Helene G. Simon Hillel Center (Image: IU)
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While the media seems to be obsessed with any report of any crime motivated by "Islamophobia," they seem to be turning a blind eye to the fact that Jews in America are the victims of more than eight times as many "hate crimes" as Muslims every year. The most recent episodes have been taking place on one of America's state university campuses in recent days.
On Nov. 27, rocks were thrown through the windows of two Jewish centers at Indiana University -- the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center and the Chabad Jewish student center.
Last week, police were again called to campus to investigate three other attacks. On Tuesday morning, the Chabad Jewish student center was again attacked as a rock was hurled through a window, nearly hitting a student. Less than an hour later, a rock reportedly shattered a glass case displaying a staff directory for the Robert A. and Sandra B. Borns Jewish Studies Program.
In addition, eight religious volumes were removed from the university library and found in student bathrooms. Each of the Hebrew texts were later recovered, but found to have been urinated on.
“It’s something that shouldn’t happen in the university community,” IU Dean of Students Pete Goldsmith told the Indiana Daily Student newspaper. “It’s a place of tolerance.”
Despite this slew of blatantly anti-Semitic crimes, blogger Stephen Richer notes that "The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today have omitted to cover the story." Yet when a single pastor threatened to burn copies of the Muslim Quran, the news media were camped out for days covering the story.
Newsbusters also noticed the mainstream media's absence in covering the story:
[T]he media used the [Quran-burning] plan (which was not carried out) to hype a rise in "Islamophobia" in the United States. CNN.com characterized much of the media's attitude throughout the controversy when it claimed that in just a few weeks in August and September, "Muslims and mosques have been attacked, and Islamophobia has boiled up."
A writer at Salon.com channeled the attitude of many media liberals when he claimed that "the leaders of the right-wing’s anti-Muslim brigade" such as Sarah Palin and Sean Hannity "owe this man a fruit basket. He may not have sparked the recent explosion of Islamophobia, but he’s done as much as just about anyone to drag it into the mainstream."
Time's Bobby Ghosh echoed this sentiment, claiming that "there is a lot of Islamophobia about in this country, and it's growing and becoming more vicious, and, with this latest mosque controversies- not one, but several controversies around the country- it's coming into the mainstream, and that is reason for alarm." ...
Fortunately, the IU community seems to be rallying around the victims of these most recent crimes, despite the media's ignorance.
"Indiana University is a place where a spirit of learning and acceptance prevails and where all are welcome. We aim to ensure the safety and well-being of all members of our community, and we are governed by ideals of civility and respect," University Provost Karen Hanson says. "We are committed to taking all steps necessary to keep our campus safe. The IU Police and the Bloomington Police are increasing uniformed and plain clothes patrols, and they are implementing a variety of measures to find and arrest the person or persons responsible for the incidents that have occurred. We will not tolerate this criminal activity."
"This is not Bloomington," Mayor Mark Kruzan said this week during a menorah lighting ceremony at the Chabad Jewish student center. "This is not something that we have any room for in our community, and I cannot tell you how sorry I am."
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