Growing Antisemitism Proves 'Diversity Equity And Inclusion' Model Is Irretrievably Broken

According to the presidents of several elite universities, calling for the death of all Jews does not constitute bullying and harassment. What has gone wrong with the DEI movement?

Dr. Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, Liz Magill, president of University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Pamela Nadell, professor of history and Jewish studies at American University, and Dr. Sally Kornbluth, president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, testify in Congress. Photo: Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images

by Ben Cohen

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (usually abbreviated DEI) refers to organizational frameworks which seek to promote "the fair treatment and full participation of all people", particularly groups "who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination" on the basis of identity or disability.^[1] These three notions (diversity, equity, and inclusion) together represent "three closely linked values" which organizations seek to institutionalize through DEI frameworks.

- Wikipedia

The concept of ‘Diversity Equity and Inclusion’ (DEI) is, at least on the face of it, a noble one. Recognizing how identity and systems of power and privilege have played a role in shaping society can help us move beyond our painful histories.

Anyone with a vague understanding of history knows that African Americans for example, have faced extraordinary discrimination in a multitude of ways. From vicious cycles of poverty that can be traced directly back to slavery and Jim Crow to newer forms of discrimination that perpetuated black poverty and exclusion, the effects of systemic racism on African Americans are undeniable.

I do not wish to argue against any of this, or suggest that we scrap DEI entirely and pretend we live in a colorblind, unprejudiced meritocracy.

However, it is clear that the current ‘Diversity Equity and Inclusion’ model promoted in schools and the workplace is not only broken, but actively promoting racism against minorities not included in its schema.

Inclusion, if you are the right minority

Several years ago, a very liberal Armenian friend of mine quietly complained to me that he had to go through “racial sensitivity training” as part of his company’s commitment to DEI. It was a relatively new concept at the time, and his DC based non-profit company was at the forefront of the movement. My friend had lost many of his ancestors in the Armenian genocide that saw almost 1.2 million ethnic Armenians systematically exterminated by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. The Ottoman Empire sought to solidify Muslim Turkish dominance in the region and went about slaughtering Armenian Christians in huge numbers. Given my friend’s ancestors were killed by people with darker skin than his, he objected to having to learn about his “white privilege,” and why his company wanted to “boldly interrupt white privilege, because white privilege is what helps create and maintain systemic inequity.”

I was somewhat shocked that the program at his workplace didn’t take into account his individual background, or acknowledge how the oppression and extermination of millions of Armenians might have played a role in his family’s lives. I could see that my friend felt a little hurt by his exclusion, and not just that his own history was being ignored, but that he was now being categorized as an “oppressor”.

I also wondered whether Jews were included in any of this. In a progressive workplace, would my colleagues be educated about the extensive history of Jewish persecution, oppression, and genocide? Would there be awareness of appropriate and inappropriate remarks in the presence of Jews? Initially, I believed this understanding would be widespread, given the prominent history of antisemitism. Being self-employed, these considerations weren't directly pertinent to my daily life, but my interest was piqued and I paid more attention to this new phenomenon.

Unfortunately, it turns out I was entirely wrong.

DEI in 2023

Two weeks ago, a story circulated on my neighborhood Facebook group about a local school teacher spreading antisemitic posts on her social media account. Reported the Washington Post (bold emphasis mine):

A Montgomery County teacher is on leave after screenshots of a Facebook post purported to show her falsely claiming that the Oct. 7 Hamas music festival massacre that killed 260 was a hoax, her school said. She also posted that “Palestinian’s are being killed and their organs are being sold. How is real life scarier than the movies??” according to the screenshots, which circulated widely in Montgomery County over the weekend. There is no evidence of organ harvesting.

“Debunked! No music festival attack. Babies were not burned. Women were not violated. Hospitals were attacked on purpose,” Sabrina Khan-Williams — who teaches world studies in addition to diversity, equity and inclusion at Tilden Middle School — wrote, according to the screenshots. She did not immediately respond to requests to comment for this article.

This is not an isolated incident. An Emory University professor who was co-vice chair of diversity, equity and inclusion in her department was placed on leave last month after posting a poem with the lines: “They got walls we got gliders Glory to all resistance fighters.”

Imagine for a moment a DEI teacher posting claims to social media that George Floyd was not strangled to death by a white police officer, or that the genocide of Native Americans didn’t happen. This could never happen, but because Jews are not included in DEI initiatives, these educators were entirely comfortable posting genocide denial and celebratory remarks about October 7th.

Bad ideas

It is important to understand that the omission of Jews as an officially oppressed minority is baked into the mantra of DEI. As Seth Mandel in Commentary Magazine writes:

In 2021, Jewish employees of a Stanford University mental-health division filed complaints against the university over incidents in a staff DEI program. According to Inside Higher Education, staff were divided into two groups, one for people of color and the other for “whiteness accountability.” The Jewish employees were told to join the “whiteness accountability” group because it was for all who are complicit in systemic racism, including those who are “white-passing.” According to the complaints, the DEI committee “endorsed the narrative that Jews are connected to white supremacy, advancing anti-Semitic tropes concerning Jewish power, conspiracy and control.”

It is hard to describe how incredibly offensive it is for a Jew to be told they are complicit in, and benefit from white supremacy. I cannot trace my family history back past the late 1800’s and early 1900’s because white supremacists murdered them all.

The consequences of this grotesque distortion of history are dire for Jews in today’s society too. Previous to October 7th, antisemitic hate crimes in America were already at an all time high. After Hamas murdered 1200 Israelis, the hate crimes then rose by another 400%. College campuses around the country are beset by antisemitic harassment of Jewish students where 73% say they have experienced or seen antisemitism, and only 46% feel physically safe on campus.

What are universities doing about this appalling rise in antisemitism? Not a lot. Just look at this extraordinary exchange between Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and presidents at Harvard, MIT and Penn during a Congressional hearing about antisemitism this week. Stefanik asked the presidents whether calling for the genocide of Jews constitutes “bullying and harassment”:

Calling for the death of Jews does not necessarily constitute bullying and harassment because it is “context dependent”.

If students were marching on Harvard, Penn, and MIT campuses calling for the death of all black people, would they equivocate on the definition of “bullying and harassment”? Of course not, but again, given Jews aren’t an official minority, so calling for their elimination is now deemed part of fighting “oppression and colonization.”

Teaching division

Every Tuesday afternoon I go to my five year old’s school to assist the teacher reading and writing exercises. My son absolutely loves me being there and it gives me a chance to learn about what his life is like in the classroom. It is an incredibly diverse school with black, Latino, African, Jewish, white and Asian students. In first grade, no one in my son’s class has any idea what it means to be black, white or Latino etc — they live in an entirely color blind world where the only division from what I can tell is based on what your favorite color is (you’re a “bad guy” if you like green according to my son). This will no doubt change in the coming years, but it is a reminder of how life could be if we decided to move beyond the narrowing parameters of racial identity.

The best reader in the class happens to be a black girl named Michaela. At five years old, Michaela does not define herself by her race, and at least from my perspective, it isn’t a particularly interesting fact about her. But Michaela’s race is important and there is a lot of history showing this to be the case.

Some of the concepts in DEI attempt to reverse the unconscious biases in the American education system and should be applauded. I don’t know how exactly much of an influence DEI has in my son’s school, but hopefully Michaela will be able to fulfill her potential in an education system that at least doesn’t hamper her progress. Likewise, I’d like my son to go through school without facing the antisemitic hate so many Jewish students face. Unfortunately, I believe some of the concepts taught in DEI make this unlikely. Because DEI programs have not only failed to protect Jews, but make discrimination against them more likely.

Perhaps DEI served a purpose for a specific time; however, now there is a need for new ideas that are not predicated on dividing people into stringent identity categories. Simply replacing one persecuted minority with another does not improve diversity, equity, or inclusion. Instead, it only makes these noble goals that much harder to achieve.

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