Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), warned a Knesset committee on Tuesday that anti-Israel protests on American college campuses pose a “direct threat to the existence of the State of Israel.”
Diker made his remarks during an emergency meeting of the Immigration and Absorption Committee of the Knesset convened to discuss the antisemitic calls on U.S. campuses. Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli also participated as well as organizations leading the fight against antisemitism.
“Israel must be vigilant and keep its eyes open. We cannot accept statements like ‘Israel is an apartheid state’ or ‘Israel is an occupying state,’ which have persisted since [PLO Chairman Yasser] Arafat’s speech in 1974 at the U.N. General Assembly,” said Diker, who has published a series of books on the danger of campus antisemitism and BDS organizations.
He said that Israel must work closely with Jewish organizations in the free world, especially within faculties of Middle Eastern studies departments that have become radicalized.
He suggested that the National Security Council lead the fight against antisemitism and treat it as a security threat, not only to Jews worldwide but also to Israel’s security and existence.