Subjective and objective realities

May 25, 2026

Mr Menadue is to be applauded for this article. I only wish my own submission were half as good. My main point concerns statements such as: “We are told to heed the hurt feelings of Zionists, some on university campuses, who support genocide or have wilfully chosen to ignore it. They should be protected.”

To what extent, and how, should fears and hurt feelings be protected? Post traumatic stress is understandable for the immediate Holocaust generations. But we’re hearing of these ‘injuries’ from quite young people. Subjectively, I don’t doubt them. But are they confronted by anything that objectively justifies their fears and hurt feelings? How much of this fear is learned by hearing Holocaust stories constantly, when you attend heavily fortified synagogues and schools? Of course entering the real world of university would come as a shock. Statistically, Muslims experience far more Islamophobia then Jewish people do antisemitism yet we hear nothing like the number of complaints about that.

This commission should have examined all aspects of racism or not happened at all. But if legislation must come from it, it should be based on objective facts, not subjective feelings. Legislation won’t help fears and hurt feelings. Psychology will.