This weekend at Columbia and Yale, student demonstrators told Jewish students to “go back to Poland.” A Jewish woman at Yale was assaulted with a Palestinian flag. And an Orthodox rabbi at Columbia told students to go home for their safety.
Demonstrators on these campuses shouted: “Say it loud and say it clear, we don’t want no Zionists here.” In one chant at Columbia, the protesters were heard saying “Go Hamas, we love you. We support your rockets, too.” and “We say justice, you say how? Burn Tel Aviv to the ground.”
These campus activists are not simply “pro-Palestine” protesters. They are people who are openly celebrating Hamas and physically intimidating identifiably Jewish students who came near. We published the accounts of two of those students—Sahar Tartak and Jonathan Lederer—today.
Students—all of us—have a right to protest. We have a right to protest for dumb causes and horrible causes. At The Free Press, we will always defend that right. (See here and here, for example.) It is not, however, a First Amendment right to physically attack another person. It is not a First Amendment right to detain another person as part of your protest.
The institutions that are supposed to be dedicated to the pursuit of truth have not only abandoned their mission—they have stood by and done nothing meaningful to condemn students who support terrorism, or to stop the horrific scenes of the past 48 hours.
In fact, at Columbia they have done quite the opposite: on Monday morning the president announced that she is moving classes online. If that’s not cowering to the mob, I don’t know what is. Meanwhile, the NYPD has offered to help secure the safety of Jews on campus, but so far the president of Columbia has refused to let them on campus.
Since the very founding of America, this country has been a unique place for the Jewish people. That is because of America’s exceptional ideals and our willingness to defend them.
But in the past six months these core American beliefs, once deemed immutable, have been challenged in ways that were previously unimaginable, as a rising wave of antisemitism and illiberalism have swept the country—a wave that was put on full display over the last few days, at the country’s most elite and prestigious universities.
Jews around the world are about to celebrate the holiday of Passover—otherwise known as the festival of freedom. But what does it mean this year to commemorate our freedom, when our freedom feels like it is contracting before our eyes? How can we defend the original principles that underpin our society? How can we find the courage to do so?
A few months ago, I gave a speech at the 92Y called “The State of World Jewry,” where I addressed these very questions. I argued that the state of world Jewry depends on the state of the free world. Right now, its condition is in jeopardy. Our holiday from history is over.
For those celebrating Passover, Chag Sameach. And as we say at the Passover seder, “Next year, may we all be free.”
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nellie Bowles Knows Why So Many Progressives Lost Their Minds—She Almost Did, Too
Ozempic: Silver Bullet or Devil’s Bargain?
‘Small Talk’ with David Sedaris
Should the U.S. Shut Its Borders? A Live Debate.
Is Banning TikTok a Mistake? A Debate.
Nicole Avant on Tragedy, Forgiveness, and Thinking Free
Iran Attacked Israel. What Comes Next?
NPR Editor Speaks Out: How National Public Radio Lost Americans' Trust
How the Working Class Became America’s Second Class
The Story of Someone Who Changed His Mind
Smartphones Rewired Childhood. Here's How to Fix It.
The Free Press in Israel Part 3: The Gathering Storm
The Free Press in Israel Part 2: Shattered Illusions
The Free Press in Israel Part 1: Running Toward Fire
Trailer: The Free Press in Israel
Why the Kids Aren't Alright
Two Years Later: Should America Continue to Aid Ukraine? A Debate.
Alexei Navalny Died for the Truth. Tucker Carlson Fell for the Lie.
Special Episode! Suzy Weiss on Dating While Problematic
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Morning Wire
The Ben Shapiro Show
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Dairyland Frights