Congress speaks up on anti-Israel campus protests

Raucous anti-Israel protests at Ivy League Columbia University — which have spread to other campuses following the administration’s crackdown on encampments erected by student activists — are becoming a hot topic on Capitol Hill.

Republicans are eager to point out the protests are merely a symptom of the larger rot within academia; college administrators for years tolerated left-wing activists breaking university policy (and often rewarded them for their efforts) while resisting the representation of conservative voices on campus. This posture has allowed radical, hate-filled movements to foment among increasingly progressive student bodies.

Students for Justice in Palestine and Boycott, Divest, Sanctions groups have been prominent on many campuses for years, but gained even more steam after Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7. Student organizations praised the terrorist group as “freedom fighters” and used the slaughter of more than 1,000 Israelis to ramp up their calls for universities to divest their endowments from companies that do business in Israel. Representative Elise Stefanik has brought multiple university presidents to Congress to grill them about the anti-semitism pouring out from some of these groups, from students tearing down posters of Hamas’s hostages to rallies celebrating the “martyrs” who committed acts of terror against Israel.

The Columbia situation, though, has ignited the situation to new levels. Democrats in Congress now find themselves divided over whether the Columbia encampment is a policy-violating vehicle for Jew hatred or an important fight for free speech. Representative Ilhan Omar’s daughter Isra Hirsi, a Barnard student who participated in the protest, claims she was left homeless and hungry after being suspended from school. Members of the progressive “Squad” rushed to her defense. “How does a student with no disciplinary record suddenly get to a suspension less than twenty-four hours after a nonviolent protest?” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked on X.

Senator John Fetterman, a vocal advocate for Israel, took the opposite approach to the chaos on campus: “I fully agree with the White House — these ‘protests’ are antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous. Add some tiki torches and it’s Charlottesville for these Jewish students. To @Columbia President Minouche Shafik: do your job or resign so Columbia can find someone who will.” The White House statement Fetterman referred to said the form of protests seen “have absolutely no place on any college campus.”

Despite rebukes from the Biden administration and numerous members of Congress, campuses are struggling to put an end to this wave of activism as “solidarity” protests break out across the country. Columbia is holding classes virtually over concerns for Jewish student safety, Yale arrested dozens of student protesters and Harvard shut down Harvard Yard to the public. It’s unclear if and when the protests will subside. 

-Amber Duke

On our radar

SCOTUS MAY SHOOT BIDEN BAN The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments this fall on whether the Biden administration’s ban on the sale of build-it-yourself  “ghost gun” kits exceeded executive authority. The Biden administration brought the appeal after a lower court struck down its ban. 

‘CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY’ Opening arguments started in former president Donald Trump’s criminal trial Monday, as the prosecution accused him of committing “election fraud” by allegedly covering up non-disclosure payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels as legal rather than campaign expenses. 

NOEM NAVIGATES ABORTION South Dakota governor and possible vice presidential pick Kristi Noem attempted to echo Trump’s line that abortion should be left to the states during a Sunday interview on CNN. She said that she is personally pro-life and is reticent about exceptions because she doesn’t think a “tragedy should perpetuate another tragedy.” 

Is Biden wasting time in Florida?

President Joe Biden heads to Tampa on Tuesday, where he’ll be speaking at a campaign event about abortion. His visit takes place just a week before the Sunshine State’s six-week abortion ban will take effect. 

“From Arizona to Florida, more and more Americans are seeing up close the devastating impact of Trump overturning Roe v. Wade,” Morgan Mohr, senior advisor for reproductive rights for Biden’s campaign, said in a statement. “While Donald Trump continues to brag about unleashing these extreme and dangerous bans, President Joe Biden is running to restore reproductive freedom.“

The question is: why waste time in Florida? The latest Florida Atlantic University PolCom Lab survey shows Donald Trump leading by eight percentage points. And that’s a generous one for Biden, considering that Emerson College’s last poll shows a fourteen-point gap. 

By all available metrics, Florida is far from a swing state this time around. Thus, it may seem like time spent there, not in Arizona, Pennsylvania or even Georgia, is unwise. 

Part of the campaign’s reasoning, though not outwardly displayed, may very well be money. As the Miami Herald reports, Biden’s visit to the “donor-rich” state comes after he raised more than $6 million in a single fundraiser hosted by Democratic donor Chris Korge.

At the same time, while investing time in the state may seem strategically imprudent at first, with Florida voters having the opportunity to protect abortion rights this November via a ballot initiative, Biden may be up to something. It’s bold, but if he manages to make the election all about abortion, he could deliver some surprises.

–Juan P. Villasmil

Democrats wave the flag

House Democrats were so excited to send $60 billion in aid to Ukraine that a group of them waved the country’s blue and yellow flag and chanted “Ukraine! Ukraine!” during a 366-58 vote taken over the weekend to allocate the funds.

The Daily Wire points out this money, along with “about $17 billion for Israel, $9 billion for humanitarian aid and $8 billion to support Taiwan” fails “to address President Joe Biden’s border crisis.”

Plenty of House Republicans pushed back against their flag-waving colleagues. On the House floor, Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida demanded the Dems “put those damn flags away.” Representative Jim Banks of Indiana wondered on Twitter/X, “When was the last time you saw 200 Democrat politicians proudly waving the American flag?”

Republican lawmakers aren’t the only ones upset at the unpatriotic display. According to the Wire, “Fox News reporter Bill Melugin shared text messages that he received from ICE and Border Patrol officials following the passage of the spending package, some of which said: ‘Unbelievable,’ ‘We’re screwed,’ and ‘So messed up.’”

The aid package is now under consideration by the Senate.

–Teresa Mull