Canceling Holocaust Memory and Institutional Failure in the Face of Intimidation
A Holocaust commemoration was canceled during Holocaust Memorial Week.
That fact alone should give us pause.
Not because it reflects a bureaucratic misstep, but because it illustrates something deeper: the persistence of old Jew-hatred patterns in new forms. The lesson of the Holocaust is not only about how hatred culminates, but how it begins, how it adapts, and how institutions respond when confronted with it.
It was in this context that I was invited to speak at Vanier College in Montreal as part of a Holocaust Symposium dedicated to educating students about how societies descend into hatred, dehumanization, and, ultimately, catastrophe.
As I traveled through Montreal city, I was reminded of Montreal’s beautiful cultural richness—its architecture, linguistic character, and intellectual vibrancy. The reception at the college reflected this same openness: staff and students were welcoming and engaged, and the symposium organizers demonstrated a clear commitment to meaningful educational dialogue.
My lecture, Unmasking the Antizionist Era, sought to situate contemporary developments within a broader historical and ideological framework. It became evident to me in preparing this talk that one cannot adequately explain modern antizionism without first examining its intellectual origins, particularly within Marxist thought and Soviet political practice.
Because to understand antizionism today, one must first understand where it comes from.
Antizionism Did Not Begin with Israel
A central point of my lecture, and one that often surprises audiences, is that antizionism did not originate as a reaction to Israeli policies.
It predates the State of........
