Cooper Union is a prestigious liberal arts college in New York City. But “elite” and “expensive” does NOT mean exempt from anti-Semitism. Pro-Israel students, mainly Jewish, had to barricade themselves in the library to protect themselves from a pro-Hamas mob that was banging on the door. Meanwhile, campus security and (reportedly) NYPD stood by idly.
This reminds me of my mother’s story. In 1932-1933 she attended the prestigious University of Vienna. Her sharpest memory was a group of young men with Nazi arm bands. They were kicking a young Jewish student down the stairs, while police waited outside and did nothing. But the passage of 90 years has changed little.
University of Vienna 1933. Cooper Union 2023. As Yogi Berra said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” And as the kid said in “Poltergeist II,” “They’re baaaack!”