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Antisemitism Charges are the New Red Scare
How an evidence-free smear is used to suppress those fighting for justice in Palestine.
U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy (R — WI, 1946–57) would have been proud. In the 1950s, McCarthy led a series of hearings and shadowy ‘investigations,’ attacking supporters of labor and progressive causes as ‘Communists.’ Evidence of wrongdoing was not provided and not needed, only allegations. People lost their jobs and their careers, faced hostile grilling by Congressional committees, and were sent to prison after being accused of Communism by McCarthy and his allies.
The “Red Scare,” as it was called, came to resemble the witch hunts in 17th-century New England. Now, supporters of Israel have resurrected McCarthy’s tactics, condemning all who call for peace in Palestine or an end to U.S. military aid to Israel as ‘antisemites.’
The new McCarthyites smear as Jew-haters anyone who calls for a ceasefire in Gaza or says “Free Palestine.” They have attacked universities, labor unions, and school districts around the country. Current targets include professors, doctors, students, and staff at my former employer, the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center.
Last month, congressional Republicans sent a chilling letter to UCSF. They threatened to stop Medicare and MediCal reimbursement, putting at risk the care of thousands of desperately ill patients. The letter said Congress is investigating “hundreds of complaints from UCSF employees and patients of antisemitism and/or a hostile work environment.” These complaints were conveniently “learned from confidential sources,” so no one can check them.
The Congressional letter to UCSF offers little evidence of this supposed antisemitism. They cite “calls for violence” at a short-lived protest encampment, which were actually calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and for Palestinian freedom. They accuse medical professionals of wearing pro-Palestinian pins that “discomfort” Jewish patients.
Nobody has alleged a single case of patients being mistreated by those pin-wearing caregivers, or of their even hearing an unkind word. At least one, though, Denise Caramagno, the co-director of a UCSF counseling program, has been fired because of her pro-Palestinian statements, which supposedly rendered her…
