How “Safety” Rhetoric is Weaponized to Protect Israel and Smear Its Critics

A media analysis found that the ten most popular U.S. news outlets mentioned “Jewish safety” and related terms about 42 times more often than “Muslim/Arab safety” over the past three years—254 versus 6 mentions—with four of the six Muslim/Arab references appearing alongside Jewish safety. The New York Times accounted for 61 Jewish-safety mentions and zero Muslim/Arab ones, while CNN.com recorded 52 versus 2, and NBC, ABC and CBS each had 44 versus zero; CNN cable had 32 versus zero and MSNBC/MSNOW 30 versus zero. The author argues the gap does not reflect a 42-fold difference in bigotry, citing campus studies showing comparable or greater fear among Muslim students, including at Harvard, and high-profile anti-Muslim incidents such as a Stanford student hospitalized in a suspected hate-crime hit-and-run. The disparity matters because “safety” language has been used to justify an unprecedented crackdown on free speech and academic freedom, particularly on college campuses.