Religious groups challenge SPLC's 'silence' on anti-Semitism

Two religious organizations have joined forces to call out the Southern Poverty Law Center for failing to condemn recent characterizations of Hillel as supportive of a “white supremacist state.”

The Jewish Institute for Global Awareness and the Family Research Council (FRC) issued a joint statement condemning the SPLC for its “deafening silence” after Campus Reform reported that a left-wing Tufts University publication accused a campus Jewish organization of supporting “a white supremacist state.”

[RELATED: ‘Disorientation Guide’ calls Jews white supremacists]

The document, known as The Disorientation Guide, claims that Tufts Hillel supports Israel, then criticizing it for supporting a “white supremacist state” that commits “apartheid” against Arabs.

Hillel, an international organization devoted to Jewish life on college campuses, emphasizes a non-traditional Jewish concept of “social justice” on the “about” section of its website, while the word “Israel” appears only once at the bottom of the page.

Similarly, the Tufts Hillel website dedicates only one sentence to the Jewish State in a 10-paragraph description of its beliefs, but the SPLC, which says it is “dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry,” has yet to defend Democrat-led Hillel against accusations on its Hatewatch blog.

As a result, the FRC and the Jewish Institute for Global Awareness issued a statement “questioning the [SPLC’s] deafening silence regarding an anti-Semitic incident that took place this week at Tufts University.”

The statement addressed the Disorientation Guide’s accusations against Israel and stated that the SPLC, “which aims to establish itself as the preeminent authority on hate groups, made no public comment on the anti-Semitic smear.”

[RELATED: REPORT: Campus anti-semitism exploded in 2016]

“This is no surprise. Its deafening silence on incidents outside its preferred targets on the religious right cannot be ignored,” the statement continues, criticizing the SPLC for its “demonization” of mainstream conservatives.

“While the SPLC wants to be viewed as a referee on the field of political debate, their demonization of mainstream conservatives and predictable silence on incidents like Tufts University's anti-Semitic handbook can only lead to one conclusion: the SPLC wants to be both referee and player,” the statement concludes, saying “it’s time the media recognize the SPLC” as the “discredited left wing political group” that it is.

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