College and University Monitor

This past week, presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway came under withering criticism after she partly attributed the massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue to general hatred of religion, rather than specific hatred of Jews. “The anti-religiosity in this country — that it’s somehow in vogue and funny to make fun of anybody of faith, to constantly be making fun of people who express religion,” she told the “Fox & Friends” hosts. “The late-night comedians, the unfunny people on TV shows — it’s always anti-religious. And remember, these people were gunned down in their place of worship.” Conway seemed to be airbrushing anti-Semitism from the greatest mass murder of Jews on American soil.

She wasn’t alone. The day before, Columbia University administrators emailed a statement on the attack to students, condemning “violence in our nation’s houses of worship” without mentioning “anti-Semitism” or “Jews” — even though the alleged perpetrator had reportedly shouted, “All Jews must die.” (Columbia’s statement was later amended.) ...