Antisemitism part two

 It seems I spent a lot of time discussing the topic back in 2019.  Part two and Part three

The first time I experienced ia hate crime was in college.  I went to the University of Albany, one of the largest schools in the State University of New York system.  “Everybody” was from Long Island (not really true, but it often felt that way) and there was a large Jewish population.  The school had a very active Hillel and one of the dining halls served kosher food.  It was the kind of place where a girl with a very Jewish surname could feel comfortable.

And yet …

The phone rang in our suite at 3 AM.  My roommate answered it, and the caller asked for me. When I picked up the phone, he spewed some antisemitic bull…At first I was taken aback.  My roommates were also Jewish, also had very Jewish names, why did the caller ask for me?

And then I realized that I recognized the voice. The guy blamed me for his failing grade. 

I had taken  a “cake” class, an easy three credits.  We had two projects, and the caller was my partner on the second project.  It was pretty obvious to the professor that I’d done all the work on the project.  My guess is that the caller pulled  the same thing on his partner for the other project.  The professor asked me to confirm that my partner hadn’t contributed to the assignment.  What was I supposed to do, lie?

So he chose to express his anger through an antisemitic rant.

That was the worst of it.  I never felt unsafe.  I never questioned whether it was wise to go to the pro Israel rally the night the PLO speaker was on campus.

So when I hear about what’s going on at colleges today, I want to cry.