Campaign Against Left-wing Anti-semitism Launched on Campuses

The Youth Committee for Peace and Democracy in the Middle East announced today the launching of a major effort to combat a "rising tide of left-wing anti-Semitism on America’s campuses." The Youth Committee, a national coalition dedicated to rallying sentiment for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, especially singled out for criticism the Young Socialist Alliance (YSA), a Trotskyist organization affiliated with the Socialist Worker’s Party (SWP).

David Kopilow, executive secretary of the Youth Committee, noted that the YSA calls for the "elimination of the Zionist state but never mentions what the concrete results of such action would be. The Arabs, regardless of whether they are conservative or revolutionary are clear on this point–genocide will be committed against the Israeli population. If the Nazi holocaust is repeated in the Middle East, the YSA will share in the responsibility."

Lawrence Gulotta, New York director of the Youth Committee, pointed out that "The Militant," the official newspaper of the SWP and the YSA has opened its pages to the anti-Semitic diatribes of Arab terrorist groups. In one statement that appeared in "The Militant," the Palestine Liberation Organization called for an attack on-Jews of all nations, because "Jews contribute men, money, and influence to make Israel a reality.

Gulotta stated that the most outrageous manifestation of the YSA line was in response to the murder of 11 Israelis at the Olympic games. The YSA and an editorial in "The Militant" following the Munich massacre labelled the world outcry as a "hypocritical roar of indignation" whose purpose really was "to make the criminal look like the victim" and the massacre itself as merely a mistake in tactics.

The Youth Committee, whose sponsors include national officers of the NAACP, the United States Youth Council, Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, the Young People’s Socialist League and other liberal and religious groups, is planning a vigorous campaign to expose left-wing anti-Semitism.

At Wayne State University in Detroit, the Youth Committee has organized a protest campaign against the university newspaper, "South End," whose staff recently printed anti-Israel articles with a swastika superimposed over the Star of David. Gulotta indicated that the Youth Committee will expand its activities against left-wing anti-Semitism by waging a grass roots effort in the youth community to challenge the legitimacy of the groups that propagate anti-Israel and anti-Semitic views.