Students discount claims of campus anti-Semitism

No one wants to be called an anti-Semite. The title carries the same negative weight as being labeled racist, ignorant or closed-minded.

It's a politically correct version of a racial slur, a label that works to subvert true hate-speakers but, when used impulsively, cuts down legitimate criticism, often cheapening the point of view of both the labeled and labeler.

Events stretching back to an April 2004 lecture by a vocal critic of Israel, and as recent as a September peace group meeting, have pulled the anti-Semitic label into the UB campus spotlight. Debate about Israel and Palestine has led to professors, organizations and students -- Jews and non-Jews alike -- being called anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist and racist in meetings, interviews and the pages of The Buffalo News.

The public debate has led some to think UB has a growing problem with anti-Semitism, particularly between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine advocates. Some still affirm there is an anti-Semitic element on campus, but many on both sides of the issue seem to agree the debate is purely one of politics, not of hate.

"People are confusing anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism," said Matt Schwartz, a senior communication major. "You don't have to be for the state of Israel to be a Jew."

Schwartz, who is Jewish, said he has never encountered blatant anti-Semitism on campus.

"I have never felt anything but acceptance here at UB," he said.

Schwartz said the only anti-Semitism he has heard has come from a white supremacist group that appears on campus periodically, the National Alliance, but that most of what he encounters is of the harmless ignorant-type that leads to unintentionally insensitive comments.

"I've heard people call it 'Jew-B,' or if you're from Long Island, kids from around here will automatically assume you're Jewish, that sort of thing," he said. "I don't feel I'm going to be bashed just for being Jewish though."

Both Schwartz and Viqar Hussain, president of the Muslim Student Association, cited the yearly Unity Picnic as an example of how Arab, Jewish and students of all ethnic backgrounds coexist peacefully. The event, held this year on Sept. 11, is organized by the Organization of Arab Students and is open to all students.

"There is no such thing as anti-Semitism at UB when UB is a university where classes are cancelled for the Jewish faith, and that's great," Hussain said.

Hussain said cultural differences can cause some tension, but most students make an effort to be tolerant.

"It's an ongoing process. Ignorance is everywhere. That's college," he said. "We're here to learn how to not be ignorant."

Hussain said being aware of differences and making light of them is not a form of political incorrectness, but a way to make understanding easier.

"My last name is Hussain, man, how can you not make fun of that? I've heard it, but it's not hatred. It's more like jokes that break the formal barrier," he said.

To say that racism or anti-Semitism does not exist anywhere, however, would be inaccurate, even at UB. Schwartz said ignorance in the larger Buffalo population is more hostile.

"When I was teaching at Buffalo Central Schools I heard students scream in the hallway when I walked by 'Jew' or other slurs, but that comes from not being exposed to other people," Schwartz said.

Yousif Hassan, president of OAS, said it can be difficult to break down the long-standing hostility that comes from living in an area where tension between Jewish Israelis and Muslim Arabs are continually high. Hassan, a native of Sudan, said when people come to the United States, a relatively neutral ground, it is easier to get past those deep-rooted beliefs.

"The hatred exists, but a lot of people forgive and forget," he said. "Back in Israel, it's a war, but over here, they don't hate each other. They try to forget the problems back at home in the Mid-East and try to live with each other."

Hassan said the goal of respective religions is the same, and that politics and religion are really separate entities.

"In Islam, the message is peace, the message of Judaism is peace too. It's being a good Muslim to forgive," he said. "Back there (in the Middle East), it's a political thing, a fight over land."

The long-standing feud between Israelis and Palestinians has roots that go further back than any current UB student has been alive, so Hassan said most students try to move on from the hostility when they are away at school.

"By digging into the past, today's wounds won't heal," he said.