Israel's war against Hamas and its devastating toll on civilians in Gaza has rocked US political life more than any foreign policy crisis since the Iraq war.
Pro-Palestinian protests are spreading across college campuses, as are reports of antisemitic incidents. Now education authorities have a dilemma. How do they protect voices of protest, dissent and questioning of the status quo that are essential to the mission of higher eduction while ensuring that all students feel safe?
This is not on the level of Vietnam War-era campus protests just yet. But police cleared one protest camp at Columbia University before another one sprung up. More than 100 people were arrested at New York University Monday after authorities cited "intimidating chanting and several antisemitic incidents." New York leaders say political extremists infiltrated some student demonstrations. It's not illegal for protestors to voice support for Hamas or Hezbollah. But when some of them chant for Tel Aviv to be razed, it's clear that a line has been crossed from criticism of Israel to antisemitism.
Tensions are so high at Columbia that classes and even end-of-year exams are going virtual. The protests represent a sincere outburst over the more than 34,000 Palestinians killed in Israel's retaliation against Hamas' terror attacks on October 7. Protestors at Columbia want the university to divest from firms and investments profiting from links to Israel. But some Jewish students say they are also being subjected to intimidation and racial abuse, and the university maintains the protest is responsible for vandalism, harassment and discrimination against some students.
"Exposure to uncomfortable ideas is a vital component of education, and I applaud the boldness of all of our students who speak out," the president of Barnard College, Laura Rosenbury, argued on Tuesday. But, she continued, "no student should fear for their safety while at Barnard, and no one should feel that they do not belong."
How will authorities reconcile the situation? Perhaps university boffins hope things will simply cool down when students go home for the summer. But there are fears the unrest could impact coming graduation ceremonies.
President Joe Biden, already facing a revolt from progressive, young and Arab American voters, used his Passover message to condemn "harassment and calls for violence against Jews," adding "this blatant antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country."
Biden's Republican opponents -- who love nothing better than blasting elite academe -- are demanding more resignations. Several college presidents were forced out in recent months after failing to forcibly condemn antisemitism during a congressional hearing late last year. Ex-President Donald Trump weighed in from his hush money trial in New York Tuesday, blaming Biden for the "disgrace" on college campuses in his narrative of an out-of-control nation and world.
There's no easy answer here -- which is not surprising since the conflict setting US campuses on edge has never looked more insoluble.
