Action is needed now to restore the civil compass on university campuses - opinion

The rise of antisemitism disguised as a liberation movement for Palestinians is threatening the safety and education of Jewish students and their allies on American campuses

For anyone who cares about the future of the free world, it is impossible to sit on the sidelines and passively observe the systematic destruction-by-extremism of universities from coast to coast in the United States. It is impossible to allow one community – in this case, Jews – to feel so threatened that they cannot show up to class, walk through campus, or attend their own commencement. Nor is it acceptable to demand that they endure hate speech under the disingenuous banner of free speech.

As summer usually brings the anticipation of new graduates, the singular Palestinian cause has hijacked commencements and stolen memories of graduation from all students – of all ethnicities.

Within a stunningly short period, blatant antisemitism masquerading as a liberation movement for the Palestinians has swept through the American college campus, with illegal encampments, hateful slogans, daily disruptions to classes and the adjacent community, genocidal chants, and ugly signage.

Watching footage of the now daily campus melees as they grew into full-scale violent riots; seizure and destruction of private property at New York’s Columbia University, I am appalled to see that our “land of the free” is not being met with the brave of the home.

Overnight, tent cities have appeared on college property, typically similar to one another, apparently purchased in bulk. The student protesters declare the stolen campus area a “liberation zone” and deny access to anyone who does not support their cause which is less pro-Palestinian and more typically anti-Israel. Israeli flags have been torn and burned. Chants accuse Israel of genocide, proclaim that “Zionists” are not welcome, and declare that Israel is a terrorist state. Notably absent is any reference to the genocidal attacks of October 7, the hostages, or the victims of the Supernova music festival – young adults just like them, coming together to dance and sing in the name of peace.

On the Columbia campus alone, radicalized Israel-hating students have hosted the hit parade of Israel-bashers over the past two weeks. These include Susan Sarandon, Norman Finkelstein, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Cornell West, to name a few.

At the center of the epic mayhem on the college campuses are the well-organized and well-funded pro-Palestine groups, which have been at this game for more than a decade and were evidently fully prepared to spring into action immediately following October 7.

Ironically, over the Passover holiday, the encampments proliferated nationwide. With most college administrations paralyzed by indecision, the world is watching how the greatest nation on earth handles this crisis which is far from local.

The core of American values is being trampled by the minute as government leaders, university deans, and professors stay silent, respond with small gestures to quash some rhetoric, or engage in false equivalency. On the Columbia campus, numerous faculty members recently rallied in support of students who had been arrested after violating campus rules, mistakenly branding their actions democratic. In a move that smacks of the ludicrous, some colleges have entered into talks or negotiations with the protesters, who demand chiefly that their schools divest from business relationships with Israel.

Several universities have responded swiftly to efforts to create encampments and cracked down on hate speech and threats against Jewish students. Some outright refuse to join the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel.

Campus riots weren't created in a vacuum

But the storming of campuses and the creation of encampments weren’t born in a vacuum. They were funded systematically and calculatedly for many years for the purpose of sowing turmoil, disruption, and the unraveling of basic American values.

How can we turn a blind eye to the funneling of donor dollars – from sources ranging from large left-leaning billion-dollar philanthropies to oil companies to agenda-driven NGOs – that for years laid the groundwork for the events unfolding daily before our eyes, which are shaking up entire college campuses and the Jewish community at its core, and adding to President Joe Biden’s list of current crises?

As history has taught us, the Jews are the canaries in the coal mine. But, today, it’s also anyone who disagrees with Hamas’s narrative.

Many of the marchers for Palestine have no clue what they are marching for; many don’t understand the deep context of the narrative from all sides of this long-drawn-out conflict. The American activists are distinguished by their ignorant arrogance, righteous indignation, and hatred toward Jews or anyone they perceive as an ally to the Jewish community or Israel.

The Palestinian minority in the US alone comprises roughly 170,000 individuals – compared to the 6.3 million Jews who live in the US. Among the questions raised about the larger rabble-rousers partaking in the demonstrations are: Who are they, and to what end?

When Hamas, a terrorist organization – and let’s not forget the US labeled Hamas a terrorist organization – attacks Israeli civilians in the most heinous manner as it did on October 7, no march that does not condemn these attacks can be justified on any campus.

If the university leaders hide behind the security of their jobs and fear speaking out, they allow the wrong to continue and the evil to explode. By being silent bystanders, they create an environment of no return. They set a stage they can never redeem for their students or families.

When a bipartisan group of senators came to Israel in October of 2023 when the war began, I asked them what they could do about the pro-Hamas demonstrations and antisemitism on the campuses. Sen. Lindsey Graham said, “Share the photos, tell the story, tell them you don’t know what you are talking about. The people who say, ‘Free Palestine,’ the best thing you can do for the Palestinians is to destroy Hamas and put Iran on the sidelines.”

AT THIS moment, the bipartisan actions of a majority united Senate and Congress, strong state and city officials, police, and, if necessary, the National Guard are needed to halt the craziness.

A rematch of President Biden and former president Donald Trump looms over the American people as electioneering begins. Each candidate should be tested on how to handle this chapter in history. It will make or break the coming election and leave a legacy of grandeur, guts, or cowardice.

It doesn’t take much for the emboldened youth parading for terror to turn to terror. The streets of New York, LA, Chicago, and Detroit will be unsafe. It won’t just be the campuses everyone will be pining over. It will create the path for the prevalent bombs in the streets during the Second Intifada.

Terrorists don’t understand dialogue.

If a Palestinian state is born under the gun, it will remain a state imbued with corruption and terror, with no chance of succeeding. The ultimate decisions between Israelis and the Palestinian people need to be solved by those living side by side and not under the cloud of war or by force on college campuses. It is a complex and layered process, requiring deep knowledge that most of those demonstrating may not have. This is knowledge that should be taught responsibly on university campuses.

Business leaders, doctors, theater directors, PR practitioners, and media gurus need to find their inner strength and not hide under their blankets of fear. This is not a time to withdraw into the shadows and let everyone else do the dirty work. It is a time to rise and stand strong for the truth and values of a decent world. It is a time when we need to give our children a safe environment in which to learn.

America’s brightest and bravest have no choice; they must act now, or tomorrow we will ask how we let this happen in our lifetime.

The writer is president and CEO of The Media Line news agency and founder of the Press and Policy Student Program, the Mideast Press Club, and the Women’s Empowerment Program. She can be reached at ffriedson@themedialine.org.