The White House has issued a statement against anti-Israel protests and encampments at Columbia University, calling them “anti-Semitic, unconscionable and dangerous.”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates issued Sunday’s statement acknowledged that Americans have the “right to peacefully protest,” but added that “calls for violence and physical intimidation” against the Jewish community are unacceptable.
in him statementBates said.
While all Americans have the right to peacefully protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly anti-Semitic, unconscionable and dangerous. is. They are simply not tolerated on college campuses or anywhere in the United States. . And repeating the rhetoric of terrorist organizations is despicable, especially in the wake of the worst genocide perpetrated against Jews since the Holocaust. We condemn these statements in the strongest terms.
Bates’ statement comes amid anti-Israel protests at various universities. Popped It’s been going up in the last few days. Several pro-Palestinian student groups at the University of North Carolina, Boston University, and Ohio State University announced they would hold rallies and protests. support A view of the Columbia University encampment.
On April 17, 2024, a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” demonstration was held on the South Lawn of Columbia University’s campus in New York, where more than 100 students demanded that Columbia University divest from companies with ties to Israel. (Selcuk Achar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Early Wednesday morning, protesters reportedly set up an anti-Israel encampment on the lawn of Columbia University. On Thursday, several students, including Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), were suspended from Barnard College for their involvement in the encampment.
More than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters at the encampment, including Hirsi, were also arrested on Thursday.
Despite the arrests, protesters were recorded setting up tents at the encampment on Sunday.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), who has voiced support for Israel and criticized anti-Israel demonstrators, wrote: post X said he agreed “with the White House” that the protests were anti-Semitic, unconscionable and dangerous.
“Add the tiki torch and it’s Charlottesville for Jewish students,” Fetterman added, calling on Columbia University President Minoush Shafik to “do his job or resign.”
.@POTUSand his administration has forcefully condemned anti-Semitism – by@priscialva. pic.twitter.com/zE1A5cKytg
— Herbie Ziskend (@HerbieZiskend46) April 21, 2024
President Joe Biden too issued The statement was made ahead of the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover.
Biden wrote in a statement:
As Jews celebrate Passover with stories, songs, and rituals, we will read from the Haggadah how each generation has been targeted by those who seek to destroy the Jewish people. This year, these words have taken on even deeper resonance and pain in the wake of Hamas’s unspeakable evil on October 7, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. More than 1,200 people were brutally murdered. Women and girls were subjected to horrific sexual violence. More than 250 innocent people, including Americans, were taken hostage. We can never forget the horrors of Hamas’s despicable atrocities.
Biden went on to decry an “alarming surge in anti-Semitism” in “schools, communities and online.” He continued, “Silence is complicity. Even in recent days, we have seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant anti-Semitism is reprehensible, dangerous, and on our college campuses and in our country.” There is no place like it anywhere.”
