Israel is a genocidaire apartheid state silencing critics around the world through threats, intimidation, lawfare, and accusations of antisemitism to prevent facing justice through international law.
“Where can I sign up for my share of those Crazy Columbia Antisemitism Cash Dollars???” - Open letter to Columbia University’s acting president
“The University, particularly in its early years while still called “King’s College” was deeply immersed in the slave trade. In fact, of its first 10 Presidents, at least half were proven back in 2017 to have owned slaves.” - Palestine Chronicle
It is rare for the peoples of the world to be of one mind, to have unanimity of opinion on any subject, yet we are seeing that phenomenon take place right now. There is very little disagreement over whether or not the United States backed regime in Israel is committing war crimes and genocide. Millions of people have protested on the streets, conducted boycotts, and urged their governments to join in condemnation of Israel at the International Court of Justice and at the United Nations. It is no exaggeration to say that there were feelings of joy around the world when the International Criminal Court (ICC) finally issued an arrest warrant for prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Even in the United States, Israel’s most powerful supporter, the public have had enough of the atrocities being committed in their name and with their public resources. Support for Israel’s military actions against Gaza stands at a paltry 32% in the latest Gallup Poll. According to the Pew Research Center most people surveyed in 24 different countries, including the United States, have negative opinions of Israel and of Netanyahu.
The international revulsion created after years of watching the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bomb homes, hospitals, mosques, churches, schools, and refugee camps and now engage in an official policy of starvation in Gaza, has led to a scorched earth policy carried out by zionist individuals and organizations. They know all too well that Israel is and will be a pariah nation and that they can do nothing to rehabilitate its reputation. Their only option is to punish anyone who dares to speak the truth about the nature of the zionist entity. They are relentless in their efforts to make anyone think twice about speaking the truth and now they have the complete backing of the state as they carry out their campaign of silencing critics and punishing those who continue to resist.
One of the motivations of Donald Trump’s attacks on universities is to crush the student movement which brought the issue of U.S. support for war crimes to public consciousness in 2024 and which inspired others to take action in protesting U.S. complicity in genocide. Zionists have always used the accusation of “antisemitism” against critics of Israel but they have not had the full imprimatur of the state to assist them. Now that Trump is back in the presidency they have the tools at their disposal to silence and punish anti-zionist speech and actions.
Columbia University was among those institutions Trump targeted with loss of federal grant funds, in its case, some $400 million. As part of its agreement with the administration, Columbia promised to pay $220 million over three years to settle claims of discrimination against Jewish employees who may have “experienced antisemitism.” The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) announced that Columbia University will pay $21 million into a fund to compensate those persons. In addition, Columbia has agreed to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which includes among its criteria, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” Of course, Israel is an ethnostate created from territory violently seized from the Palestinian people. Jewish people in that country have rights and privileges that non-Jews do not. So yes, its existence is a racist endeavor but no student or faculty member at Columbia or other schools that have made these agreements with the Trump administration will be allowed to point out these easily proven facts without facing retribution. Of course, Columbia had many ties to slavery in its early history but it has never offered reparations to Black people in any way, shape or form.
Columbia paying off zionists who don’t like anti-zionist protest is a very literal shakedown, but it is not unique nor is it restricted to the U.S. In the United Kingdom, the group Palestine Action has been labeled a terrorist organization because of its direct actions against government support for Israel. Now declared “proscribed,” anyone who defends Palestine Action is also subject to being criminally charged under the Terrorism Act. In Australia, veteran journalist Mary Kostakidis has been sued by the Zionist Federation of Australia, charging her with violating that country’s Racial Discrimination Act. Her alleged offense stems from a social media post quoting and praising the words of the late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, who was assassinated by Israel in 2024. In France, the government announced the cessation of a program accepting refugees from Gaza when one of those evacuated was accused of making antisemitic social media posts. The young woman had only been in France for one week, proving that zionist groups spend a great deal of time investigating anyone who may come to be representative of Israel’s crimes. France, like all of the “collective west” is a staunch supporter of Israel and not only agreed to end all resettlement but to deport the student as well. France also chose to give Netanyahu immunity from arrest, making a mockery of its status as a signatory of the Rome Statute which brought the ICC into being.
The shakedown is not limited to payments and harassment. Zionists are now emboldened and regularly file legal and criminal complaints after instigating incidents which they then label as being antisemitic. The Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland, California was the subject of two such events and is now being sued by the Department of Justice. Two Jewish men, both wearing caps emblazoned with a star of David, claim to have been subjected to antisemitic harassment at the coffee house which is owned by a Palestinian man. The owner disputes their claims and one of the men has a history of filming himself having arguments about Israel. What should be settled at the local level has now been elevated into what is literally a federal case.
The Trump administration says nothing about discrimination against any group other than Jewish people. There is a federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism but there is no other example of such a high level of official concern for bigotry. Trump is a true believer in Israel’s right to do whatever it wants as well as being the recipient of a $100 million campaign donation from Miriam Adelson, who was born and raised in Israel and is the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Adelson is president of the Maccabee Task Force, which took the lead in seeking the arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil is now free but his experience is just one example of how far Israel’s supporters will go in punishing anyone who speaks out against its actions.
There is no defending Israel but it is possible to shut down all discourse which condemns it. Before Trump’s current term of office, 32 states had already established laws prohibiting boycotts of Israel. Official defense of Israel is accepted bipartisan policy. If zionists did nothing, Israel would be subject to the kind of exclusions that South Africa experienced in the days of the apartheid regime. Repression is the only means that they have of quieting discontent about Israel’s actions. As Netanyahu declares his intention to occupy all of Gaza, opponents of zionism must be ready to fight.
Margaret Kimberley is the author of Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents. You can support her work on Patreon and also find it on the Twitter, Bluesky, and Telegram platforms. She can be reached via email at margaret.kimberley@blackagendareport.com.
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