Why the Anti-Israel College Protests Are Misguided and Dangerous

I’ve been closely watching the anti-Israel protests at Columbia, NYU, USC and others across the country. I’m all for protests. In fact, I think we need more, not less of them…on a broad range of issues…from reproductive rights and gun violence to civil rights and voter rights.

And, I’ve said for years that I wish our young people, our college students, would become as passionate and engaged as those in the sixties.

But protests have to be peaceful. Civil. Respectful. Legal. They can’t be held whenever and wherever the fuck people want them to be. They can’t be menacing, or violent. And protestors should not be allowed to spew vile incendiary chants that call for death to a certain people, or total annihilation of a country.

Classes should not be disrupted. Students should not be personally threatened, or feel like their physical safety is at risk. And protestors certainly shouldn’t be allowed to set up illegal encampments that impede normal college operations.

Yet, this is what’s happening at these institutions of higher learning. For example, Columbia has largely gone remote. USC just cancelled its 2024 graduation ceremonies, over safety concerns, as its campus remains closed. What’s happening overall is disgusting and shameful.