Protesters against Israel today are mainly the young, the college students who have turned our campuses into such unpleasant and even dangerous places for their Jewish classmates. Are they morally superior to the rest of us? What explains their reaction to events in Gaza? For the non-Muslim and non-Arab students who are inveigled into joining these protests, it is ignorance more than malice – though there is plenty of that, too, which reveals itself when anti-Israel sentiments reveal themselves to be naked antisemitism — that explains those young people who are chanting their anti-Israel slogans on American campuses today.
I wanted to find out for myself what level of ignorance students have about Israel and the Palestinians. So I asked a relative of mine who attends a nearby university to see if he could engage in conversation some of those who had taken part in a pro-Palestinian protest recently held on the campus, and to report to me on his findings. He talked to five students, one on one. His findings were depressing, but not surprising. Asked about how long Jews had lived in the area of present-day Israel, one said they arrived in the area after World War II, three said “thousands of years ago, but for many hundreds of years the Palestinians have been living in ‘Palestine.’” No one knew what the League of Nations was. Only one of them had ever heard of the Mandate for Palestine, and seemed to think it recognized the “right of the Palestinian people to live in ‘Palestine.’” No one knew when Jordan was established, or why, and of course they had no idea that Jordan was created on land that originally was supposed to be part of the territory to be included in the Mandate for Palestine. They all thought that Israel had started the 1948 war and “caused the nakba” by kicking out the Palestinians and occupying the whole of Palestine, “from the river to the sea.”
There was disbelief when they were informed that five Arab armies had attacked Israel first, on May 15, 1948. None of them knew that 750,000 Jews had been expelled from Arab countries in the years following the 1948 war. Four of the five recognized the name Gamal Abdel Nasser, but two weren’t sure what country he was from. No one knew that Israel had taken possession of the West Bank in the Six-Day War; some thought Israel had “seized” it in 1948. None knew that the West Bank had been assigned to the Mandate for Palestine, and had been intended by the League of Nations to form part of a future Jewish state, but Jordan had taken possession of it in the 1948 war. They all knew that the Sinai was part of Egypt, but did not know that Israel had returned it to Egypt after the signing of the Camp David Treaty (which was also unknown to them). None of them had heard of UN Security Council Resolution 242. Asked to estimate the size of Israel, they guessed it was about the size of Maine (Maine is 3.6 times the size of Israel). None of them knew that there are already 22 Arab states – they guessed there were “about ten” — with a total land area of five million square miles. When asked to guess the size of those Arab states compared to Israel, their estimates ranged from 20 to 50 times. In fact, the Arab states are 632 times the size of Israel.
They all believed that Israel was guilty of “ethnic cleansing.” When asked to give an example of that “ethnic cleansing,” they all said that Israel had kicked out 800,000 Arabs during the “Nakba.” When they were told that 160,000 Arabs remained in Israel after the 1948 war, and that now there were two million Arabs living in Israel, they had nothing to say. When asked to estimate the population of Israel, they guessed it was about 25 million. When asked to estimate the population of the 22 Arab states, their average guess was 150 million. The real number is 475 million. When asked to explain what would happen to the Jews of Israel if a Palestinian state were to be established from the river to the sea, three said they should be allowed to stay if the Palestinians agree to it, and two said the Jews should be sent back “to the countries they came from.”
After such ignorance, what forgiveness?
martin Leonard walden says
College students are for most part dumb; that’s why they are in college to learn. Graduating students are less likely to be involved in protests concerning dumb causes.
RK says
Appears these students have fallen victim to an old Arab trick. Lie to Infidels. As alarming these students naivity as young adults.
abu taleb says
Not just the students in the US schools. In general, US people are ignorant on the world, and often cocky too in some way.
Truth matters says
Let’s not put all americans in the same boat.. I say that your statement is ignorant and somewhat arrogant..
James Lincoln says
A college student should at least be smart enough to “know when they don’t know”.
How can a college student honestly protest something that they know literally nothing about?
maria says
It is very bad situation, caused by “teachers” who are muslim creature . The students who have those teachers will never learn anything.
All these so called deans, #professors ” who are muslims should be immediately deported to their countries.
And the worst of them like Gay, should be jailed
STJOHNOFGRAFTON says
Useful idiots have to be kept ignorant of reality. That’s the role of the Marxist infiltrated education system.
Chuck says
Other questions that should have been asked –
Can you name one so called Palestinian King from say 300 to 1000 years ago?
Can you show me any old coins made by the Palestinians ?
Any building or structures built by the Palestinians from antiquity?
Walter Sieruk says
Many young American college students need to and should heed the wisdom of the former, US President, William Howard Taft, who in a speech ,rightly, declared “Antisemitism is a noxious weed that should be cut out. It has no place in America.”
Walter Sieruk says
Those young non–Muslims American college students throughout the United States, who are protesting against the State of Israel and who likewise greatly favor Hamas are people who are ,rightly , described ,as the “useful idiots” of the leaders of Hamas and their jihadist members who are dedicated to the cause of conquest for the cause of Islam.
Those Americans who aren’t Muslims the stooges of those Hamas chefs and the other Muslim terrorist, For those of Hamas view all people who are not Muslims as inferior creatures to them and refer to them .
Behind their backs as , “Kafirs,” which is the Islamic derogatory term for “disbelievers”
It’s tragic that those non-Muslims pro-Hamas America protesters against Israel are so very deluded by Hamas that this Islamic terror / murder organization so easily manipulates and uses them as their tools.
Those poor young people are ,truly, their useful idiots.
Walter Sieruk says
Little do those non- Muslim young college students in America who have been brainwashed by those in the RedGreen alliance in control of those institutions of higher education” to be anti- Israel and go against Israel and hold up signs that read “Free Palestine: don’t know or understand that history reveals that the ancient Philistines recorded in the Bible and history came from the Greek Islands and some parts of the mainland Greece. They have no connection, at all, the to the Arab /Muslim of modern times who called themselves the “Palestinians.”
From those ancient people, the Philistines, the word “Palestine” .came into being.
There is no genuine ethic group or race who are the “Palestinians.”
Early in the last century a anyone living in that land, Arab or Jew, who lived in that land was called a ”Palestinian.”
Only after 1964 did the Arab/Muslims start to refer to themselves , exclusively , by the word “Palestinian.”
The reason for that is that they felt that by giving themselves that title they would appear to have some kind of valid claim on that land.
Indeed , there never was a “Palestinian state.”
Walter Sieruk says
There is obviously something terribly wrong with a those young college students who aren’t Muslim who nevertheless admire and support that vicious dangerous and deadly jihad entity ,Hamas. It might be that they had been deceived, as in lead astray by misinformation by the propagandists for Islam. ?
They, sadly, are confused or outright ignorant or both on the subject of Israel and the religion of Islam with its Muslim terrorist organizations.
Those people must not be aware of the wicked dangers of that demonic jihad entity, Hamas, with is jihadists, have no limits, at all, to its cruel heinous and vile horrendously horrific Islamic evils that it so maliciously and murderously commits.
Namer says
Our colleges today look like the colleges in the late 60’s. Stupid no nothings feeling all self righteous protesting and thinking they are the smart ones. At a minimum suspend all of the rioters for a year and give them no refunds. Preferable just expel them and force them to get something they have never had before – a J O B!
Billy Corr says
These kids are the products of an inexcusably wretched wretched high school education.
Ask them to find Idaho or Peru or Ireland on a map!
Scotsman48 says
This is a perfect example of the Useful Idiot Generation on Parade today all across the Western World.
”It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance”… Thomas Sowell.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Hugh
You should have asked your relative to find out which river and which sea they’re referring to when they scream “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”
Spiro says
Maybe the parents who send their kids and money to these universities and colleges should get informed about what is being taught
Put the remote down and get involved
don’t just complain about it
KuhnKat says
Israel did not kick any Arabs/Muslims out during the Nakba. The Arab leaders ordered all good Arabs to leave so their armies would have a clear field to commit Genocide on the Jews. The actual number that left may have been less than 500,000. Many regional poor went to the refugee camps after the war to get food, shelter and became a part of the UNRWA rolls. Yeah, typical bureaucracy loves to have more people under them to get a larger budget. Or was it part of the scheme to use them against Israel?
Israel offered them a Right of Return if they would pledge non-violence. The Arab Lords refused the offer although I believe some individuals did accept. Now there are too many haters to even consider a Right of Return. The UNRWA schools helped Arafat and Hamas indoctrinate those Fakestinians. No, the original arab/muslim refugees would have been insulted to have been called Palestinians. That was the derogatory term they used to refer to the Native Jews until Arafat and the Commies came up with the Fakestinian scam.
Also we must ALWAYS mention the about 800,000 Jews expelled from Arab countries after the war that mostly went to Israel. Many of those had all property confiscated.
Finally, remind the Muslims that Allah gave Israel to the Jews until the time of Judgement. It is in the Quran.