{"id":509100,"date":"2026-10-27T03:56:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T03:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/509100\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T03:56:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T03:56:14","slug":"former-editor-of-the-new-republic-discusses-antisemitism-and-islamophobia-the-oakland-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/509100\/","title":{"rendered":"Former editor of The New Republic discusses antisemitism and Islamophobia \u2013 The Oakland Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peter Beinart<\/a>, a Jewish American journalist, author, former editor of The New Republic and professor at the City University of New York, spoke about antisemitism<\/a>, Islamophobia<\/a> and American democracy at Oakland University (OU) on<\/a> Tuesday, Oct. 20. The event took place from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Gold Rooms B and C of the Oakland Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beinart addressed religious discrimination, voting rights and political equality ahead of the November midterm elections<\/a>.\u00a0 Following the speech, audience members raised questions about democratic institutions, religious prejudice and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An attendee asked about the role of universities and college students in protecting democratic institutions. Beinart described universities as places for challenging established ideas and questioning political systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what makes universities so precious,\u201d Beinart said. \u201cBecause people are challenged to think about how the world could be different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beinart expressed concern about government pressure on universities and restrictions on student activism, particularly surrounding criticism of Israeli government policies. Another audience member asked whether shared Judeo-Christian values could protect Jewish Americans from increasing antisemitism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beinart explained that the term can create divisions between religious communities by grouping Jews and Christians while excluding Muslims.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like the phrase Judeo-Christian,\u201d Beinart said.<\/p>\n

Beinart referenced the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh<\/a> as an example of how hostility toward immigrants can intersect with antisemitism. A question about Israeli elections shifted the discussion toward Palestinian voting rights and disagreements within Israeli politics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beinart compared political inequality in Israel with racial segregation in American history, emphasizing differences in political representation and access to voting.\u00a0The speech reflected themes from Beinart\u2019s 2025 book \u201cBeing Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning\u201d<\/a>, which examines Jewish identity, Israel and Palestinian rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alan Epstein<\/a>, a retired OU political science faculty member, concluded the session by asking whether democracy and Zionism are compatible. Epstein referenced<\/a> a statement from University of Michigan Regent Mark Bernstein<\/a> about choosing between commitments to democracy and Zionism in Michigan\u2019s U.S. Senate race.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now I think Jews face a grim choice in Michigan,\u201d Bernstein told The New York Times<\/a>. \u201cWe either compromise our commitment to democracy, or we compromise our commitment to Zionism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Epstein asked whether democracy and Zionism are fundamentally incompatible or can be resolved. Beinart explained that liberal democracy requires equal treatment under the law, regardless of religion or ethnicity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think there is a contradiction between the idea of a Jewish state and a liberal democracy,\u201d Beinart said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beinart distinguished cultural Zionism from political systems granting different legal rights based on religious or ethnic identity. OU students shared perspectives on the discussion and the upcoming election.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cullen Black, president of OU student congress<\/a>, shared personal views on Beinart\u2019s speech about the importance of independent thought on college campuses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we as a society normalized the perception of one religious group as an innately anti-American threat, that doesn\u2019t simply polarize and divide us; it opens the door for other minorities to be demonized in exactly the same way,\u201d Black said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Black connected the discussion to the importance of maintaining an inclusive campus environment.
\u201cOU students of all religious backgrounds have a right not to feel threatened, and they have an obligation to respect the backgrounds and beliefs of their peers,\u201d Black said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Samara Nkwantabisah, an OU sophomore majoring in political science, attended for extra credit and reflected on voting for the first time.
\u201cIt\u2019s my first time voting,\u201d Nkwantabisah said. \u201cAnd I think it just gives people more insight and information about who they\u2019re planning to vote for.\u201d
Heather McGarity, an OU junior majoring in political science with a minor in deaf studies, attended to hear different perspectives on the election.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s obviously a hot election. It\u2019s very important. It\u2019s a critical time in history,\u201d McGarity said. \u201cI think this is going to be in my children\u2019s history books someday.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

McGarity expressed optimism about the upcoming election. \u201cI am very optimistic,\u201d McGarity said.
Isaiah Howell, a senior OU student majoring in criminal justice and minoring in sociology, emphasized the importance of learning about social issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s time, I personally believe that it is important for students like me to stay educated on important social topics,\u201d Howell said. \u201cThe part of Beinart\u2019s speech that still echoes in my mind is Beinart\u2019s use of historical comparison between Israel and the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howell connected the comparison to Oakland University\u2019s land acknowledgement, highlighting the importance of understanding historical injustices. Beinart expanded on the comparison by describing the displacement of Native Americans during the 19th century.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThink about what happened in this country in the 19th century,\u201d Beinart said. \u201cNative Americans were forced off of their lands, violently forced off of their lands, pushed into smaller and smaller enclaves.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The comparison reflected central themes of Beinart\u2019s speech: the importance of religious discrimination, historical injustices and the importance of equal rights in a democracy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additional reporting for this article was contributed by Aaron Griggs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Peter Beinart, a Jewish American journalist, author, former editor of The New Republic and professor at the City…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509101,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-509100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}