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This spring has seen a flourishing of campus protests — and reactions to them.
These protests could be more effective. Currently less than three in 10 Americans support them, according to a recent YouGov poll. They’d likely get more support if, like protests in Israel, they focused on peace, releasing the hostages and co-existence. There are people who long backed a negotiated state for Palestinians (including me) who won’t attend such protests because of pro-war rhetoric calling for the destruction of Israel.
This war in Gaza began after brutal terrorist attacks against Israel. Interviews by the New York Times with Hamas leaders in November revealed their goals: “I hope that the state of war with Israel will become permanent on all the borders, and that the Arab world will stand with us,” Taher El-Nounou, a Hamas media adviser, told The Times.
Yet, even as the shock and grief of the Oct.7 attacks was immediate and raw, and before the tragic, horrible civilian deaths in Gaza, some student groups were quick to justify the terrorism. This isn’t anti-war or anti-violence.
Students for Justice in Palestine immediately put out images of a paraglider, like the ones that Hamas used to attack Israel on Oct. 7. Chants like “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the River to the Sea” are about destroying Israel. At George Washington University, protestors recently held a “People’s Tribunal” which found administrators guilty and chanted calls for them to be taken to a gallows and guillotine.
As eliminationist language continued, there were many reports of blatant antisemitism and violent rhetoric. A student at Columbia University was told to “Go back to Poland” and heard chants of “Burn Tel Aviv to the ground” and “Hamas, we love you. We support your rockets, too.” A senior at Bates College who is Jewish received threats and noted “One post from a Bates classmate advocated that ‘Hitler should’ve finished off the job.’”
It’s unclear how many protestors support these goals. Perhaps most are involved because they abhor bloodshed and rightly sympathize with civilians who are suffering and dying.
Some have told me the violent and antisemitic rhetoric should be ignored. I disagree.
Many rightly criticize Republicans for not standing up to Donald Trump and far-right voices, including anti-semites. If they don’t criticize antisemitism from those who agree with them about this war, they look like hypocrites who don’t care about antisemitism.
Moreover, adults who excuse this language are harming the Palestinian cause (and students’ careers). Violent and eliminationist rhetoric turns off most Americans and undermines the potential for coexistence and a just peace.
At the same time, nonviolent protestors have the right to protest and that right should be protected. Some police responses have been brutal and wrong. Also wrong were actions by UCLA counter protestors who went to an encampment, “attacked the camp, running in and pulling back sections of the makeshift fence, spraying chemical agents through holes in the barricade and launching fireworks into the camp.”
What, then, should campuses do? They should protect free speech and nonviolent protest. Policies against harassment and hate speech should be applied to all students. Protestors should understand that movements are more politically effective with coalition-building, discipline, and positive language and goals. Colleges should promote dialogue and deeper learning.
At the same time, there must be limits.
The University of Chicago provides a model worth emulating. Its president, Paul Alivisatos, advised the university would “provide the greatest leeway possible for free expression, even expression of viewpoints that some find deeply offensive.” But “an exercise of free expression blocks the learning or expression of others or that meaningfully disrupts the functioning or safety of the University” was not acceptable.
So after classroom disruptions, “repeated destruction of an approved installation of Israeli flags, shouting down speakers they disagree with, vandalism and graffiti on historic buildings, incorporating walkways into the encampment, and co-opting the university flagpole to fly the Palestinian flag,” President Alivasatos called for dismantling the encampment.
President Joe Biden sought to strike the same balance, for the right to protest and against “disorder” that denies “the rights of others.”
In this difficult, tragic time of war, we must protect free speech and praise efforts to achieve security and justice, while criticizing actions and negative rhetoric that undermines those goals.
