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Ep. 294 – The UN, Society, and Antisemitism (Part 2)

Host: Dr. Susanne Seperson
Guest: Professor Thane Rosenbaum
Produced by: hmTv – The Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center

SUSANNE SEPERSON:
Welcome back to part two of our podcast with Professor Thane Rosenbaum.
For those of you just joining us, this is now our 11th episode of Antisemitism and the United Nations and in Society on hmTv.

Professor Rosenbaum is a professor of law, an analyst of Middle East issues, a novelist, film producer, and commentator, published in leading outlets such as The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. He is also the legal analyst for CBS News Radio.
We’re honored to have him join us again.

Last time, you spoke about the need for Jewish students to strengthen their education and identity. I’d add that this applies beyond Jewish students—social psychology studies like those of Zimbardo and Milgram show that anyone who takes the unpopular moral position risks being ostracized. The desire to be at the “cool kids’ table,” as you called it, isn’t limited to Jewish students—it’s human nature.

All over the world, I see faculty and professionals putting their heads down, saying, “I don’t want to get involved.”

THANE ROSENBAUM:
That’s exactly right, Susanne. And it reminds me of a story about Jackie Robinson, the first African American to break baseball’s color barrier. Robinson was a lifelong Zionist and friend of the Jewish community—his family lived in a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn.

When Robinson was relentlessly called racial slurs from the stands, he promised his team owner he wouldn’t respond. One day, when the abuse got unbearable, Pee Wee Reese, his white teammate from Kentucky, walked across the field and simply put his arm around Jackie Robinson. Robinson asked, “What are you doing?” and Reese said, “Nothing—just looking at the field.”
But what he meant was, “This is my guy. You’ve got a problem with him, you’ve got a problem with me.”

When I was at NYU, I didn’t see any Pee Wee Reeses. Nobody—Jewish or Gentile—came and put their arm around me. Even the Jewish trustees stayed silent. It was more important to them to sit at the “cool kids’ table.” That’s moral cowardice.

SUSANNE SEPERSON:
That’s a powerful story, and a fitting metaphor for moral courage. Let’s turn to your books—starting with Saving Free Speech from Itself. We live in an age of political correctness and fear of offense. After tragedies like the Charlie Hebdo attack, where cartoonists were murdered for satire, do you believe there should be limits on free speech?

THANE ROSENBAUM:
In the book, I argue that there’s a difference between offensive, insulting, and harmful speech.
In a free society, you have to tolerate being offended—that’s part of civic life. The problem is when offense turns into harm—when speech deprives someone of their dignity or ability to function as a citizen.

For example, shouting racial or antisemitic slurs in public isn’t “free expression”—it’s intimidation. The same applies to “Globalize the Intifada” or “From the River to the Sea.” Those are not political statements—they are calls to violence. The First Amendment doesn’t protect threats, incitement, or intimidation.

I’m also against Nazis marching in towns full of Holocaust survivors. The Supreme Court once ruled that legal, but I disagree—it’s cruelty masquerading as liberty.

Freedom of speech isn’t a suicide pact. It should never pr

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