Cowardly Antisemitism at a N.J. High School

Last month, Mark Feldon at Spiked had an excellent column titled Stop equating anti-Semitism with Islamophobia; There is no comparison between the hatred of Jews and criticism of a religion.

I always hate it when a resolution is proposed in Congress to condemn antisemitism, and instead someone wants to add "Islamophobia" to that resolution.  This dilutes the effort to condemn hatred against Jews, which has existed for centuries.

The first time I ever heard the expression "Islamophobia" was after the September 11 attacks, when all decent citizens hated Al Qaeda for killing so many innocent Americans.  If you didn't hate them, there was something wrong with you.

I was reminded of the Feldon column after seeing this ridiculous story from New Jersey on October 7, 2024, in which they are comparing a symbol of pro-Israel mourning and support to a symbol of hatred for Muslims:

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New Jersey High School Bans Yellow Ribbons to Commemorate Oct. 7 Attack on Israel, Calls them ‘Hate’ against Muslims

"A New Jersey high school has reportedly banned students from displaying yellow ribbons to commemorate the devastating terror attack by “Palestinians” on Oct. 7, 2023.

"Fair Lawn High School near Patterson, New Jersey, is under fire for what critics are calling a “blatant’’ act of antisemitism.

"Per the New York Post:

"Some Fair Lawn High School parents and the group StopAntisemitism also complained that the presence of Israel’s flag during the event, which was partly promoting a trip to Israel, was not allowed because the administration deemed it too “political” — while members of the Muslim Student Association were allowed to display a keffiyeh.

“What happened at Fair Lawn High School is an alarming case of hypocrisy and blatant antisemitism,” said Liora Rez, founder of StopAntisemitism. “This incident is nothing short of a direct violation of Jewish students’ rights to express their identity and humanitarian concerns.”

"Between a third and 40% of the 35,000 residents in Fair Lawn in Bergen County, just 17 miles from New York City, are Jewish.

"A Fair Lawn parent said the public school district’s failure to address complaints about alleged antisemitism has been a simmering issue for some time.

“The incident at Fair Lawn High School’s Club Fair is not an isolated event but part of a disturbing pattern of antisemitism that I and other parents have been battling for years,” said Adi Vaxman, founder and president of Operation Israel, a group that provides humanitarian relief to the Jewish state, to The Post on Sunday.

"After the news broke, the school defended its ban and said it would not reverse the decision calling the yellow ribbons “hate” against Muslims."

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This is nothing more than cowardly political correctness, more antisemitism, and kowtowing to Muslims.  If I had been a student there, I would have worn as many yellow ribbons as I could. Maybe if Islamic terrorists would stop exterminating Jews, the problem would solve itself.