Non-Jews Banning Jewish Texts to Protect Jews

Three days ago, the New York Post reported that Hunter College was looking to hire a scholar in Palestinian studies. The job ad read:

We seek a historically grounded scholar who takes a critical lens to issues pertaining to Palestine including but not limited to: settler colonialism, genocide, human rights, apartheid, migration, climate and infrastructure devastation, health, race, gender, and sexuality.

It took less than a New York minute for Governor Kathy Hochul to order the job listing taken down and for City University of New York (CUNY) leaders to comply. According to Hochul’s office, “Hateful rhetoric of any kind has no place at CUNY or anywhere in New York State.” The hateful rhetoric in question? These words and phrases: “settler colonialism,” “genocide,” and “apartheid.”

If a scholar studying these historical phenomena cannot be hired at CUNY, if a job advertisement mentioning these historical phenomena cannot be posted at CUNY, it’s safe to say that it probably won’t be long before any course examining these phenomena cannot be taught at CUNY.

Let’s be clear about what this means. First, any Palestinian voices and history mentioning these phenomena would be taken out of the curriculum. Second, any anti-Zionist Jewish voices and history mentioning these phenomena would be taken out of the curriculum. And third, any Jewish Zionist or pro-Israel voices and history that mention these phenomena would be taken out of the curriculum.

Let me give you a concrete example.

My wife’s grandparents were refugees from Nazi Germany who fled to the United States in the 1930s. After they died, my wife went through the trove of Judaica they had kept in their possession, some of which my wife now has. One book in their library stands out: an original edition of A Palestine Picture Book, published by Schocken in 1947, featuring photographs by Jakob Rosner for the Jewish National Fund.

The book has stunning photographs of Palestine, pre-1947.

It…