American college campuses have been rocked by a surge of anti-Israel demonstrations this week, with protests erupting on 13 campuses nationwide.
As per CBS News, anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University this week have repeatedly expressed explicit support for violence, with chants such as “Al-Qassam [Hamas’s terror brigade] you make us proud, kill another soldier now!” and signs threatening “Al-Qasam’s next targets.” At New York University, anti-Israel protesters chanted slogans demonizing Israel, including “Say it loud, say it clear; we don’t want no Zionists here” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and at the University of Michigan, demonstrators raised a banner that read “Long Live the Intifada.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports that Jewish students have been directly targeted during these ongoing antisemitic rallies. One protester at Columbia University yelled to nearby Jewish students, “Remember the 7th of October? That will happen not one more time, not five more times…but 10,000 more times.” Another protester added, “Never forget the 7th of October…The 7th of October is about to be every f***ing day for you. You ready?”
In light of the growing antisemitism on college campuses, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a forceful video statement on Wednesday, condemning the antisemitic mobs that have taken over America’s top universities.
“What’s happening in America’s college campuses is horrific. Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities. They call for the annihilation of Israel. They attack Jewish students. They attack Jewish faculty,” he said.
“This is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s. It’s unconscionable. It has to be stopped. It has to be condemned and condemned unequivocally.”
