Members of the Middle East Studies Association have passed a resolution endorsing a comprehensive boycott of Israel.

The resolution accuses Israel of a long list of abuses, including restricting freedom of movement for Palestinians; isolating, undermining, or otherwise attacking Palestinian educational institutions; harassing Palestinian professors, teachers, and students; harassing Israeli professors and students criticizing Israeli policies; destroying, confiscating, or otherwise rendering Palestinian archival material inaccessible; and maintaining inequality in educational resources between Palestinians and Israelis.

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In a recent webinar for Americans for Peace Now (APN), the new U.S. ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nides, discussed his vision for the Middle East. Among the topics he addressed was the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, better known as UNRWA. He declared that he didn't believe giving money to UNRWA hurts the security of Israel.

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Generations of scholars have tried to understand where antisemitism originated and how it continues to metastasize. Over the years, scholars have differed on exact definitions. French historian Leon Poliakov highlighted this uniqueness in his definition of antisemitism as "an effective sui generis attitude of the gentiles towards the Jews..."

The European and Middle Eastern historian Walter Laqueur observed that "The Nazi murder of the Jews was total—not selective—and it was carried out systematically, following industrial organization and techniques. It was not a series of pogroms and somewhat spontaneous massacres, nor was there an escape for the Jews. Jehovah's

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Israel has been at war with Hamas since the start of the second intifada in 2000. This was accelerated by the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005, leading to Hamas's victory over Fatah in the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006.

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The crisis in higher education, faculty, students, and administrations adopting ideological positions radically at odds from those of most Americans and in the process reshaping institutions, is becoming better understood.

But none of this is new. Another Israel boycott resolution being considered by the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) reminds us that the rot in higher education set in long ago and was focused, not surprisingly, on Jews and the Jewish State.

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