US professor warns of campus antisemitism reminiscent of 'echoes of the Holocaust'

A professor and scholar at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island is concerned about the dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents on U.S. campuses since the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre last year.

While reading an article in a medical journal, Prof. Hedy Wald said she identified “political incitement cloaked in academic language,” and thought, "This cannot continue."

During the past year, Wald has articulated concerns about the rise in antisemitism and the accusations against Israel, committing “genocide” while it defends itself against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza.

“This is not only misinformation,” she said, “but it actively contributes to creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and researchers in medical faculties.”

The Brown University professor asserts that the current atmosphere and recent displays of antisemitism on American campuses reflect “echoes of the Holocaust.”

Wald noted that the mass extermination of Jews by Hitler's Nazi Germany was preceded by a demonization of Jews.

"I've spoken for over 50 schools on this, to sensitize them to why did it go wrong? Why did they start with persecuting doctors and ostracizing them and they all lost their jobs, moving into feeling that they had a moral right to kill the disabled, moving into complicity in genocide of the Jews and persecution of many other groups," she argued.

Wald said she has collected hundreds of cases of antisemitism as seen in the medical sector within the U.S.

"Aspects of anti-Jewish hostile learning environments we have personally observed in medical schools include tearing down posters of Jewish hostages, including children; demonization of Jews, accusing Jewish students of complicity with genocide, wearing banned graduation regalia portraying Israel's destruction, and Holocaust distortion or inversion," she said.

She has observed that the current antisemitism is rooted in double standards against Israel and the Jewish people.

"The IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition [of antisemitism], which is accepted by 30 nations, accepted by the United States Department of State, talks about 11 different aspects, delegitimization and double standard among them," Wald said.

"I go to double standard. If you're going to have a divestment vote, why are you not having a divestment vote on any other world entity that is creating havoc? The Chinese government did not let us in to find out what happened with the source of COVID-19. We have Russia that has gone into Ukraine," she added.

"We have genocides that are happening in Sudan right now. Why are these not topics for divestment, for encampments, for protests, for panels. That's called a double standard. And double standards and demonization and delegitimization lead us to anti-semitism," she argued.

A report from the Anti-Defamation League in May noted a dramatic increase in hostility towards Jews since the Hamas' mass invasion and terror attack on Israeli southern communities last October.

The report emphasized that the Hamas massacre intensified pre-existing antisemitism that had been simmering beneath the surface.

“For those whose views serve an anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist ideological and instrumentalist purpose, October 7 was a golden opportunity to advance further their hateful and racist fringe perspectives into mainstream conservative discourse, using it to attack rivals, mobilize supporters and attract new followers,” the report concluded.

Antisemitism has long been viewed as mainly a "Jewish problem."

In September, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt assessed that a growing number of nations are beginning to understand that hatred against Jews is ultimately a societal problem with global implications.