In recent years, a post-colonial approach has become increasingly popular on campuses. This approach divides the world into different groups based on gender, sexuality, and race. It pits those who have suffered from colonialism, such as blacks, Africans, Muslims, and Asians, against those who initiated it – whites. Whites are often seen as privileged or victims while indigenous minorities are celebrated as heroes. There is leniency towards these minorities when they break the law or engage in terrorism while Jews are targeted for protests against their country Israel.
Academia has embraced principles of post-colonialism and identity politics with enthusiasm. Truth and facts have become dependent on race and gender. Those who do not adhere to these principles are often condemned and dismissed. Courses promoting hatred of Israel have proliferated along with intense activity by Palestinian and progressive Jewish organizations seeking an academic boycott of Israel. Arab countries have also poured significant donations into academia to promote specific research topics and activities against Israel.
In the last twenty years, a global movement emerged to promote an economic, cultural, diplomatic, and academic boycott against Israel. Inspired by the success of similar actions against South Africa, this movement focused its efforts on campuses collaborating with left-wing human rights environmental Muslim organizations. The media played a significant role in demonizing Israel by presenting Palestinians as victims while ignoring Israel’s perspective. However, efforts to combat this movement failed due to conflicting messages from government ministries that lacked coordination between them.
To address these challenges head-on, establishing a national authority for information combating anti-Semitism free from political interests could be helpful in countering biases against Israel. Prof Eli Avraham from the Department of Communication at the University of Haifa is leading the fight against academic boycotts that undermine freedom of speech and academic values in universities worldwide.
In conclusion, the post-colonial approach is gaining popularity on campuses but it leads to division instead of unity among people based on their identities such as gender or race which has led to leniency towards some minority groups when they break laws or engage in terrorism while targeting others for protests due to their perceived privilege or national identity.
