Disgusting Jew-hating anti-Israel lawbreakers acting like fascist thugs by disrupting U.S. college campuses need to learn a lesson: Freedom of speech gives you the right to peacefully express your opinions, but not to impose them on others and deprive others of their rights.
Some colleges finally began teaching this lesson by allowing arrests of those spewing genocidal chants against the Jewish people while making it impossible for the universities to function. 109 agitators were arrested Tuesday night at Columbia University in New York City where the protests began two weeks ago. At this writing, Axios reports there have been 1300 arrests of protestors at 40 campuses nationwide.
Setting up illegal encampments on campuses, students joined by outside agitators have forced classes to go virtual or be cancelled entirely for hundreds of thousands of students, prompted cancellation of commencement ceremonies, vandalized property, occupied college buildings and threatened Jewish students.
Protesters have cited Israel’s conduct in its defensive war with Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip as justification for their actions. They have demanded their universities halt investments in Israel and in companies doing business with Israel, end academic cooperation with Israeli universities, and call for Israel to stop fighting Hamas.
It has, however, become increasingly clear that what has been happening on college campuses, while cloaked as “protests,” have in reality been concerted and organized efforts to terrorize and deprive Jewish students of the freedom to live their lives in peace and safety. Considering the blatant antisemitism throughout the demonstrations, it was not surprising to see reports that one group involved in organizing the Columbia protest has allegedly received millions in donations from “charities” linked to Hamas.
Many of the protesters have said they would refuse to compromise on their demands and would continue their occupation of university property indefinitely, giving college officials no choice but to call in police to arrest them.
No college or any other institution could exist if any group was free to violate the law to force compliance with its demands. We have laws to prevent such blackmail. But the laws are meaningless if they aren’t enforced.
Republican officials, such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, responded swiftly to stop the blackmail attempts. Abbott sent more than 100 state police to the University of Texas at Austin to arrest dozens of lawbreaking protesters on two different days.
Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said Wednesday: “To every college president, I say remove the encampments immediately, vanquish the radicals and take back our campuses for all of the normal students who want a safe place from which to learn.” Trump criticized President Biden for not speaking out more forcefully and taking action against illegal protests.
Some Republican U.S. senators called for Biden to send National Guard troops to campuses to protect Jewish students, and called on the Justice Department and Education Department to act to restore order and protect Jewish students.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and four GOP House members visited Columbia University last week to meet with Jewish students and called for the president of the university to resign if she didn’t quickly order removal of the anti-Israel encampment.
Democratic officials and college presidents in blue states were initially reluctant to remove encampments and evict protesters occupying buildings. But this week, some Democrats— fearful of losing the votes of Americans outraged by the growing chaos on campuses — joined in commonsense calls to restore law and order and fight antisemitism.
A majority of Democrats voted Wednesday for a GOP bill in the House, which passed on a vote of 320-91 and defines antisemitism as some types of hatred expressed toward Israel, in addition to hatred of Jews. The measure, which faces an uncertain future in the Senate, would give the federal government the ability to take actions against some anti-Israel protests on campuses.
Let’s not forget, the Israel-Hamas war began Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, murdered over 1200 people, committed sexually violent atrocities against women and men, and took about 250 people to Gaza as hostages, where an estimated 130 are still being held. Yet the protesters against Israel haven’t mentioned or protested the Hamas atrocities. Now why would that be?
Many of the college lawbreakers have even expressed support for the genocidal goal of Hamas terrorists: the destruction of Israel as the world’s only Jewish state and its replacement with an Arab state of Palestine. Protesters have hung banners calling for intifada — the Arabic term used to describe a violent uprising against Israel.
For perspective illustrating the stunning lack of courage and leadership from the Columbia administration during the chaos: Only a few hundred students and outsiders were involved in the illegal anti-Israel protests. But Columbia has nearly 37,000 students, according to the most recent figures. Yet the small percentage of lawbreaking protesters were able to hold the entire student body hostage to their demands until police intervened.
There is nothing wrong with peaceful protests that adhere to the law and university rules, and don’t threaten anyone. But if anti-Israel protesters are allowed to occupy buildings and campus lawns and force schools to shut down, you can bet other groups of extremists would do the same thing.
What if racist students and outsider allies demanded that only white students be admitted to a college? Or if students opposed to eating meat forced a campus closure unless a university agreed to serve only vegan meals? Or if protesters established illegal encampments for as long as a university did business with any country the protesters disliked? Should colleges have to stuff their multibillion-dollar endowments into giant mattresses to avoid any investments that would offend anyone?
We must not turn over university governance to mob rule. Students who break the law and university policies must be suspended or expelled and prosecuted for criminal conduct. Foreign students who engage in this conduct should lose their visas and be deported. Federal funding for schools that allow lawbreaking and hatred of students based on religion, race or any other demographic characteristic must be cut or eliminated.
Getting a college education is a privilege, not a right. Families scrimp, save and sacrifice to pay for a higher education for their children. Students devote four years of their lives to getting degrees now required for many jobs. Lawbreaking protesters fueled by the obscenity, hate, and bigotry must not be allowed to run wild on campuses and hold law-abiding students and their campuses hostage any longer.
Tammy Bruce, an Independent Conservative, has traversed a unique political journey that reflects her commitment to principles rather than party affiliations. She joined Fox News in 2005 as a Political Contributor, hosting her show “Get Tammy Bruce” on Fox Nation and providing insightful commentary on various issues for the Association of Mature Americans (AMAC). She has a new book set for release on July 23rd, “Fear Itself: exposing the Left’s Mind-Killing Agenda.”