And the answer is?
Re “What is anti-Semitism?” Opinion, May 12
Nicholas Goldberg offers this definition of anti-Semitism from the Anti-Defamation League: “The moment you compare the Jews to those who consciously and systematically determined to wipe them off the face of the Earth -- that’s anti-Semitism.” That inane statement is not only false on its face, it attempts to erase the most important lesson of the Holocaust -- that the capacity to commit such atrocities is within us all. We must be ever vigilant against allowing one another to act it out. That means Israelis too. Having been the receivers of horror doesn’t immunize a group from being criticized for similar behavior.
And by the way, that part about UC Santa Barbara considering disciplinary procedures against professor William I. Robinson for distributing challenging material to his class? Say it isn’t so. Tell me that was a misprint.
Linda Westerschulte
Los Angeles
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UCSB professor William I. Robinson destroys his own argument when he admits that “extermination” is the “key difference.” The Israelis are not trying to exterminate the Palestinians; they are defending themselves against the Palestinians. The Nazis were not defending themselves against the Jews; they were trying to exterminate them. Those differences are enough to make the comparisons ridiculous.
Leonard Minkle
Tarzana
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For a democracy to remain democratic, free speech must be absolute. Let people be anti-Semitic, anti-Catholic, anti-black, anti-Irish, anti-anything. The sole punishment for such speech should be the ignominy the speaker brings on himself. I would much rather know who the bigots are than to unwittingly associate with them. Our country has gone much too far in limiting one’s right to freely express his opinion.
William McCall
Arcadia
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Being a retired professor myself, I followed with great interest this controversy.
While professors are entitled to various opinions that undoubtedly come to light in their teaching, they should be careful about advocating their ideas.
First, they might stifle the independent thinking of their students, which obviously would defeat the spirit of critical thinking and the goals of higher education.
Second, it may intimidate students who would be afraid to express opinions and ideas in opposition to those of their professor, who has the discretion to evaluate their work and grade them.
Obviously, Robinson, by e-mailing his undergraduate students a set of pictures comparing Gaza to Nazi concentration camps, expressed a very strong and arguably one-sided opinion that at least some of the students found extremely biased and intimidating.
David Shichor
Fullerton
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In his definition of anti-Semitism, Goldberg forgot to mention that Arabs are Semites too, and that hatred of them in Europe and the U.S. is all too common.
George Rubio
Bellflower
