Overpowering the Hate – A First-Hand Account of the
PSM Conference at Ohio State University
by Shmuel Herzfeld
November 10, 2003
As the sun began to set on Friday signaling the onset of Shabbat, we found ourselves at OhioStateUniversity, one of the largest and most respected universities in America. We stood in the middle of a rally sponsored by the student group PalestineSolidarity Movement (PSM). Using a microphone to amplify their voice, speaker after speaker shouted the most hateful, anti-Semitic canards against us.
One speaker arose, shouted while staring at us, “Send them all back on a boat!” We yelled back, “Where is Sami?” referring to Sami Al-Arian, who was the keynote speaker at last year’s PSM conference at the University of Michigan. Al-Arian currently sits in Federal Prison for his leadership role in the terrorist group Islamic Jihad. An Arab woman then took the microphone and said, “We are all supporters of Sami Al-Arian.”
Of course they are. The very essence of their conference is precisely to lend moral and strategic support to the terrorists fighting for the Palestinian cause. One of PSM’s guiding principles is that“as a solidarity movement, it is not our place to dictate the strategies or tactics adopted by the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation.” These are code words for supporting terrorism.
I stood outside the conference from when it began on Friday afternoon until it drew to a close on Sunday evening. I asked many members of PSM if they denounced terrorism. Not a single one did. In fact, the keynote speaker this year, Adam Shapiro, pointedly refused to condemn terrorism when he was pressed on the issue.
If PSM supports suicide bombing, why don’t they just come out and admit it? Instead they claim that they are not a terrorist organization and pose no physical threat to the safety of the university. Perhaps they create this illusion because ifPSM’s agenda were transparent, the universities would no longer allow them free reign on campus. Unfortunately, PSM is currently welcome on college campuses.
The universities should show some moral courage and no longer allow this group to meet on campus. It is a group that offers moral and tactical support to terrorists. It is a group that spreads the most vicious anti-Semitism. Many conference attendees walked past our group and yelled terrible things like, “kill the Jews.” Others chose to physically intimidate the clearly identifiable Jews by pushing them or by blocking their paths. These incidents reminded me of what happened last year in Michiganwhen, at the conclusion of the conference, we were surrounded by a group of conference participants who screamed “kill the Jews” in Arabic.
Nevertheless, our vigil outside the conference sent a strong message to those who promote anti-Semitism and support terrorism –you are not welcome on college campuses. Take your message elsewhere.
This message seems to be getting across. The good news is that the divestment movement is basically dead. No university President has endorsed it and many have spoken out against it. Having been at both conferences, I can tell you that there were many more delegates (perhaps three times as many) at the Michigan conference than at the OSU conference. The OSU conference did not have more than 200 people there on Saturday, the main day of the conference. When Adam Shapiro spoke on Sunday there probably weren’t even 80 people in the room. And many of those people who attend came to monitor the hatred being disseminated.
Most significantly, the OSU campus was not intimidated by the anti-Semitic speech of the conference. The voice of evil was drowned out by the voices of good that rose to drown out the hate.
Jews drove hours from all over America (Indiana, Maine, New York, New Jersey,Texas, Wisconsin, and all over Ohio) to speak out against hate on campus. They came to spread the light of truth against the evil of darkness. On Sunday around 200 people gathered to protest against PSM. When the conference had their own closing rally later in the day, there were more protesters than conference attendees!
When this conference was first held in California, Jews were literally beaten up on campus. Last year Jews were surrounded and threatened with their lives. Nevertheless, last year marked the start of Jewish students reclaiming the campuses. This year the voices of terror were nearly drowned out completely. Maybe next year, there won’t even be a conference.
At the conclusion of Shabbat, students gathered for the traditional Havdalah service. It is a prayer that recognizes the power of light to push away the darkness. As I recited the prayer, I felt that on this Shabbat we really did push away the darkness of the world. At OSU, the light of good overpowered the darkness of evil.
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
National Vice-President, Amcha—CJC