The student protests against the war in Gaza — really, against the existence of Israel — have resulted in hundreds of arrests, as they should have in many instances. And those arrests should be followed by appropriate prosecutions, and university disciplinary actions as well.
Violence, blocking traffic, breaking windows, trying to colonize campus property and buildings that are in use for education, and resisting reasonable orders by police to disperse, all undermine public safety. Chanting anti-Semitic tropes is free speech — hateful and stupid but not illegal.
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, attempting to distract from his New York criminal case, said the lawbreaking associated with the pro-Palestinian protesting makes the Charlottesville, Va., 2017 violence look like “peanuts.”
And he suggested that the pro-Palestinian protesters on campuses around the country will be treated more benignly than those who participated in what he calls “J6.”
We don’t know whether the pro-Palestinian protesting will end up causing serious injury and death, as did the protests at Charlottesville and “J6”— each of which occurred on one day in one location instead of all over the country. So far, there is no comparison.
Glass, doors, and furniture broken at Columbia University interfered with the normal use of that building, which causes inconvenience and the need for repairs. On some campuses, classes and graduation exercises have been canceled thanks to the havoc created by protesters.
There should be disciplinary action for violations against school policy. The National Guard, no.
The glass broken at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was in pursuit of an intended violent interference in a U.S. presidential election. There should have been a National Guard response, but there wasn’t.
While there were many involved in “J6” who did not break things or hurt or threaten other people, there were some who wielded objects to break windows, bust through barriers, and injure Capitol Police officers.
We wouldn’t put it past some of those involved in the pro-Palestinian protests to break into the Capitol and interfere with Congress if they could.
After all, they express no compunction about solidarity with Hamas, which carried out a massacre on Oct. 7 and still holds hostages. They beclown themselves by donning terrorist garb.
Comparing campus protests with an attempted insurrection that appeared to be supported from high levels of the federal government is a false equivalence.
First Published May 2, 2024, 4:00 a.m.
