Palestinian Student Demonstrations –“Sound and Fury Signifying Anti-Semitic Hatred” (Apologies to the Bard of Avon)—April 24, 2024
You’ve probably heard the old saying attorneys often use, “When you have the law, quote it, when you have the facts, discuss them, and when you have none of these, just pound the table!” Well, in the latest demonstrations backing the barbaric October 7, 2023 Hamas killers that have been spreading from Columbia University to other colleges, many students are foolishly pounding the political table for these savage murderers of innocent men, women, and children. Unbelievably, these Palestinians who could care less about democracy, believe in crushing LGBTQ rights, and whine about not getting a homeland when all they want to do is destroy the world’s only Jewish state, Israel and its people, have become “cuddly” and adopted “heroes” (NOT) for too many ignorant Ivy Leaguers. These “students” know nothing about the true situation in the Middle East and many of them really don’t care to learn.
This gang of historical illiterates yammers that they are not anti-Israel. However, far too many of them run around attacking visibly Jewish students and yelling anti-Semitic epithets, including, “Go back to Poland!” It seems like the ghost of the late vehemently anti-Israel reporter Helen Thomas has been resurrected from her grave to lead these wackos who think running around in kaffiyahs constitutes the “be all and end all” of their existence.
Here’s the true history that they conveniently ignore. In November,1947, the Palestinian Arabs were offered an independent state along with a separate one for the Jews by the United Nations (UN). The UN partitioned the area of Palestine and gave the present Jewish state far less than the Palestinians got. The Palestinian Arabs were told by their Arab brethren in these other states that once they annihilated Israel, the Palestinians could take over the land promised to the Jews. However, it didn’t work out that way. Even though they were outnumbered militarily and by population, the new State of Israel, in the 1948 War, defeated the major Arab invaders, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq (“Facts on Israel”). Most of the Palestinian Arabs fled the land that became Israel. Many of them fled to Jordan and Lebanon. Unlike most other countries who took in and accepted their fellow refugees after they fled their original homelands, the Arab countries failed to resettle their fellow ethnic cohorts. They kept them in squalid refugee camps. These major Arab countries who could easily have resettled the Palestinians used them as pawns against Israel. Israel offered to give the Palestinians compensation for their lost homes, which often happens in most situations. However, the Palestinians, egged on by their fellow Arab brethren, refused such monetary payment. They stated they only wanted the “right of return” to Israel. Had that happened, the Jewish State would no longer have had a Jewish majority, and many of those Arabs might have killed many Jews in Israel. Again, after the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel thrashed Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, more Palestinian refugees fled. Once again, the major Arab countries did not accept the new Palestinian refugees. Israel, as it does today, talked about a two-state solution, or giving the Palestinians a homeland, but once again, the Palestinians refused. To quote the late Israeli statesman Abba Eban’s apt comment, “the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” Instead, the Palestinians let “leaders” such as Yassir Arafat talk a “great game” about getting a possible homeland, but, once again, refused a deal for an independent state. They remained wedded to capturing all of Jewish Israel and destroying it. President Clinton was absolutely furious that Arafat ultimately tanked his attempt at Camp David to create an independent Palestinian state and personally blamed him for the negotiation’s failure.
The Palestinians are presently continuing to do the same thing and in the process deceiving far too many students about their real motives. Hamas, a group that plans to murder every Israeli and destroy the Jewish State, has now become the de facto leader of the Palestinians. Israel must rightfully fight against attempts by the barbaric Hamas which started this latest attack with its October 7, 2023 massacre, to destroy this group. No other country would act any differently in such a situation.
If these student demonstrators really wanted to rationally discuss creating a legitimate Palestinian state, they would not be running around in mob-like fashion and disrupting classes. They would not be playing “political guerilla theater” with their Gaza tent cities and making anti-Semitic comments and harassing Jews.
Finally, university administrators facing these unruly mobs must shut them down, even if it means bringing police onto the campuses. Any administrators who show weakness on this front should resign or be fired. It is encouraging that many campuses are starting to get the help of law enforcement in shutting down these unruly demonstrators. By not stopping these hostile demonstrators, these college officials have made it unsafe for Jewish student on campus. NO individual or group must ever feel intimidated on ANY campus. Free speech is one thing. However, these groups are engaging in violent action with numerous incidents of anti-Semitic bigotry, that goes way beyond the line of free speech. There are legitimate arguments to make for establishing a Palestinian state, but promoting ant-Semitism in making this case should be a total deal breaker. Israel and Jews in general must not be held to a different standard, which far too many people who call themselves “progressives” want them to do.
Kudos to President Biden and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for condemning anti-Semitism in the strongest way possible! Such hatred must have NO place whatsoever in our nation. Support of Israel must continue to be bipartisan.