During a portion of an interview with CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash set to air on Sunday that was released on Friday, Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, stated that antisemitism hasn’t been taken as seriously as other forms of bigotry and that “often” university administrators are “using the antisemitism against” Jewish students by taking the perspective that “these Jewish kids, they come from well-heeled families.”
Lipstadt said, “Jew-hatred, antisemitism is deeply baked into, not just Western society, but much of the world. It’s very hard to eradicate. Antisemitism has been called the longest or the oldest hatred, with good reason. So, this sort of let the lid off for many antisemites. For quite a few decades, it hasn’t been taken seriously. People have said, well, it’s not as serious as racism, it’s not as serious as homophobia, it’s not as serious as misogyny, etc. Or what you’ll often find is, amongst university administrators, these Jewish kids, they come from well-heeled families. It’s almost falling into the antisemitic trope, Jews are powerful, so why are they complaining? Jews are successful, so why are they complaining? So, it’s using the antisemitism against them.”
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