Confronting Antisemitism and Defending Israel Amid Campus Protests

On May 13, 2024, Brad Beck, Kurt Gerwitz, and Paula Sarlls joined the show. Brad Beck discusses the surge of anti-Jewish hatred on college campuses, connecting current events to historical persecution patterns and defending Israel’s right to exist as the only Middle Eastern democracy Professor Kurt Gerwitz discusses Regis University’s Anderson Reports program where students analyze overlooked Colorado companies, and examines the role of. Rising Antisemitism and Campus Protests Start listening at 02:56 – Hour 1 Brad Beck, co-founder of Liberty Toastmasters and author of the essay “The Highest Use of the Good,” sounds the alarm on the explosion of anti-Jewish hatred spreading across American universities. Drawing on his Jewish heritage, Beck connects the current campus disruptions to historical patterns of persecution, from Russian pogroms to Kristallnacht in 1938. He warns that protesters chanting “from the river to the sea” are calling for the annihilation of Israel and its people, not merely expressing political dissent. Beck traces the intellectual roots of campus radicalism to Marxist ideology that has infiltrated higher education for decades. He notes that wealthy donors are finally awakening to how their contributions fund DEI programs that divide rather than unite. The conversation explores how Israel, despite its imperfections, remains the only nation in the Middle East that recognizes individual rights and allows citizens of all backgrounds to participate fully in civic life. “When Jewish students on college campuses can’t go to their class or access a library, yeah, that’s a wake-up call. It’s the canary in the coal mine.” Brad Beck, Author and Liberty Toastmaster Eminent Domain Threatens Brighton Farm Start listening at 26:05 – Hour 1 Kim Monson highlights the case of Palizzi Farm in Brighton, Colorado, where a metropolitan district seeks to use eminent domain to seize farmland for a housing development drainage project. The family-owned non-GMO produce operation was never notified when the city granted eminent domain powers to Parkland Metropolitan District in September 2023. Beck recalls the Kelo v. New London case, where Pfizer’s use of eminent domain destroyed an entire neighborhood for a project that was never built. Kim shares her experience as a city council member refusing to authorize eminent domain when staff sought the path of least resistance. “The idea of eminent domain always made my skin crawl, even though it’s in our documents of America to build roads and to take for public good. But they could make the case for almost taking a neighborhood out.” Brad Beck, Author and Liberty Toastmaster ESG Investing and Economic Freedom Start listening at 77:05 – Hour 2 Kurt Gerwitz, professor at Regis University, discusses the Anderson Reports program where MBA students analyze publicly traded Colorado companies that Wall Street ignores. The class covered Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, a nano-cap company trading at $3.50 with a $25 million market cap. Gerwitz and his students flew to Durango to tour the 53,000 square foot chocolate factory and interview the CFO. The conversation turns to ESG investing, with Kim pushing back against the use of Environmental, Social, and Governance metrics to coerce companies into adopting progressive agendas. Beck shares his experience as the lone dissenting vote when a craft industry board adopted ESG standards, predicting correctly that the organization would fail. Gerwitz argues...