Antisemitism and the Trump administration’s visa crackdown

Yair Golan, the leader of the opposition Labour Party in Israel, has recently warned that Israel could become a pariah state: “A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies as a pastime, and does not engage in mass population displacement.”

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has repeatedly accused the Netanyahu government of committing “war crimes.”

I don’t believe either could be accused of being an antisemite, but one wonders if either could get a student visa in America under the Trump administration’s new crackdown on foreign students with “radical” views.

Prime Minister Netanyahu often accuses critics of his government and its policies as antisemitic in an effort to deflect criticism about his prosecution of the war in Gaza.

It should be possible to criticize the way Israel has conducted operations without engaging in anti-Jewish rhetoric or violent actions, but, tragically, it has happened far too often, and those acts must be condemned and justice served.

However, one should be able to agree on certain facts in order to try to stop this most awful conflict. What Hamas did on Oct. 7, 2023, was a heinous and sadistic attack on a largely innocent civilian population, and Israel has the right of self-defense. The Netanyahu government looked the other way as Hamas was supported in order to keep Palestinians politically divided.

Hamas has used its own people as human shields and has tortured and killed the Israeli hostages it holds, both war crimes. Israel’s prosecution of the war has violated the international standard of a Responsibility to Protect, as tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians have been killed. Israel has withheld food and medicine that has created a volatile humanitarian crisis.

In looking for “radical” statements by students who seek to study in the U.S. will administration officials differentiate between fair criticism of Israeli policy and antisemitic tropes? One cannot have a lot of faith given the sloppy, chaotic way they handle their business.

Let’s also be clear that for President Trump, antisemitism is a useful stick, but little else. The man who invited holocaust denier Nick Fuentes to dine with him at Mar-a-Lago and the president who characterized the white nationalists who marched in Charlottesville (chanting “Jews will not replace us”) as “fine people” has demonstrated that he runs a values-free administration and foreign policy.

The halt to visa interviews for students so that their social media and other activities can be scrutinized sounds tough, but think how many years it took the Chinese government to erect the “Great Firewall” so that phrases like Tiananmen Square could be quickly expunged.

Of course, students applying for visas to study in the U.S. are probably clever enough to scrub their social media postings before applying. Sure, Kristi Noem might take a few scalps of possibly innocent students and hold them up proudly on Fox News, but the callous wrecking of a young life pales beside the incalculable damage to America and its universities.

American universities — and ultimately the United States — are immeasurably enriched by the presence of international students. The students’ diverse backgrounds, experiences and opinions make any academic environment richer.

As the administration targets Chinese students with “ties to the communist party,” will the sins of the parents be visited on their children? How do we know what is in a student’s heart? Maybe they want nothing more than to get out and stay out of China. Once here, they could some day found the next Nvidia.

As a chairman of a Fulbright Commission, I interviewed hundreds of international students who wanted to come to America. We should be proud they chose us and we should welcome them with open arms.

• Keith Peterson, of Lake Barrington, served 29 years as a press and cultural officer for the United States Information Agency and Department of State. He was chief editorial writer of the Daily Herald 1984-86. His book “American Dreams: The Story of the Cyprus Fulbright Commission” is available from Amazon.com.