I was scheduled to give a lecture later in September on campus antisemitism at a synagogue in the Tampa area. It had been scheduled for months. They invited me. I was doing it for free. We even changed the date to accommodate the Rabbi’s schedule. I planned my fall around it since it involved travel.
They just uninvited me because one or more members objected to me appearing at the synagogue. The specific objection to me never was given, but it was clear it was political and that having me was “controversial” among some members.
I told the Rabbi that was giving in to the heckler’s veto and depriving members who did want to hear me of the ability to do so. If someone didn’t want to hear me, the remedy was to not attend, not to cancel the lecture.
I explained that it would be the same non-partisan presentation I have given many times, of my personal observations and experiences dating back to my days at Harvard Law School in the early 1980s, and how the racialization of the conflict and the coopting of “racial justice” movements by anti-Israel groups needed to be understood as a major part of why so many campuses are no-go zones for Zionists and Jews. There would be no mention planned of Trump, Biden, Harris or anything else about domestic politics, as that was not part of my lecture.
The Rabbi didn’t disagree with me on any of these points, but ultimately proved to be a weak person unable to stand up for what is right. This is a problem I see frequently among Rabbis, they want to avoid membership controversy at all costs, but in so doing, create a separate controversy.
All the explaining was to no avail. The lecture is cancelled. I’m univited.
I’ll survive, but I’m not sure about the long-term survival of the American Jewish community, which is facing unprecedented pressures on campuses and communities. The liberal American Jewish community is so broken, it can’t even unify over something like fighting campus antisemitism.
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