Dear Friend,
Greetings from Washington D.C. My good friend and colleague, Dr. James Dobson, has asked me to write this month's letter on a topic that is critically important to both of us—the uprisings against Israel and the Judeo-Christian values that form the foundation of our country.
It is tragic to see how far we've fallen as a nation. Yet, here we are.
"Death to the Jews! Death to Israel! Death to America!" Those blood-curdling chants have echoed across the commons of dozens of America's most elite universities in recent months.1 Hitler is dead and buried, but, sadly, his spirit is alive and well in 2024 in the United States of America.
Jewish students and the Christian students who stand with them have been threatened, beaten, harassed, and intimidated. It is unimaginable that in 2024, young American Jews have been forced to hide in their dorm rooms in fear of these Nazi wannabes. Professors have often joined or led the new "Hitler Youth." All too often, university presidents have abandoned their leadership responsibilities and cowed in fear. Rightfully, some presidents have been forced to resign after congressional hearings, and more should follow.2
The shocking images and rhetoric are disturbing, but we should not be surprised. The warning signs have been around for decades. This cancer of anti-Semitism and hatred of Western civilization has been growing for years in our universities.
Many of us have warned that America's youth are being indoctrinated with ideologies that reject everything that established our great American republic. Moral relativism is the prevailing philosophy among our "elites." The God of the Bible and prayer were banned from the classroom long ago. The vacuum that resulted in American education was filled with the "isms" of hate and division.
Stripped of love for our country and taught they are the product of random evolution from the primal slime, many American young people are embracing anything and everything to restore meaning and purpose to their lives. There is no shortage of death-worshipping philosophies ready to seduce and hold them captive. We have raised a lost generation and the consequences are heartbreaking.
It is revealing to examine who makes up today's campus revolutionaries. I'm not talking about every single participant in these mobs. Some are merely dupes who have been misled and manipulated by professional agitators and extremists. But the worldview of the movement and its radical leaders is clear. When they chant, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," they are calling for the complete erasing of the nation of Israel.
Many students have no understanding of the history of the Middle East. They have been taught the Marxist theory that the world is divided into the oppressed and the oppressors,3 and that Israel is an oppressor that stole the land. The truth is that the Jews have lived in the Holy Land for thousands of years. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any nation other than the nation of Israel. Jerusalem was the center of Jewish life when Washington, D.C., was literally still a swamp. There has never been a nation called "Palestine." The attempt to erase this history of the Jews in the Holy Land, if it were successful, would also erase the history of Christianity.
All Americans, not just American Jews, must understand the danger this signals for our country. Historically, Jews have been the "canary in the coal mine." Persecution of Jews always leads to persecution of other minorities. Rampant anti-Semitism often signals that a country is sinking into totalitarianism.
This movement is also anti-American to its core. It hates everything about America, including our founding fathers and founding principles. Our nation's youth are being taught anti-American history,4 a distorted libel that leads them to feel shame and guilt for being an American. This is why recent studies show the rising generation is the least patriotic in our history.5 Why would we expect them to love America? Our founding fathers are dismissed as "slavers." The heroes many of us admired and emulated as we grew up are now labeled "oppressors" and "colonizers."
At George Washington University, just blocks from the White House, they vandalized the statue of our first president, after whom the university itself is named.6 George Washington believed that America prevailed in the Revolutionary War because of Divine Providence—the mighty hand of God. He was known for his honesty and fairness. He led the patriots at Valley Forge to victory. Our victory rested on Washington's shoulders, but the campus mob draped the flag of Hamas, a terrorist group, on those shoulders. At the White House, the 46th president dared not defend the father of our country for fear of losing radical votes in November.
These campus radical extremists not only desecrate the statues of America's founders; they also vandalize monuments honoring the men and women who fought for our country and defeated Nazism and communism.7 They tear down the American flag and burn it, replacing it with the flag of Gaza, a breeding ground for Islamic supremacists.8 In Gaza, the families of "martyrs" receive bonuses if they kill "infidels."9
This movement and its allies also despise law enforcement—the brave men and women who risk their lives every day to keep us safe from the growing criminal class in America.
On campuses and in the streets, the mobs scream hatred at police, so vile I cannot repeat it in this letter. A favorite chant, "Cops and the Klan go hand in hand."10 But it is today's "Hamas Youth" that are the real descendants of the Klan, masked up and filled with hate, just as the cross-burners of the 1860s were.
There's another segment of this movement that is nihilistic and wants anarchy. You'll see their "soldiers," Antifa, and other groups regularly dressed in black from head to toe. They are violent, filled with hate for all that is decent—the "stormtroopers" of neo-Marxism whose goal is to own our streets. Their aim is to create division and perpetuate it to destroy our nation's guiding morals and framework.
They won't be satisfied until they see all of America in flames. They were prominent in the summer of 2020 when they exploited Americans marching for reform in our legal system and tried to foment a revolution to tear down the whole country. They cannot permit a nation that was built on the idea that liberty comes from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to survive.
Yet, the goodness of America has brought more freedom and greater opportunity to more people than any civilization in the history of the world. The "isms" of these campus revolutionaries—socialism, communism, and fascism—have brought nothing but pain and suffering and the death of millions. The freedom that God offers brings and sustains life, but the philosophy of man only leads to destruction and death. Until our Lord calls each of us home, we must herald the Good News of Jesus Christ and speak life into this fallen world.
The fact that a movement, with these perverted ideas as central elements of their ideology, can spring up overnight on virtually every major university campus in America must be a wake-up call to our country.
The pathetic leadership response to the campus uprising of 2024 is an indictment of how flaccid and weak America's political, cultural and academic elites have become.
At JDFI, we are standing against the hatred and darkness descending on our nation. On a recent Family Talk broadcast, JDFI board member Hon. Michele Bachmann and I spoke to our audience about the history of the Holy Land and the biblical mandate to fight anti-Semitism and defend Israel. On JDFI's podcast, Defending Faith, Family, and Freedom, we have featured experts, such as Thomas Rose, the former editor of the Jerusalem Post, to report on the ground from Israel during the war that has raged now for more than six months. We have joined forces with dozens of other Christian organizations to hold our elected officials in Congress and the White House accountable to the people of this nation. There is much more work to be done, including investigations into who funded and spearheaded the campus uprisings.
The hour is late, and we need your help to win the battle. First and foremost, pray for our country and Israel. Pray for peace. Pray that millions of Christians will turn out this November and vote for leaders who will uplift and defend our God-given rights of faith, family, and freedom. Last but not least, if God has positioned you to do so, we would appreciate your financial support to help us continue to fight the good fight.
May our Lord keep you and bless you and your family.
In His service,
Gary Bauer, Senior VP of Public Policy
The James Dobson Family Institute
1. Horowitz, Michael (April 9, 2024) At Michigan Quds Day rally, protesters chant ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America,’ The Times of Israel, Web.
2. Zanger, Jesse (May 10, 2024) Cornell University president Martha Pollack resigns. She's the 3rd Ivy League college president to step down since December, CBS News, Web.
3. Gonzalez, Mike (April 29, 2024) The Marxist Takeover of Higher Education Reaches a Fever Pitch, The Heritage Foundation, Web.
4. Blair, Douglas (August 17, 2020) I’m a Former Teacher. Here’s How Your Children Are Getting Indoctrinated by Leftist Ideology, The Heritage Foundation, Web.
5. Jacques, Ingrid (August 1, 2023) Gen Z doesn't love the US like boomers do. That doesn't bode well for our future, USA Today, Web.
6. Betz, Bradford (May 9, 2024) George Washington statue at namesake DC school left defaced for days now covered up after Dem mayor takes heat, Fox News, Web.
7. Morphet, Jack and Crane, Emily (May 7, 2024) Enraged NYers rip anti-Israeli protesters for vandalizing WWI memorial, burning US flag: ‘It’s disgusting,’ New York Post, Web.
8. Ibid
9. Tobin, Andrew (April 18, 2024) 'Revitalized' Palestinian Authority Boasts of Rewarding Attacks on Israel With Biden Funds, The Washington Free Beacon, Web.
10. Kaplan, Joshua (August 11, 2018) Far-Left March in Charlottesville Turns Anti-Police: ‘Cops and Klan Go Hand in Hand!,’ Breitbart, Web.
This letter may be reproduced without change and in its entirety for non-commercial and non-political purposes without prior permission from the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. Copyright, 2024 JDFI. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Printed in the U.S.
