Izabella Tabarovsky
“The censorship of my lectures by two Finnish universities replayed some long-forgotten past experiences for me. For ex-Soviet Jews, the anti-Israel campaigns that have permeated university campuses in recent years serve as a stark reminder of what we endured under the USSR. @MaximDShrayer, a refusenik and professor at Boston College, recalls how in the 1970s and ’80s, all “expressions of Jewish pride and Jewish spiritual and intellectual self-awareness” were dubbed “‘Zionist’ and targeted for public ostracism and vilification.” Under the pretense of combatting Zionism, “brainwashed Soviet young people acted on their antisemitic urges. A non-Jewish teenager at my Soviet school tried to beat up a Jewish kid because ‘the Zionists have taken over the Golan Heights.’” For us, Soviet Jews, the state’s obsession with Zionism led to relentless discrimination, barring us from certain universities, careers, and professions. This lived experience taught us that while “anti-Zionism” doesn’t have to be antisemitic in theory, it inevitably produces antisemitic outcomes in real life. In the wake of Oct. 7, Jews around the world are learning what we knew decades ago: Whether school bullies call us “kikes” or “Zios,” the outcome is the same. @AboAkademi @helsinkiuni @tabletmag
