people may feel threatened, unsafe, and fearful. But the worst thing we can do is walk away from those spaces,” he said. “The worst thing that could happen is that Columbia becomes a university without Jews.”
“They are going to harass, intimidate and terrorize our students until they no longer show their faces, and we cannot tolerate that,” he said.
Columbia University President Nemat Shafik will testify at a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on “Columbia in Crisis: Columbia University’s Response to Anti-Semitism” on April 17 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
He said the biggest problem facing the university is the lack of leadership on campus.
“I think the biggest challenge we face right now and across the country is the lack of leadership in academic institutions and universities, because at the end of the day, if you think about it, a lot of these challenges are , the problem can be resolved quickly,” he said.
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“A lot of people here may argue in terms of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, but at the same time, we forget that we are not talking about student freedom, we are talking about harassment and intimidation. No,” said Sinelnikov. “We are talking about a public call for violence against Jewish students.”
Anti-Israel demonstrators demonstrated in front of police in front of Columbia University in New York City on Thursday. (Peter Garber)
Mr. Sinelnikov said Columbia University’s president “lacks the will to do the right thing.”
“At Columbia University, the president called the police to remove the protesters, but at 10 p.m. all students were released from the police station and the protesters were back on the other side of the lawn a few hours later. ‘I’ll be there today,’ he said.
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“And what’s happening now is that students who pay $60,000 a year in tuition are going to move their entire semester online. The university is managing 300 to 400 students on campus. Because we can’t do it,” said Sinelnikov.
