To The Editor: On Antisemitism in the Democracy Center Debacle

On July 13, an article in The Crimson detailed the end of this summer’s dramatic encounter at the Democracy Center, after protesters occupied the building to resist its closure for renovations.

The article ended with a disconcerting detour. Somehow, the Jewish organization I lead, MEOR, became a focal point of the protests, which The Crimson explains have become “intertwined with pro-Palestine activism.” The reporting noted criticism of the Democracy Center hosting “Zionist events,” pointing directly to MEOR’s use of the space and even speculation that it was closed “implicitly” because of backlash in response.

Had The Crimson asked me for comment, I, the Rabbi and leader of Harvard MEOR for 10 years, could have set the record straight.

The reality is that MEOR — a Jewish mentorship and education organization — was a relatively recent tenant of the Center and rented space for merely two hours per week. What did the Democracy Center closure have to do with us?

I, however, wasn’t surprised. Back in February, several groups decided to boycott the Center because they had allowed a “Zionist group” to share the space. One person even told me so to my face. Her implication was that I — and MEOR — were now contaminating their space.

The antisemitic conspiracy theories soon followed. Despite a total lack of evidence, activists hypothesized that the Center’s closure occurred because of other group’s protests over our presence. The Democracy Center hadn’t acquiesced to these group’s ridiculous demands — and kicked out the Jews — and so the closure must be our fault.

This is a dangerous precedent. MEOR is an organization that is focused not on a political agenda, but a Jewish one. It trains students in deep philosophical thought and seeks to impart relevant wisdom to improve their lives in a chaotic modern world. In my conversations with Jewish students of all ages and political beliefs on campus, we talk about their passions and future far more than we do about Israeli politics.

While Israel comes up, it is not our raison d’etre. At the end of the day, one cannot untangle Israel from Judaism — they are intertwined. But, that has little to do with the modern politics that the “state” of Israel now grapples with.

If this is the direction certain strains of activism are heading, then things will be untenable for Jewish people in the near future. Israel is part and parcel of Jewish theology. We care about Israel and always will. This doesn’t mean we should be erased.

—Rabbi Yoni Ganger is the campus director at Meor Harvard.

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