As campus tensions over Israel flare, White House decries 'grotesque sentiments' against Jewish students

[Behind the Aegis]

As Jewish students studied inside the Cooper Union library, a pro-Palestinian protest formed on the other side of the glass. One student who was inside said the action was “targeted.” Courtesy of Abigail Mottahedeh

The day after several Jewish students at Cooper Union were told to hide as pro-Palestinian protesters banged on the doors of the school library, the White House issued a statement decrying the rise of antisemitic rhetoric on college campuses.

“Amidst the rise in poisonous, antisemitic rhetoric and hate crimes that President Biden has fought against for years, there is an extremely disturbing pattern of antisemitic messages being conveyed on college campuses,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in the statement.

“Just over the past week, we’ve seen protests and statements on college campuses that call for the annihilation of the state of Israel; for genocide against the Jewish people. Jewish students have even had to barricade themselves inside buildings. These grotesque sentiments and actions shock the conscience and turn the stomach.”

The statement tied the current campus turmoil to the Holocaust, and characterized protesters’ anti-Zionism as antisemitism. “They also recall our commitment that can’t be forgotten: ‘never again,’” Bates continued. “Delegitimizing the State of Israel while praising the Hamas terrorist murderers who burned innocent people alive, or targeting Jewish students, is the definition of unacceptable – and the definition of antisemitism.”

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[chowder66]

1. "These grotesque sentiments and actions shock the conscience and turn the stomach."

Exactly.

[ripcord]

2. The big question is will Union Cooper take any action?

[Igel]

6. Not pressured enough yet, it seems.

Cooper Union said, “The library was closed for approximately 20 minutes late this afternoon while student protestors moved through our building. Some students who were previously in the library remained there during this time.”

They put the students in the attic to keep them safe before getting them out through a (steam?) tunnel.

Meanwhile, the protestors, “Our protest was not targeting any individual student or faculty but the institution itself" and apparently disavowed any anti-Semitism in what they said or did or intended.

In other words, they sanitized the hate, wrapping in a thick blanket of twaddle with a side helping of codswallop before serving it up as a course.

[rollin74]

3. The US Senate just unanimously passed a resolution

condemning anti-semitism on American college campuses

glad to see my Senator Rosen was a co-sponsor

I can’t believe all the anti-Jewish hatred that is being encouraged/tolerated on campuses now

[JI7]

4. It's been that way for some time now m

People ignored it mostly and things were excused or explained as having to do with policy issues concerning Israel.

But the current conflict exposed it for what it always was.

[sarisataka]

5. I would say I am surprised how little attention the president's statement is getting

But I would be lying if I said so.

Antisemitism is currently being given a pass by both the right and the left. They will say it is not about Jews it is about Israel.

It is about Jews.