OPINION - The American Jewish novelist, part of whose family perished in the Holocaust, discusses his state of mind while he was in Poland when anti-Semitic chants echoed across American campuses.
When an enraged anti-Israel protester at Columbia University loudly suggested that Jews “ go back to Poland , ” I happened to be there. My wife and children and I were visiting Holocaust sites in Eastern Europe. Strange coincidence. My father’s family is from Poland and Ukraine, and many of our relatives perished in the Holocaust. I don’t know if they were Zionists, although I suspect some of them must have been. The definition of a Zionist that I have always considered accurate is someone who believes that Jews deserve a state where they can be safe. I believe that too. I also believe that Palestinians deserve a state in which they can be safe, that the Israeli occupation has been a disaster, and that Netanyahu must be replaced. I mention this so you know my perspective on the current situation.