Film tackles anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism on campuses

Posted

WARWICK – On Tuesday, March 7, a documentary film that has been striking a nerve with audiences nationwide, “Hate Spaces,” will have its RI premiere at the Chabad of West Bay Chai Center, 3871 Post Road, Warwick. The film exposes the epidemic of campus intolerance favoring Muslims and anti-Israel activists over Jews and Israel supporters when it comes to free speech, academic freedom and protection from abuse. It was produced by Americans for Peace and Tolerance (APT), a Boston-based nonprofit dedicated to raising public awareness about the increasingly hostile campus environment. The film’s title refers to the concept of “safe spaces” that has been used to silence unpopular speech at universities across the United States.

The film showing will be accompanied by a panel discussion led by Charles Jacobs, president of APT, and William Jacobson, clinical professor of law and director of the Securities Law Clinic at Cornell Law School. The discussion will focus on what can be done to reverse the tide of campus anti-Israel activity.

“Hate Spaces” is a story that has to be told,” says the film’s producer, Avi Goldwasser, because “most people do not realize how the hostility is being institutionalized, made fashionable by a combination of forces. While many anti-Jewish incidents and the BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel] campaign are reported by the media, few are willing to connect the dots and report on the underlying ideology and extremist organizations that are inciting the hostility.”

Goldwasser describes the intended audience for “Hate Spaces” as “decent Americans, especially those in leadership positions.” He believes that “once they are educated about this outrage on campus, there is a chance that changes will be made. All we ask is that Jewish students be treated equally.”

Authenticated cellphone videos and recorded interviews transport viewers to hate-crime scenes where Jewish students are subjected to verbal and physical abuse, and intimidation. Recent events at schools like Northeastern University in Boston deserve scrutiny. On that campus, Students for Justice in Palestine protesters have chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, the state of Israel has got to go!” Statues of Jewish donors have been vandalized, while cruel sticker campaigns and “apartheid walls” are used to single out and shame individual Jewish students.

One of several well-known voices in the film, Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick reflects on the outcomes of prolonged exposure to misinformation, saying, “Once you believe that the only democracy in the Middle East, the only human rights respecting government, the only place where Muslim women are given the rights and the full protection of the law is the worst oppressor, then you can believe anything.”

Co-sponsored by CAMERA and StopIranNow-RI, the showing at Chabad of West Bay begins at 7 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online at https://chabadwestbay.eventbrite.com.

Submitted by StopIranNow-RI