Sen. Moss condemns antisemitism from both left and right

Michigan’s only Jewish state senator is calling out antisemitism, especially on college campuses, that he says is becoming normalized by both the political right and left.

Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) took to the floor of the Senate last week to condemn bigotry against Jews that he says is being wielded hypocritically.

“The overwhelming majority of Jews believe in a place of refuge in a Jewish homeland. But if you even mention how woven the Jewish religion is with Jewish sovereignty in Israel, today you get called a ‘colonizer,’ a ‘racist,’” he said. “Zionist is now being weaponized as a slur, and it is infuriating that the same people who will say that also post ‘Happy Passover’ to all who are observing without acknowledging what we’re actually observing.”

Zionism has traditionally been defined as self-determination and statehood for the Jewish people in the land of Israel, but some have used it as a pejorative term linked explicitly to racism against the Palestinian people. 

Among them is Palestinian-American journalist Ali Abunimah, who says Zionism is “the belief that Palestinians can and must be expelled from their homeland so that settlers can take their place.”

However, the American Jewish Committee says that while criticizing specific Israeli government policies as discriminatory or racist is not antisemitic, explicitly equating one with the other can be. 

“However, saying, ‘Zionism is racism,’ a phrase which itself is a racist and religious distortion, conveys that the Jewish people — unlike all other people in the world — do not have a right to self-determination,” states the group.

Moss said he has been “sickened” by those with no knowledge of Judaism as a religion trying to define what it is and isn’t for Jews.

“And maybe even more so sickened by those who want to define what antisemitism is and it isn’t,” Moss said. “American Jews, especially on our college campuses are facing harassment, intimidation, incitement, praise for Oct. 7 [when Hamas attacked Israeli civilians and] threats of a repeat, just because they are identifiable as being Jewish.”

In Michigan, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) gave the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor a D on a recently released report card of antisemitism on college campuses. The ADL noted a variety of incidents it says were antisemitic or anti-Zionist, including flyers that appeared on campus that read “Zionists f–-k off” and a Star of David on a campus rock was crossed out in red paint. Additionally, the ADL said a U of M student and leader with Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE), the University of Michigan’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter, posted on Instagram, “Until my last breath I will utter death to every single individual who supports the Zionist state. Death and more. Death and worse.” 

That incident, and the disruption last month of an Honors Convocation ceremony by anti-Israel protesters, prompted U of M President Santa Ono to propose a draft policy governing disruption of university operations, including academic and social activities, events, gatherings and celebrations.

Michigan State University, meanwhile, received an F from the ADL, which detailed incidents including an Israeli flag being torn down and stolen from the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house and a university employee reportedly encouraging students last Hanukkah season to come forward if they felt “trauma” at seeing a menorah.

Both universities had student encampments spring up last week by protestors seeking the institutions to divest their financial holdings from Israeli companies in response to ongoing military activities in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and resulted in the taking of more than 250 hostages. The resulting Israeli retaliation has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry. 

Moss said Jewish students across the country have faced persistent calls of violence against them, including chants of, “Go back to Poland” aimed at them. 

“I’ve said it after Charlottesville, Tree of Life, Poway, and specifically, I have said it from this floor a few years ago, antisemitism thrives when it is failed to be called antisemitism,” he said. “And I don’t care if it comes from the right or the left. Instead, some of the very same far left figures, activists, and organizations who were quick to condemn Charlottesville are cheerleading the chaos on our campuses and gaslighting those of us who call it out for what it is. Using the same tired trope that’s existed for centuries. The Jews have brought this upon themselves.”

Moss said he was equally disappointed by those who have remained silent in what he called a harrowing moment for American Jews. 

“The Passover story reminds us in the song, ‘Vehi Sheamda’: ‘In every generation our enemies rise up against us to destroy us.’ This antisemitism is systemic and will take all of us together to dismantle it,” Moss said.