Most of us can agree that terrorism is a gruesome and terrible enterprise that needs to be dealt with in one way or another, with one relatively recent example being the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), a religious terrorist group whose mission is to continue the spread of global jihad.

But the purpose of my column this week is not to explain ISIS and why it must be brought to justice. It is about the need for clarity when reporting at the collegiate level. As a practicing Jew born and raised in New York City, I became aware at a very early age of what it meant to be hated.

Hate is a very strong word that should be used seldom and only within its proper context. But despite the fact that there are more individuals who identify as Jewish in New York than in any other state in the country, it does not mean that the city, or any place else for that matter, is protected from hatred.

Now, it is important to be wary of how cavalierly the term anti-Semite is used, for it is most often the case that when any word saturates the media, it, at a certain point, loses its validity. This especially applies to the term anti-Semite. With that being said, there is a fundamental difference between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. To be in opposition to Zionism is to disagree with the fundamental principal that the Jewish people should be allowed to have their homeland—Israel. To be an anti-Semite is to have immense contempt and hatred for Jews.
It has never been and never will be my job to police specific aspects of the media, regardless of its angle. It would be inappropriate. But at the end of the day, as the late United States senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.”

In this case, a fringe international socialist newspaper has over stepped the line. I refuse to name this paper in an effort not to give them any more attention, which clearly seems to be its goal. But its agenda is beyond radical, and it was distributed on college campuses.

The banner headline of its most recent column discusses the need to defend the Palestinians. The front page of the newspaper has an incredibly misleading and misinformed banner headline which reads, “Zionist Bloodbath in Gaza.” Now, it is one thing to label it “Israeli Bloodbath in Gaza,” which in my opinion would still be terribly inaccurate. But to use the word “Zionist” crosses the line.

First of all, it’s offensive. All Zionists are being lumped together and therefore deemed responsible for the conflict in the “occupied” territories. I am a Zionist, and I come from a family of Zionists. My great grandparents raised money for Zionist organizations in the early years of the 20th century. My family is not responsible for the innocent lives lost in the Gaza Strip. The U.S. is full of Zionists, especially liberal Zionists (a topic of conversation that has received much attention in news outlets such as the New York Times and the New York Review of Books—in other words, respectable news outlets). A liberal Zionist is someone who is a full-fledged supporter of a homeland for the Jewish people, while at the same time critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies.

But in some ways, to be a supporter of anti-Zionism seems worse than anti-Semitism. To say the Jewish people are not entitled to a homeland is wrong, especially when they have had a home for more than 60 years.

The newspaper’s column specifically compares Israeli policy with that of Joseph Goebbels, minister of Nazi propaganda. It is clear that whatever the agenda of this news organization may be, it is not one which cares for the respect of rational, independently thinking individuals.

It is no surprise that this newspaper barely has a following to begin with. The reason for this is because it supports terrorist organizations like Hamas.

On the front page of the paper, it says, “We take a side militarily in defense of Hamas against Israel.” Some would argue that Hamas is not a terrorist enterprise, but I think differently. So does the State Department, which on Oct. 8, 1997, officially declared Hamas a terrorist organization.

Finally, it is not surprising that there is no author to this piece. Who would want to associate themselves with a piece so radical? So while you have certain radical writers spewing rhetoric and sensationalism in an effort to pass it off as news, the power lies in the eyes of the reader.

Should college students partake in and pay for this type of “journalism,” or should we turn our heads and look the other way in an effort for the noise to die down? The choice is yours.

Isaac Simon is the media critique for the Collegian and can be reached at [email protected].