Pro-Palestinian campus protests stir political debate in Washington

College students demonstrating their support for Palestinians on campuses across the country are stirring up the political debate on Capitol Hill, pitting Israel’s closest allies in both parties against more liberal Democrats who side with the protesters and accuse the country of orchestrate a genocide in Gaza.

The battle has emerged as a major election-year challenge for President Biden, who is trying a tricky balancing act between demonstrating strong support for Washington’s closest ally in the Middle East, especially after the Hamas terrorist attacks in October, and at the same time time to condemn Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for doing too little to protect the lives of civilians in Gaza.

These tensions were on display on Capitol Hill earlier this month during the debate over providing new military aid to Israel – legislation opposed by more than three dozen House Democrats opposed to Netanyahu’s war tactics and wary of being “complicit.” as civilian casualties in Gaza mount.

And they remained on the front lines even after Congress passed and Biden signed the relief bill, as liberals join pro-Palestine rallies at universities across the country, their pro-Israel counterparts visit campuses to protest protesters and Republicans seized on the issue in an effort to make the long-running Israel-Palestine conflict a campaign issue ahead of the November elections.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday visited Columbia University, the site of one of the country’s most controversial pro-Palestinian protests, to denounce the protesters and call on the school’s president, Minouche Shafik, to resign “if she doesn’t we can immediately bring order to this chaos.”

“As Speaker of the House, I pledge today that Congress will not remain silent as Jewish students are expected to run for their lives and stay home, away from class, hiding in fear,” Johnson said.

Johnson is not the first congressional lawmaker to appear on the Manhattan campus amid the protests, trips that are creating a split-screen parliamentary response to the explosive demonstrations.

On Monday, a group of Jewish Democrats – Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Kathy Manning (NC), Jared Moskowitz (Florida) and Dan Goldman (NY) – walked across the Columbia campus and held a press conference calling on the Columbia administration to university to take strong action protecting Jewish students and condemning anti-Semitism.

That same day, New York Republican Reps. Mike Lawler and Anthony D’Esposito held their own media availability on campus to deliver the same message. Both lawmakers appeared alongside Johnson in Columbia on Wednesday and joined other New York Republicans in a letter earlier in the week condemning the demonstrations and calling for Shafik to resign.

“The ongoing situation that has unfolded,” the lawmakers wrote, “is a direct symptom of your continued negligent application of policy and clear double standards.”

Rep. Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, joined those calls, framing the tense situation as a threat to public safety.

“If you cannot guarantee the safety of your students, then you have no business serving as president of any university, let alone Alexander Hamilton’s alma mater,” Torres said in a statement.

These voices are being challenged, however, by liberal lawmakers – and fierce critics of the Netanyahu administration – who accuse Israel of conducting an indiscriminate military operation in Gaza that led to the deaths of more than 34,000 people in a region where more than half the population is under 18 years old.

On Tuesday, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of three Muslim lawmakers in Congress, addressed pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Minnesota, encouraging them with the message that they are on the right side of history.

“Follow your instinct and know that what we are doing, the voices we are raising to save lives in Gaza, is fair, right and morally right,” Omar, whose daughter was arrested last week at the Columbia University protest, told crowd.

“We recognize Israel’s right to protect itself. We reject Netanyahu’s policy and practice. Terrible,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in an interview with RTÉ’s Six One News during a visit to Ireland. “What could be worse than what he did in response?”

In an exchange that seemed encapsulate the tensions Among Democrats, Moskowitz responded to an online post by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) explaining his “no” vote on providing aid to Israel.

“Bernie, now do the anti-Semitism. Why so quiet?” Moskowitz wrote.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) responded: “Sen. Sanders’ family was killed in the Holocaust. He dedicates every moment to performing tikkun olam. His commitment to protecting innocents in Gaza stems from his Jewish values. He and many other Jewish leaders deserve better than to be treated this way. This is shameful.”

Caught in the middle of the debate is Biden, the former head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a close ally of Israel, who also has a tense relationship with the conservative Netanyahu, who is fervently opposed to the idea at the heart of the Biden administration’s proposal. peace agreement: the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Biden is also seeking a second term in the White House in November and is struggling to shore up support from the American Muslim community, which has outsized influence in swing states like Michigan, which could be crucial to the president’s re-election chances.

Activists in key swing states urged primary voters to check “uncommitted” as a way to protest Biden’s policy toward Israel. In Michigan, the “uncommitted” secured two delegates and in Minnesota he obtained 19% of the votes.

Following that delicate line, Biden addressed the university demonstrations this week with a message containing something for both sides of the heated debate.

“I condemn anti-Semitic protests,” Biden said Monday during a public event in Virginia. “I also condemn those who do not understand what is happening to the Palestinians.”