Excerpts from “Fighting the Oldest Hate” Symposium
In 2024, the Manhattan Institute hosted its Spring Issue Symposium entitled “Fighting
the Oldest Hate,” with City Journal contributors Richard Goldberg and Hannah Meyers,
Tablet’s Park MacDougald, and Manhattan Institute president Reihan Salam.
Excerpts:
Richard Goldberg: “How does antisemitism come together? I think it’s the ‘Four Is’:
Ideology, Intersectionality, Institutionalization, and then finally Information Flow.”
“On information flow, we are in a 24/7 news cycle, with social media, Tik Tok, and we’ve
seen the effects of how people are getting information, how people are disseminating
information, and the influence of foreign actors potentially the Qataris like others in a
network that has reconstituted across the United States.”
Hannah Meyers: “Israel itself, I was there last week, and you couldn’t have a society
with more intense divisions than looking around you at the people walking around in
Jerusalem, and yet it exists as the freest country in the Middle East—the vision of
community that is focused on this ideological unity.”
Reihan Salam: “The Hamas attacks and Israel’s response were only sparks that ignited
something much bigger.”
Douglas Murray Calls Out Joe Rogan on Expertise and Israel
On April 10, MI Senior Fellow Douglas Murray ignited a firestorm when he directly called
to task the number-one podcaster in the world: Joe Rogan. Appearing on Rogan’s show
alongside comedian Dave Smith, Murray highlighted Smith’s anti-Israel commentary
and Rogan’s role in platforming uninformed views.
Excerpts:
Murray: “I think there’s a whole bunch of guys doing that. I think Dave is doing that, very
obviously. Dave’s a comedian, but he’s now mainly talking about Israel.”
Smith: “No. I don’t know if I’m mainly talking about Israel.”
Murray: “That’s all I see you on the internet doing.
Smith: “That might be what you’ve seen. I don’t think that’s what I mean.”
Murray: “But that is also your shtick now, isn’t it?
Smith: Well, what do you mean by that’s my shtick?
Murray: Well, you’re not a geopolitics guy in general, are you?
Smith: I don’t even know exactly what you’re asking.
Murray: “I’m saying you’ve decided, being a comedian, you’ve decided now to
become… Somebody who talks about Israel.”
(…)
Smith: “Well, I tend to talk about the conflicts that my government is directly involved in,
which I think is reasonable to me, but I don’t quite get like, what’s all the appeal to
authority stuff? I mean, what you have to be an expert or I think authority matters.
Murray: “I think authority matters. And I think that if you just throw a lot of s*** out there
and then say, I’m not interested in the alternative views on this, and particularly when it’s
a counter-narrative that is wildly off. And when you get people…
Murray (to Rogan): “Look, I just feel… We should get it out straight away. I feel you’ve
opened the door to quite a lot of people who’ve now got a big platform who have been
throwing out counter-historical stuff of a very dangerous kind.”
(…)
Douglas Murray: “It’s pretty hard to listen to somebody who says, ‘I don’t know what
I’m talking about, but now I’m going to talk.’”
Dave Smith: “(…) I mean Darrell’s point of view, however you feel about this, what
Darrell is saying is he doesn’t really like doing debates. He likes to do long format stuff
where he can really explain. (…) There’s some point at which ‘I’m just raising questions’
is not a valid thing You’re not raising questions.”
Murray: “You’re not asking questions You’re telling people something.”
Statement following the Israeli embassy shooting
The following is an excerpt from the Manhattan Institute’s statement following the
shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside an American Jewish Committee event
in Washington, D.C.
The suspect shouted “Free Palestine” as he was arrested.
“This was not an isolated outburst—it was the latest in a growing pattern of politically
motivated violence tied to the radical, lawless anti-Israel movement.
“The accused killer was affiliated with a U.S.-based Marxist group that glorifies Hamas
and embraces a vision of armed “resistance.” He didn’t invent these ideas. They’ve
been cultivated for years—in classrooms, on elite campuses, and in public
demonstrations that increasingly blur the line between protest and menace.
“The same ideology that justifies vandalism, building takeovers, and infrastructure
shutdowns now justifies murder. When a movement repeats that “resistance by any
means” is righteous, eventually someone picks up a gun.
“This is not just about antisemitism. It is about a broader, deeply nihilistic anti-Western
worldview that sees violence as virtue and civilization as oppression. That ideology
represents a profound threat to the American experiment.
“We cannot allow it to fester. We cannot look away.
“We must defeat it.”
Excerpt from “Combatting Antisemitism on Campus”
The following is an excerpt from “Combatting Antisemitism on Campus” by the
Manhattan Institute’s Tal Fortgang on February 11.
“Foreign nationals have no inherent right to study at American universities while
promoting terrorist ideology. If critics believe there is something uniquely worthy about
protecting pro-terror speech by foreign students, they should make that case directly
and specifically. But absent some theory of why espousing terrorist ideologies really
poses little threat to legitimate American interests–like antidiscrimination, preservation
of property, or security from a violent uprising–their case faces an uphill battle.
“Complaints about chilled expression appear to be little more than special pleading for a
favored political cause—one that deserves no special protection under our immigration
laws.”
Tickets to the City Journal Award on February 4 are available on the Manhattan
Institute’s website or by emailing cjawards@manhattan.institute.
