Features
Antisemites Seek Control of Higher Education and the Streets
By HENRY SREBRNIK Two things are essential for an anti-democratic political movement to succeed: ideological justification by academics and intellectuals, and control of the streets by violent mobs. Since Oct. 7, when Hamas invaded Israel, we have now seen both, in Canada and elsewhere.
I’m not going to repeat all the evidence for this, because we already know that many universities have become, as someone termed it, “incubators of hate” led by so-called “woke” professors spewing antisemitic theories regarding Israel and Jews to their students. Concurrently, there are the massive “anti-Zionist” demonstrations that have taken over the streets and public spaces in major cities, along with violent activities targeting Jewish institutions.
“If there has been a striking new element in the current cycle of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed, apart from the scale of the killing, it has been the way that pro-Palestinian protesters have denounced a ‘settler colonial’ Israel, with Palestinians cast as the dark-skinned indigenous people and Israelis as white oppressor interlopers,” wrote New York Times journalist Roger Cohen in his Dec. 10 column.
This Manichean ideology presents us with a “world-historical” struggle between oppressed non-white peoples trying to resist white, particularly “Zionist” domination, while their evil oppressors wish to retain their power and privileges. A previous version of such a “conflict,” Nazism, posited a similar struggle, that one between so-called “Aryans” and Jews.
Antisemitism today is expressed as seeking to undo the Jewish state of Israel because of “settler-colonialism,” and it now has a huge youth constituency. Most politically inclined members of this younger generation were reared in this anti-colonialist discourse of modern university education. Propaganda masquerades as teaching at many colleges and universities these days.
Inculcated with these values, they are currently making full use of a “victim hierarchy” that permits them to define Jews as “white” and thus Israelis as de facto “oppressors,” with the state itself an illegitimate colonial entity that must be eliminated and its Jewish population expelled or eradicated.
Violence, including terrorism, is justified as a legitimate measure against that evil. It’s thus no surprise that so many university students responded to the Oct. 7 massacre by justifying and even glorifying Hamas’s barbarity.
This worldview is now well entrenched among students, administrators, and faculty alike. Antisemitism on the campus has moved, in many institutions, from speech to conduct, because many professors have created a hostile atmosphere toward Jewish students and Jewish colleagues. Amazingly, we recently saw three presidents of elite American universities fail to denounce calls at their institutions for the genocide of Jews.
Calls for global intifada, Jew-cleansing, and Jew-shaming now pass for some kind of civil right. In their continuing marches and demonstrations, mobs have no compunction in bellowing bloodthirsty, eliminationist propaganda at Jews. One author has called it “bloodlust by proxy.” That this hostility to Israeli policy in Gaza has slid into antisemitism is now impossible to deny.
Unfortunately, we know a terrible precedent for this union of the intellectuals and the mob. Nazi ideology, too, was not formulated by street thugs. Historian Max Weinreich had published his book Hitler’s Professors in 1946, noting that German scholarship provided the ideas and techniques that led to and justified unparalleled slaughter. All too many Nazi war criminals were holders of PhDs.
As historian Niall Ferguson reminds us, in an article published in the Free Press of Dec. 11, “Anyone who has a naive belief in the power of higher education to instill morality has not studied the history of German universities in the Third Reich.” The “final solution of the Jewish question” began, he has written, with words — “to be precise, it began as lectures and monographs and scholarly articles.”
A hundred years ago by far the best universities in the world were in Germany. More than a quarter of all the Nobel prizes awarded in the sciences between 1901 and 1940 were awarded to Germans; only eleven percent went to Americans.
The Nazis established new groups for different professions, from doctors to lawyers. In fact, medical doctors represented, proportionately the highest percentage of professionals in the Nazi movement. After all, who hasn’t heard of the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele, the most prominent of a group of Nazi doctors who conducted medical experiments at death camps like Auschwitz?
As for the bully-boys of the movement, the Sturmabteilung (SA) or Stormtroopers, they terrorized “undesirables,” especially Jews, and their methods of violent intimidation played a key role in Hitler’s rise to power.
Will people stand up to the modern day “big lie” being promulgated in our own universities and on our streets? From many recent studies, we have an increasingly detailed picture of the extensive involvement of many “ordinary” Germans in Nazi crimes.
Already in spring 1933 the new distinction between “Aryan” and “non-Aryan” began to sever relationships, and many Germans after 1933 contributed to discrimination, exclusion and the radicalization of violence.
Though there has been a considerable amount of damage to Jewish businesses, attacks on synagogues, and physical assaults on individual Jews this autumn, we have not seen an equivalent to Kristallnacht, the Nazi pogrom of November 1938.
All this certainly sounds alarmist – but ask yourself, did you foresee what has been going on in this country for the last few months?
Henry Srebrnik is a professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, PEI.
Features
BOOK REVIEW: “Fighting the Hate: A Handbook for Jews Under Siege”
Reviewed by MURRAY BENDER “Thinking on your feet”—quickly defending a position in a coherent, persuasive manner—is a situation that many people find challenging and stressful. “If only I had said this.” or “Why didn’t I say that?” Hindsight is always 20-20.
Following the Hamas atrocities of October 7, 2023, it has become increasingly necessary for diaspora Jews to “think on their feet” as they unwittingly face a barrage of tough, sometimes hateful, questions about Jews and their Israeli homeland.
Why is Israel committing genocide in Gaza? Why doesn’t Israel return the land it has stolen from Palestinians? Why are Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian farmers? How is Israel different from apartheid South Africa? Why can’t I criticize Israel without being called antisemitic? Is it true that Jews control the world? The list of potential questions is nearly endless.
Engage or hide? This is the difficult choice that confronts Jews as they look to deal with anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli behaviour. Fortunately, author and journalist Melanie Phillips comes to the rescue with her practical and insightful book, Fighting the Hate: A Handbook for Jews Under Siege.
According to Phillips, the dilemma has no single answer. “People need to decide how to behave in accordance not just with the specific circumstances but also with their own attributes and limitations.”
Some regard engagement with their opponents as a sacred duty. “They believe it is a betrayal of the Jewish people not to uphold Israel’s case.” Ohers may be uncomfortable with such a direct approach, but “those who decide to keep their heads down and avoid any altercation may well find that this leaves them with a permanent sense of regret and even failure,” she says.
As a result, it’s probably a good idea to adopt some sort of balance. And that’s where Phillips’ 150-page handbook comes in.
She starts by providing context around the “crisis of legitimacy and acceptance” from which Jews are reeling post-October 7. On the basis of extensive conversations with Jews from across the U.S., Britain and Australia, the author found that many “were near stupefied by the terrifying hatred and irrationality that was unfolding around them.” Again and again, they asked: “What should we do? What can we do?”
In response, Phillips offers a pragmatic approach to help prepare for the inevitable conversations, including a number of key principles:
- Get smart rather than emotional
- Stop playing defence
- Find common ground
- Be positive and confident
- Keep physically safe
Based on these overarching criteria, she provides an extensive list of quick and clever retorts to a range of different situations, emphasizing that “it’s our duty to our children and grandchildren to fight for truth and justice.”
So, the next time it is necessary to “think on their feet,” diaspora Jews will be able to respond quickly and confidently to those difficult questions about themselves and Israel. And they can thank Melanie Phillips for coming to the rescue.
Fighting the Hate: A Handbook for Jews Under Siege by Melanie Phillips is available online from Amazon and Indigo.
Features
ESports Meets Casinos: Overview of Bet Sport Gaming
ESports has become part of the interactive entertainment of online casinos. In fact, many fans already have the opportunity to use Dragonia Casino Bet Sport options while watching the matches of their favorite teams. The hybrid entertainment model opens up many possibilities and increases audience engagement. When video games intersect with betting, it creates a unique collaboration where participants have the opportunity to get a completely new experience right in their own home. At the same time, you can continue to enjoy the usual viewing of familiar tournaments and competitions.
How ESports and Casinos Interconnect
ESports has become a multi-billion-dollar industry that attracts spectators. Traditional casinos are focused on luck. But now they are introducing additional methods of encouraging their customers. Among such options, eSports events deserve special attention. Such bet sport offers combine the usual excitement with an element of competition. The structure of the casino entertainment provides participants with the opportunity to test their skills and reveal their own hidden talents. There are several forms of integration of eSports mechanics into the structure of a classic online casino:
- Competitive betting. Online casinos provide the opportunity to bet on eSports tournaments, which is similar to the usual sports betting. In addition, the possibilities are significantly expanded compared to simple viewing platforms.
- Skill-based casino games. Games inspired by eSports encourage players to actively participate in what is happening on the screen. The games reward the player’s results with certain prizes.
- Interactive arenas. Some casinos broadcast eSports events in real time. This allows players to follow the games directly online, which creates a feeling of real participation in familiar entertainment.
- Cross-platform interaction. Online casinos are introducing eSports-style leaderboards and achievements to attract more participants.
Such innovations appeal to new participants. Cultural changes are part of the development of the infrastructure of the classic casino, and eSports fans find a new environment for entertainment and communication.
Growth of ESports Betting
Global eSports revenue in 2025 exceeded $1.5 billion. Each bet sport option has made a significant contribution to the development. Surveys show that over 60% of players will express interest in betting on eSports, which reflects the demand and the need to develop an updated infrastructure for participation.
ESports events attract 15-20% more new participants compared to conventional casinos. The eSports betting market will exceed $20 billion by 2027, according to analysts’ forecasts, which encourages new participants to more actively watch tournaments and participate in various types of activity.
Why Fans Choose ESports
Bet sport gambling is gaining popularity. This is due to several reasons. For example, large casinos in Las Vegas and Macau now host full-fledged eSports tournaments alongside traditional entertainment. Venues are also experimenting with separate fan zones where sports betting and classic gambling are available.
Some of the most popular eSports disciplines are League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Some online casinos even introduce eSports mechanics into slots so that players can try something new.
In short, the intersection of eSports and casinos is a natural development of the industry. Competitive play and an optimized betting system create a comfortable environment for true fans who want to diversify their leisure time.
Features
Card Game Traditions: Complete Review from Casino Online Lolajack Experts
Card games have been around for centuries. They are constantly evolving and improving. For example, there are now many different formats of online games available. On sites like casino online Lolajack https://Lolajack.com/ca/, you can choose a title according to your preferences and skills. The traditions of card games date back to ancient times. To better show yourself, it is worth familiarizing yourself with these features. This way, you will gain experience, have a good time, and get acquainted with something completely new.
Roots of Card Games
Card games directly reflect cultural identity. They have a unique mathematical structure and thoughtful moves that make even professionals think. Depending on the tradition, the rules differ, but the basic principles always remain similar. Each game has a unique origin:
- Poker. It originated in the USA back in the 19th century. During its existence, many variations of gameplay have appeared. It combines risk, strategy, and psychology; therefore, it requires high skill from each player.
- Baccarat. This game has ancient origins. It appeared in the 15th century in Italy, after which it spread throughout Europe. Now it is the basis of any operator like casino online Lolajack.
- Rimmy and bridge. Card games require the cooperation of participants, so coordinated communication is important here.
- Blackjack. This is the perfect combination of skill and chance. The player needs to learn to make decisions quickly and monitor the circumstances.
Card games have their own origins and characteristics. Currently, they are an integral part of any online casino, offering a wide range of opportunities for participants.
Why Card Games Are So Popular
Experts from casino online Lolajack emphasize the importance of card games in many cultures. For example, poker remains the leader for a reason. There are more than 100 million active players worldwide who compete and work on their skills. Blackjack also does not lag behind the trends. The level of participation exceeds 40% of regular online casino users.
Every year, the level of online card games grows by 10%. This is possible due to digitalization and increased player awareness. In addition, seasonal events also increase the involvement of participants during peak periods.
Traditions of Card Games
Unique events attract the attention of fans. For example, the World Series of Poker attracts not only participants but also millions of viewers around the world. Sites such as casino online Lolajack also give participants the opportunity to try their hand and compete with professionals.
Baccarat is associated with high stakes. This is especially noticeable among the Asian audience, who like to put probability theory into practice. Blackjack also has an appeal among math lovers. The probabilities of the model and observations directly affect the decisions of players. Online casinos strive to ensure that participants have the opportunity to communicate and find an activity option according to their own preferences.
As a result, card games remain the true leaders of the gambling market. They not only entertain, but also develop attention, perseverance, and social skills. A large selection of various variations of classic games allows you to choose the version that suits your preferences. Developers do not lag behind trends and do everything possible to surprise fans.