For years, the political left has tried to associate anti-Semitism with the right. As it turns out – and it shouldn’t really come as a surprise – the bastions of progressive thought in the United States are also hotbeds of anti-Semitism. New York University, Columbia, Yale, and other colleges across the country have been plunged into chaos by violent anti-Jewish mobs. For the most part, college presidents and senior faculty members are facilitating the chaos – or not doing very much to end it, while issuing tepid responses.
Certain prominent left-wing newspapers are now referring to the rioters as “anti-war demonstrators.” This lines up with the left’s false narrative that it’s all about protesting Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip and nothing at all to do with anti-Semitism.
The facts paint a different story, however. Jewish students have reported being harassed and, in some cases, even physically assaulted. The mobs besieging these universities and colleges are not solely focused on condemning Israel for its military actions in Gaza, they are using much broader anti-Semitic rhetoric. If they are trying to pretend that this is about being anti-war and not anti-Jewish, they don’t seem to be fooling anybody.
Anti-Semitism Washes Over Columbia
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on April 21 referred to one example: a young woman at Columbia holding a sign with an arrow pointing to Jewish students, with the caption “Al-Qasam’s Next Targets” – Al-Qasam being the military wing of the terrorist group Hamas. “I am horrified and disgusted with the anti-Semitism being spewed at and around the Columbia University campus,” Adams said.
The riots have divided the left and the Democratic Party. While moderates and more traditionally liberal Democrats are roundly condemning the rampant anti-Semitism displayed by the campus rioters, progressives are openly siding with pro-Hamas agitators. Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar praised her daughter who was suspended from Columbia University’s Barnard College after taking in a pro-Palestinian protest. Omar once infamously said “some people did something” as a way of describing the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.
Joe Biden, as usual, is not leading by example. When asked by a reporter about the issue on April 22, he couldn’t bring himself to condemn anti-Semitism without immediately adding, “I also condemn those who don’t know what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
Meanwhile, in what amounts to a slap in the face for those not taking part in the violent demonstrations, Columbia has informed its students that the university will be switching to virtual or hybrid classes. In effect, the university’s president, Minouche Shafik, has given anti-Semitism her blessing, one could argue, instructing students not to attend class in person so that the demonstrations can continue. New York Rep. Richie Torres, a Democrat, said Shafik’s decision to suspend in-person classes was a choice to “surrender control of Columbia to an anti-Semitic fringe.” Blasting Shafik’s apparent capitulation, Torres said, “If you cannot ensure the safety of your students, then you have no business serving as president of any university, let alone the alma mater of Alexander Hamilton.”
