Jews are sometimes described as “the canary in the coal mine” because the toxic environment they face can act as a warning to wider society. But with Jews currently being held hostage underground by the antisemitic theocrats Hamas, this is no longer a metaphor, but a grim reality.
In the latest issue of Jewish Quarterly, Mindless: What Happened to Universities, Cary Nelson untangles the complex subject of how a culture of antisemitism led to catastrophic institutional failure in academia – a failure that has yet to be properly addressed.
A professor of English and former President of the American Association of University Professors, Nelson has made this in-depth essay surprisingly easy to read without compromising on the subject matter. There’s a lot to get angry about, but instead of writing a polemic, this leading expert on higher education lays out the facts clearly and calmly, which makes it all the more terrifying.
An important notion in the definition of a university is the belief in academic freedom. We take it for granted, but Mindless reveals how that concept is now under threat. Professor Nelson explores how the core principles of academic freedom are being relinquished, while little is done to resist this slide towards indoctrination and conformity. The essay also happens to chime with one of the hot topics of the moment: free speech.
Immediately after the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel we witnessed an outpouring of excitement about it from around the world. Nowhere was this more evident than in universities. Although the levels of irrational behaviour took many by surprise, new norms had already created fertile ground for hate and violence to be justified as “liberation”.
Using polls and data, Professor Nelson demonstrates that this toxic environment had been primed long before the encampments. For example, in a pre-October 7 survey of 5,000 students from 600 institutions across the US by the University of Chicago’s Project on Security and Threats, 13% said that Jews deserved physical attacks. That figure jumped to 20% after the Hamas attacks.
Nelson does not exaggerate, sensationalise or claim the problem is part of a mainstream mindset. Instead, he investigates how the pernicious influence of a radical but vocal minority of staff and student groups became embedded within academic institutions, culminating in public statements that celebrated the massacre of Jewish families as a “historic win” and a “spectacular feat”.
From encampments, boycotts and exclusion to department activism, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and hate speech, Mindless pulls the threads together to help us make sense of all the manifestations of this indoctrination. What it successfully illustrates is how politicisation can run riot through all areas of a department, creating preordained conclusions without debate or learning. These negative forces even impact the identities of students, who are pressured to pick a side. What remains is no longer recognisable as a university, because “anti-Zionism” has damaged its core mission.
Although he paints a grim overall picture, Professor Nelson gives the reader hope that those who reject the radicals but whose voices just need to be lifted are in the majority. Best of all, he provides concrete proposals for making immediate and comprehensive reforms, which he has spoken about to the House of Lords.
His recommendations include penalties for faculties imposing conformity, practical implementation of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and establishing respect for Jewish tradition, history, culture and differing views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Every vice-chancellor in the UK has been sent a copy of Mindless, which is a start, but everyone else in academia should also read it to fully understand the gravity and implications of the issues.
One advantage of this being published in a Jewish publication is that it unashamedly centres antisemitism and talks about the impact on Jewish students. But it’s also a shame that Mindless wasn’t published in a more mainstream publication, as it works as a cautionary tale of how antisemitism can degrade the integrity of any institution, even one which prides itself on free thinking.
My hope is that universities will try to understand the issues and follow the remedies of this expert insider who understands how to resolve them, rather than continuing to allow themselves to be compromised by a vocal minority.
Antisemitic thinking signals a wider malaise and it is obvious the air in academia is becoming toxic, not just for Jewish students but for anyone who doesn’t conform. Let’s hope academia pays attention to Mindless and cleans up the environment before it becomes irredeemably polluted.
Alex Hearn is the director of Labour Against Antisemitism
