Apparently, if one does not support the pro-Hamas protests happening on college campuses across the country, one is anti-American. At least, that’s what New York Magazine editor-at-large and longtime journalist Kara Swisher seems to believe.
On a Saturday CNN broadcast, Swisher, the Washington Free Beacon’s Eliana Johnson, and the rest of the panel discussed the ongoing anti-Israel demonstrations happening at schools such as Yale and Columbia universities, several of which have involved violence, threats, and other extreme behavior.
During the conversation, Johnson suggested that it would benefit President Joe Biden politically if he condemned activists telling Jewish folks to return to Poland. She went on to claim that Zionists don’t deserve to live.
Swisher chimed in, acknowledging that others have made the same point, but then she brought up the issue of free speech.
The question is, are you for order and against chaos or for protest and the right to free speech? What’s interesting is how quickly everyone’s shifting. All the free speech warriors are suddenly like, “order, order, we must have order.” And so there are heinous things that are said, but there is a line where you have to support also young people, especially when they do things that they do badly. Not to support them is anti-American in a different way.
Johnson responded, affirming the necessity of free speech, but noted that the actions of the protesters go far beyond speech and have had a negative impact on other students simply trying to get an education.
Free speech is fine, but USC has canceled its graduation. Columbia University has canceled classes and put them online. We’ve gone well beyond free speech and into shuttering the operations of universities. I do think it’s a missed opportunity for Biden to say, “There are limits. We’ve gone beyond speech and into harassment and disruption here and we will not stand for that.”
CNN’s Kara Swisher suggests that not supporting anti-Israel protests is “anti-American.” pic.twitter.com/M2A563HnL8
— Jeff Charles, An Awful Pundit🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) April 28, 2024
The demonstrations on campus, which started after the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, have become gradually worse over recent months, with numerous reports of violence and threats coming from pro-Hamas activists who have targeted Jewish students. Antisemitism has also seen a spike.
Those participating in the demonstrations have not only engaged in violence, but they have also blocked roads, preventing motorists from getting to their destinations. In one instance, a Jewish student journalist at Yale was stabbed in the eye by a pro-Hamas activist using a Palestinian flag.
Currently, Columbia University in New York City has been the epicenter of the protests, with activists setting up encampments while calling on the school to divest from its relationship with Israel. Law enforcement recently began cracking down on the demonstrations.
To Johnson’s point, there is a significant difference between peacefully protesting and spewing anti-Israel rhetoric, harassing other students, blocking traffic, and engaging in violence. For the most part, those criticizing these people have no problem with the idea that they should be able to publicly express their views. But the threatening behavior is the issue that those seeking to defend them try to ignore.
However, in states like Florida and Texas, pro-Hamas activists learned a hard lesson when they tried the same antics in Miami and at the University of Texas. Law enforcement officers in both states were quick to act against those engaging in violent or rowdy behavior instead of simply allowing these individuals to throw their tantrums in the streets. There appears to be no end in sight for the pro-Hamas movement in America. But at some point, universities that have gone soft on this behavior will have to change their tune instead of bowing to the demands of the crybullies.
