New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has made headlines with his stark comparison between antisemitic attitudes on American college campuses and the precursors to the Holocaust in 1930s Germany. His observations emerge amidst reports of surging campus protests, including Columbia University’s anti-Israel demonstrations, which have sparked fear among Jewish students and led to clashes with law enforcement. Kraft, an alumnus of Columbia University and a prominent Jewish philanthropist, has publicly condemned what he views as a troubling pattern of Jew-hatred that mirrors one of history’s darkest periods.
“It starts like it did in the ’30s in Germany,” Kraft said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “Five years ago, I saw signs of hate developing here. I don’t want the 1940s to replicate here and unfortunately, I’m seeing signs of that and good people have to stand up and be counted.”
This sentiment was echoed by Chabad at Columbia, which reported that Jewish students had faced offensive rhetoric, including being told to “go back to Poland” and to “stop killing children.” These alarming incidents are part of a broader landscape of campus unrest that has not spared even Muslim students from threats and harassment.
Kraft’s concerns are not isolated. Investigations have been launched by the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights into alleged antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents across several U.S. colleges and universities. Furthermore, the surge of antisemitism has provoked responses from various political quarters, with House Speaker Mike Johnson calling for the resignation of Columbia University President Minouche Shafik and proposing threats to federal funding for schools embroiled in such controversies.
Amidst the turmoil, Kraft has criticized the role of campus leadership and faculty in fanning the flames of division, suggesting that professors have abandoned their educational mission in favor of political activism. His call for accountability was sharply articulated in an op-ed on the front page of the New York Post. “Stand up to Jew hatred: Campus leaders must show courage and stop radical professors from poisoning young minds,” reads the headline of Kraft’s op-ed.
Kraft has gone so far as to suspend his financial support for Columbia, citing the institution’s handling of the protests, though he later clarified his continued backing of the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life on campus, designating it a “haven of safety.”
The nationwide crackdown on campus protests persisted Wednesday with 108 arrests at protests near Boston’s Emerson College last night. In Los Angeles, police detained 93 individuals at the University of Southern California campus after urging protesters to leave.
Relevant articles:
– New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft: ‘Jew-hatred’ on US college campuses another parallel to Germany in 1930s and 1940s, NBC News, 04/26/2024
– Robert Kraft: Campus leaders must show courage and stop radical professors from poisoning young minds, New York Post, Thu, 25 Apr 2024 02:58:00 GMT
– Patriots owner Robert Kraft: ‘Jew hatred’ on U.S. college campuses is another parallel to Germany in 1930s and ’40s, NBC News, Thu, 25 Apr 2024 18:37:25 GMT
– Antisemitism on campus surges as agitators take over, Fox News, Fri, 26 Apr 2024 21:41:19 GMT
– Robert Kraft: Radical Columbia profs. poison young minds, The Jerusalem Post, Thu, 25 Apr 2024 13:17:22 GMT