JEWISH WORLD

20 JEWISH WORLD • AUGUST 11-17, 2023 clear that “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.” At the same time, the IHRA definition in- cludes examples of antisemitism such as the following: • Denying the Jewish people their right to self-deter- mination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor. •Applying double standards by requir- ing of it behavior not expected or de- manded of any other democratic nation. • Holding Jews collectively re- sponsible for the actions of the State of Israel. Reading the IHRA definition will give you a better understanding of how contemporary antisemitism demonizes, delegitimizes and ap- plies a double standard to Israel. continued from page 12 responsible for spearheading this harassment have one goal—to end Israel’s existence as the homeland of the Jewish people. If you don’t believe me, look at this map on the right: This map was distributed by Stu- dents for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Tufts University as part of a cam- paign called “Deadly Exchange.” This campaign blames Israel and the Jews for police brutality inAmerica. Israel does not exist on thismap.All of Israel is referred to as “occupied territory.” When people chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” this map is what they mean. On campus today, this map has become the litmus test. To be on the right side of racial and social justice, students are pressured to accept this map and deny Jews the right to self-determination in any borders of the Jews’ ancestral homeland. So, what can you do? First, educate yourselves about contemporary antisemitism. Read the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism—espe- cially the included examples. There, you will learn how contemporary antisemitism manifests itself. The IHRA definition makes it Second, understand that what happens in Israel does not stay in Israel. What you say and do spreads with lightning speed and has rami- fications for Jews around the globe. Third, remember that self-con- fidence and pride are the best an- tidote to harassment and dis- crimination. But the key to that self-confi- dence is knowledge and education. Jews cannot express confidence in an identity they know little about. It is, therefore, essential that Jews in both the Diaspora and in Israel learn more about Jewish history, heritage, culture, literature, prayer and philosophy. We need curricula that will in- still in our children pride in their roots. These programs should in- clude mention of the tremendous contributions to the world that Jews and Israel have made over the centuries. No one has the right to demand that Jews shed their Zionism or their pride in their ancestral heri- tage. We must push back against this new form of “erasive antisemi- tism” that seeks to revise Jewish history and deny the uniqueness of Jewish identity. When Jews are marginalized and excluded based on a fundamental element in their ancestral heritage, society must condemn it as harass- ment and discrimination. Finally, we must appreciate the richness and diversity of Jewish peoplehood. We must understand that whether you are secular, modern Orthodox or haredi, Ashkenazi, Sephardi or Mizrahi, left- or right-wing, we are all Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael is our homeland. Aliza Lewin is president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Hu- man Rights Under Law. JNS.org. Antisemites believe about Israel what they do about Jews. They deny the only Jewish homeland its place in the world. This map was part of a campaign by Students for Justice in Palestine to blame Israel and the Jews for police brutality in America. Antisemitism Chinese dictator Mao Zedong subsequently sent “volunteers” backed by Soviet air power to support the North in the “War to Resist America and Aid Korea,” aka the “Grand Fatherland Libera- tion War.” An estimated four mil- lion Koreans died. Nearly 40,000 American troops were killed. At least Americans now under- stand this history and no longer harbor illusions about North Ko- rea, right? Not quite. L ast week, self-described “peace advocates” – including Code Pink and the Quincy Institute – gathered in Washington for a three-day event called “Korea Peace Action: National Mobilization to End the KoreanWar.” They are demanding the U.S. sign a formal peace agreement with the North. Would that include guar- antees of non-aggression by Mr. Kim, a timeline for him to give up his nuclear weapons, and progress on human rights? Not quite. “The effort is a deception,” Ji Seong-ho, a member of South Ko- rea’s National Assembly writes in the Wall Street Journal. Korea Peace Action is “parroting the re- gime’s ‘hostile policy’ refrain – that tensions on the Korean Penin- sula result from U.S.-South Korean military exercises, the presence of U.S. troops in Korea, and U.S. eco- nomic sanctions.” “This issue is personal for me,” Mr. Ji adds. Born in the North where he and his family “were close to death from starvation” he survived by scavenging “bits of coal from freight trains, which I would sell to buy food on the black market. “When I passed out from hunger on the railroad tracks, a train ran over me and almost totally severed my left leg and arm, which both had to be amputated without anes- thesia or antibiotics.” Eventually, on crutches, he man- aged to escape through China and Southeast Asia before reaching South Korea in 2020. He notes that a key organizer of the demonstrations is Christine Ahn who has said her goal is “to liberate Korea” from “the yoke of U.S. imperialism” and that Amer- ica is “the world’s aggressor and empire.” She has described Hawaii as “occupied territory.” At least no one in Congress is buying this nonsense, right? Not quite. Rep. Brad Sherman’s Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act has drawn 45 co-sponsors. Ms. Ahn and associates are lobbying for more. Undecided members would be well-advised to read an article, published last week in ‘Foreign Affairs’ by Rep. Mike Gallagher, Chair of the House Select Commit- tee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, and Aar- on MacLean, a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democ- racies. They warn that now as in 1950, the U.S. “has failed to make sufficient military investments” thereby “tempt- ing a tyrant in Beijing who harbors imperial ambitions to try his luck.” The Chinese Communist Par- ty remains adept at “twisting the truth to advance its ambitions” and propagating false narratives. (Remember what the CCP has said regarding the Covid pandemic that emerged from Wuhan.) Messrs. Gallagher and MacLean conclude: “In its last war with Chi- na, Washington failed to deter its adversaries, failed to prepare its military, and prolonged the fight- ing…The next time, the stakes will be even higher – and Washington must do better.” We have plenty of time to make the necessary policy. Clifford D. May is the founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), as well as a columnist for ‘The Wash- ington Times. ’JNS.org. Leftist “peace advocates” demand that the U.S. sign a formal peace agreement with the North – apparently without preconditions. An American soldier comforts a comrade during the Korean War, circa 1950. More than 36,000 U.S. ghting men died during the con ict. KoreanWar continued from page 17