Wednesday, May 01, 2024

05/01 Links Pt1: The breathtaking denial of anti-Semitism at Columbia; They aren’t revolutionaries. They’re bigoted brats; Astroturfing Exposed: The Coordinated Anti-Israel Protests and the Power Behind Them

From Ian:

The breathtaking denial of anti-Semitism at Columbia
Like all good social-justice warriors of a certain age, Reich harkens back to the romantic 1960s, recalling the campus protests against segregationist governors George Wallace and Ross Barnett, and against the Vietnam War. Reich writes: ‘If Columbia or any other university now roiled by student protests were doing what it should be doing, it would be a hotbed of debate about the war. Disagreement would be welcome; demonstrations accepted; argument invited; differences examined.’ Ah, those halcyon days of campus kumbaya.

Maybe Reich hasn’t noticed, but today’s protesters have no desire to debate or examine differences. This is not about two-state solutions or how to arrive there. Read the placards or listen to the chants and you will see that this is all about a world without Israel and eradicating the Jews. As Brendan O’Neill pointed out recently on spiked: ‘Their longing for Israel’s erasure was made clear… “We don’t want no two states / We want ’48!” That is, 1948, a time when the modern state of Israel didn’t yet exist.’ I challenge Reich – or indeed anyone – to find one poster in all those photographs of the Columbia protests calling for peace, negotiations or an acknowledgment of Israel’s right to exist. Just one.

Much of what Reich writes is fantastical. ‘The atrocities committed by both sides’, he writes, ‘illustrate the capacities of human beings for inhumanity and show the vile consequences of hate. For these reasons, it presents an opportunity for students to re-examine their preconceptions and learn from one another.’ Yes, perhaps a morning teach-in on the campus green, where everyone can share their thoughts on anti-Semitism. After lunch, calls for the extermination of the Jews.

To be fair to Reich, he is merely a conspicuous representative of America’s elite academic class. There are plenty out there who are as clueless as he is. Some are active participants in the hate. Others are fellow travellers in the Palestine cause who do nothing to speak against the anti-Semitism in their movement. For decades, they have been marinating in the social-justice language of the left: whiteness, colonialism, systemic racism and so on. And now, they are so thoroughly immersed in so-called progressive ideology that they are oblivious to their surroundings. Like the honchos at National Public Radio, who deny their woke bias even when their employees point out obvious examples, these leftists and liberals have become disconnected from the reality around them.

Protesters at Columbia have been chanting: ‘Remember 7 October? That will happen not one more time, not five more times… but 10,000 more times.’ Yet still Reich claims that this does not express anti-Semitism. You couldn’t find a better illustration of George Orwell’s observation on the ignorance of intellectuals: ‘One has to belong to the intelligentsia to believe things like that: no ordinary man could be such a fool.’
They aren’t revolutionaries. They’re bigoted brats
As the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) points out, civil disobedience is not the same as expressing an opinion or engaging in peaceful protest. The whole point of it is to break the rules. Indeed, it ‘derives expressive power from the willingness of participants to accept the consequences of breaking the rules’. That these students and junior academics are shocked to be handcuffed for breaking the law reveals a profound sense of entitlement among young ‘radicals’.

We shouldn’t be surprised. FIRE president Greg Lukianoff has pointed to two dispiriting, parallel trends in American universities: a willingness to curtail free speech, all while giving a green light to violent, intolerant protests. At the University of California, Berkeley, where students rioted in 2017 because that tiresome weirdo Milo Yiannopoulous was speaking, the university ‘showed cowardice in its unwillingness to punish the rioters’, writes Lukianoff and Angel Eduardo in a recent op-ed. We saw a similarly rank capitulation at Evergreen State that same year, where marauding students were effectively allowed to chase professors Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying off of campus. Since then, ‘shutdowns and shout-downs have become commonplace’, they write.

Some critics of campus cancel culture have been caught off guard by the pro-Hamas protests. Almost a decade ago, they observe, we were all gawping at the ‘Yale Snowflakes’, those absurd Ivy Leaguers who went into open, teary-eyed revolt because academic Erika Christakis sent them an email saying they should chill out about offensive Halloween costumes. How did babyish offence-taking give way to open support for anti-Semitic terrorists?

But it all makes a perverse kind of sense. Students taught that freedom of speech is a form of violence have begun to see violence as a form of free speech. Young radicals reared on a crude, conspiratorial racial identity politics have begun to apply it to geopolitics, with predictably anti-Semitic results. A new generation of elite youth, overprotected and indulged in equal measure, have come to think they can do no wrong.

So let’s retire the Sixties comparisons. In 1964, when Mario Savio – civil-rights activist and student leader of the Free Speech Movement – was leading a campaign of civil disobedience, aimed at liberating Berkeley students from censorship, his cause was just and he was happy to suffer the consequences of his methods. ‘There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious’, he famously said, ‘you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels… you’ve got to make it stop!’. Meal plans did not get a mention.

At the same time, let’s not pretend that today’s revolting students just appeared, fully formed, from the womb. They are the products of an academic and upper-class culture that has kindled their prejudices and inflamed their intolerance. They aren’t revolutionaries. They’re bigoted brats. And they’ve been pandered to for far too long.
Prominent rabbi asks anti-Israel activists to stop singing his song at protests
A New York rabbi is reiterating his call for his music not to be sung by anti-Israel demonstrators, after students at Yale University used his song during protests there.

Rabbi Menachem Creditor said he was “distraught” to learn that “Olam Chesed Yibaneh,” a song he wrote after 9/11 that has become a mainstay of progressive Jewish activists, was sung at the conclusion of a seder held by the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace on Yale’s campus. Yale is one of dozens of schools where anti-Israel protest encampments have sprung up in recent weeks.

“Let me be clear: I vehemently object to the song being used in any context that is against Israel or the Jewish people,” Creditor said in a statement. “Those who are using the song in these protests are misappropriating its message of love and support for Israel. I cannot accept its use by the protesters, whose beliefs could not be further from my own.”

Creditor, the rabbi in residence at UJA-Federation of New York, first called for his song not to be sung at pro-Palestinian protests in November, a month after the start of Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group in Gaza, which began after thousands of invading terrorists slaughtered some 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, and seized 253 hostages, most of them civilians.

At the time, a member of the anti-Zionist group IfNotNow said the group would stop including “Olam Chesed Yibaneh” and a song written by another Jewish musician who objected to its use in national actions calling for a ceasefire, though a national spokesperson declined to answer questions about the songs’ use.


Eve Barlow: Comedy gold
This is the skit SNL does not have the guts to write. Lo and behold we have an emergency shituation on our hands.

Can we PLEASE get an airdrop at Columbia university? We need 900 Acai Bowls, 1,300 Impossible Burgers on gluten free bread with sugar free vegan ketchup and 3,000 bottles of pH 9.0 electrolyte water. This is urgent @ UNRWA.

Please behold in this must-watch public address, the brightest minds of America’s Ivy League chosen elite:

Major props to the journalist who clarified the goings-on: “It seems like you’re sort of saying - we wanna be revolutionary, now would you please bring us some food and water.” They called it '“humanitarian aid” and they’ve demanded it. They need humanitarian aid! The students at Columbia must be provided with basic amenities for the resistance! The intifada will be catered! I present to you the sharpest thinkers of a generation. UNRWA, please help! WFP, where are you when the First World needs you?! Daddy Sinwar has ghosted these poor little slaves. Why is Daddy Haniyeh in Qatar in a luxury hotel and all they have are these REI tents? We must divert the food aid trucks from Gaza! These kids are starving!

The name of the student in the video is Johannah King-Slutzky. She writes for Vice and Gawker (didn’t Gawker die years ago?!) through a “Marxian lens” and she has deleted her online accounts since this morning’s address, such has been the devastating impact of publicly embarrassing herself in this fashion, I assume.

While cosplaying a nothing revolution, these students have hogged the media entirely for weeks, not in aid of the Palestinians but as the Palestinians. Aren’t there drama or theatre companies at Ivy League schools? Couldn’t they have made a play about the situation in Gaza? Like The Sound Of Music with the Hadids as the modern Von Trapp family who don’t sing but walk runways? I just gave you guys that idea for free in seconds flat. You can think of more. Why? Why did this generation of American kids resort to camping out on American lawns pretending that they were at one with the Arabs they’ve never met? They were chanting Arabic tonight as the NYPD showed up to finally arrest them. They are posting on Instagram in Arabic. How many Jews do they have to block from campus before they get their 72 virgins? Inshallah. (Oh wait one second, they are the virgins. My bad.)

Please! We must set up a safe space for the self-detained encampment students who have self-sieged (I think that’s a brand new word). They are very traumatized after hours waiting for a granola bar. They don’t have any coconut water in there. Couldn’t they have occupied the dining hall? They didn’t really think this one through, hey? These children are trapped in an open air prison in their own minds. They can leave any time. Uber is a push of a button away. It’s as fictional as the open air prison in Gaza, and yet they must keep the idea of it alive. Could it be that Hamas has given these kids Stockholm Syndrome without ever stepping a foot near them? To quote Gwen Stefani: this shit is bananas. But please don’t send bananas. Some of them have allergies, apparently. Do not commit a microaggression upon them by innocently sending foods that could cause Anaphylaxis. These are very, very sensitive humans. Probably best not to send nuts, either. But send aid. They cannot leave to the nearby RiteAid. They are chained to justice!

Meanwhile, as these camps run riot all across America, the Palestinians have never been less visible. Well done for raising awareness, guys! You’re all over the news, and nothing about Gaza, or the impending invasion of Rafah, or the 130+ remaining hostages is. Instead it's all about you. It was always all about you. You ripped the posters of Israeli hostages down because you had victim FOMO and now you've made yourselves hostages in your own campus grounds. What’s next? Are you going to be singing “Rape Me” by Nirvana non-ironically at whoever you select to be the leaders of your little coup? Rape, me! Rape me, my friend!

Why don’t you just leave campus, go to a Trader’s Joe’s and buy a sandwich and some tampons. For crying out loud. If you can’t be bothered leaving, there’s an application on your phone called Uber Eats. You can Postmates from Erewhon direct to your tent if you pin your location accurately enough. Do you not know that there's tap water in the bathroom sink? That’s a serious question. I assume nothing now about Gen Z’s knowledge base. The lack of resourcefulness and survival skills is deeply disappointing. Weren’t these infants raised on The Hunger Games? Did they learn nothing. This is the worst attempt at Lord Of The Flies, ever. They need humanitarian aid, they say! It’s stunning. I doubt that they would last six hours at Glastonbury. URGENT: please airdrop some brains to Ivy League campuses.


The Commentary Magazine Podcast: Finally, Someone Does Something
Hosted by Abe Greenwald, Christine Rosen, John Podhoretz & Matthew Continetti
The Columbia encampment is shut down and the students who occupied a campus building are charged with burglary. A mile north of Columbia, cops are attacked by protestors, who are promptly zip-tied and thrown into an NYPD bus. Order is being restored, but for how long?


Intolerance is thriving in Australia’s universities
Less than a year on from throwing Lawford-Smith to the trans activists, Melbourne capitulated again to a censor-happy mob. After the cancellation of Shima’s lecture, UniMelbForPalestine, posted a celebratory Instagram message: ‘Yet another win for justice and accountability by Melbourne University’s community against this corrupt Zionist management.’

The university’s cowardice has clearly only emboldened those seeking to silence debate and to hector their perceived opponents. So, after successfully cancelling an academic because he was Israeli, pro-Palestine student activists have reportedly taken to brazenly interfering in day-to-day classes. The Herald Sun reports that activists are now turning up in classrooms and taking photos of students after asking for a show of hands to indicate who agrees with their anti-Israel views. Jewish students are said to have been very distressed by the activists’ tactics. Many are said to be fearful of attending lectures at the university.

Melbourne’s response to this behaviour suggests an institution that has become scared of its own shadow. After issuing a perfunctory criticism of the activists for photographing students, the dean of the arts faculty proceeded to warn lecturers to ‘think carefully’ about how they express their views on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

After Melbourne’s failure to stand up to trans activists, it is now failing to stand up to anti-Israel activists. And so an Israeli professor has been silenced and Jewish students have been intimidated with impunity.

The broader media and political silence that has greeted this eruption of anti-Israel sentiment at Australia’s second-oldest university is unconscionable. Now might be the time for the Australian Human Rights Commission to start justifying its $40million budget and address not only the lack of free speech, but also the intimidation of Jewish students. As the proudly Jewish Liberal MP, Julian Leeser, recently pointed out, the AHRC has been mute over the outbreak of anti-Semitism in Australia after 7 October.

Of course, Melbourne University is far from the only educational institution in the West gripped by anti-Israel protests. But it does provide a lesson in the dangers of appeasing the intolerant. Caving to demands for censorship only ever emboldens and empowers the censors.


'I never thought in America I would have Jewish people thanking me for arguing that they have a right to exist'
Following the dramatic escalation of the anti-Israel campus protests – including the arrest of dozens of demonstrators by the New York Police Department who had barricaded inside Columbia University's Hamilton Hall – public officials and journalists praised the much-anticipated move.

"We are finished for the night. To all of the NYPD tonight, simply put, great job! Strength and Honor to all of you" John Chell NYPD Chief of Patrol said on X, praising the successful encampment evacuation. Protesters have condemned the tactics as efforts to stifle free speech in support of Palestinian rights, to which Congressman Ritchie Torres responded, "No one has a First Amendment right to erect illegal encampments, blockade entrances, vandalize property, break windows and doors, block students from accessing campus, hold people hostage, and harass and intimidate "Zionists" (i.e. most Jews)." Torres' comment comes hours after barricading students demanded humanitarian aid from the university's officials, to which former Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief Avi Meir responded with "Lol" on X.

A spokesperson for the Ivy League institution stated that Columbia requested police assistance after "the building had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded."

The university defended the decision in a statement, saying "we were left with no choice" once protesters violated "the rules and the law." It emphasized the call to NYPD was "in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they are championing."

The Hamilton Hall takeover represented a major escalation as demonstrations criticizing Israel's military offensive in Gaza have spread across US college campuses in recent weeks. At Columbia, a tent encampment protesting the conflict had been established on campus grounds nearly two weeks prior.


‘Picking on the smallest minority’: College students ‘rehashing age-old anti-Semitic tropes’
Israeli author and activist Noa Tishby has blasted college students for “rehashing age-old anti-Semitic tropes” by “picking on the smallest minority in the world”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has commented on pro-Palestine protests on university campuses in the United States, saying, ‘We’ve seen in history that anti-Semitic attacks were always preceded by vilification and slander.’

A Jewish professor at Columbia University in the United States was barred from entering the campus.

The university has cancelled in-person classes due to rising tensions over pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

“These kids on college campuses, they think they’re speaking truth to power, they think they’re taking down the patriarchy, they think they’re the best thing in the world … yet they’re rehashing age-old anti-Semitic tropes and picking on the smallest minority in the world,” Ms Tishby told Sky News Australia.

“It’s a little ironic that they’re even doing that without understanding what it is that they’re doing and not understanding that they really are the useful idiots in the West that are promoting an ideology that is out to get them.”


Rise in anti-Semitism is ‘so many corners of bad’
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer says the rising anti-Semitism in the United States is “so many corners of bad”.

Mr Spicer’s remarks come as pro-Palestine protests continue to rage across the country.

“I think, culturally, it’s very bad, the idea that this many Americans have trained their eye on the Jewish people,” Mr Spicer told Sky News host Andrew Bolt.

“I go to so many corners of how bad this is – society wise, for the future of America, for our institutions of learning, for our first Amendment and what we’re permitting.

“It conjures up so many various thoughts that are all equally not good for America.”




‘Unacceptable’: Sharri Markson blasts USyd over defence of ‘intifada’ chants
Explosive documents reveal the University of Sydney views chants of intifada as “perfectly acceptable” and are not hate-speech, according to Sky News host Sharri Markson.

It follows complaints about on-campus protests where students chanted the word “intifada”.

The document from the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s Student Affairs unit reads: “The University acknowledges the use of the word ‘intifada’ is viewed by some as having an inherent link to violence or terrorist acts, and at times violence or terrorism has been a feature of events that were characterised as intifadas occurring across the Middle East.

“However, the University does not accept that every use of the word can reasonably be interpreted in this way, and in the context of current pro-Palestine protests, use of the word is more appropriately viewed as an expression of a political stance in connection with pro-Palestinian activism as opposed to being a statement in support of terrorist acts.”

Sky News host Sharri Markson said the statement showcased the university at its “woke finest” as she accused it of “cowing down” to racism and terrorism.

“You should all hang your heads in shame,” she said.

“Trying to find excuses for chants of intifada. Trying to find excuses for calls for terrorism. This is unacceptable.

“You’re showing us the absolute worst bureaucratic lunacy to try and twist this word into one that’s non-offensive and perfectly acceptable.

“Muscle up, fix this antisemitism that’s exploding at the University of Sydney, or resign and go home.”


'Appalling’: Shadow Education Minister’s shock at USyd’s acceptance of ‘intifada' chant
Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson has expressed her shock at the University of Sydney’s acceptance of ‘intifada’ chants and has questioned the Education Minister’s lack of intervention.

Explosive documents reveal the University of Sydney views the chants as “perfectly acceptable” and acknowledge they are linked to violent and terrorist acts.

“This is appalling,” Ms Henderson told Sky News.

“Whoever has given this advice needs to go from the university.

“What the hell is the Minister for Education doing? Why has he not intervened?

“Why is he not demanding that these protests be shut down?”


‘Savagery’: Andrew Bolt slams rising Hamas support in Australian universities
There is “sickness” and “savagery” following a rise in support for Hamas coming over Australian universities, threatening everyone who believes in Western civilisation, Sky News host Andrew Bolt says.

The Sky News host highlighted two students who appeared on Canberra ABC radio to defend their "encampment” at ANU.

“I ask (Beatrice) Tucker. I ask (Luke) Harrison: how is rape ever justified? And murdering, deliberately murdering teenagers at a music concert, as Hamas did that day, October 7" Mr Bolt said.

"I've seen and filmed their faces, the photographs of the dead at the place they were murdered and you can't condemn that either? Unconditional support instead for the killers? Good God.

"What is the climate now that even support for Hamas is freely expressed on the ABC?"


McConnell likens Columbia protesters to ‘student Nazis of Weimar Germany’ in call to restore order
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) took aim on Tuesday at recent antisemitic incidents at Columbia University, calling on college administrators to “bring order to their Manhattan campus” following tensions on campus that escalated into violence more than a week after students set up an anti-Israel encampment on the Morningside Heights campus.

Speaking on the Senate floor, McConnell urged Columbia’s leadership to follow the lead of Princeton University and the University of Florida, where school administrators have not allowed their respective encampments to remain active. McConnell also excoriated the student protesters, comparing their behavior on Columbia’s campus to the “brand of aggressive lawlessness” shown by “the student Nazis of Weimar Germany.”

“Education never has anything to do with it; it’s about dangerous, radical politics. But just as the roots of this hate are not a mystery, neither is the way forward for college administrators. It’s time for the leaders of America’s most elite universities to take serious action,” McConnell said. “It’s not enough for administrators to lament campus disorder. Strongly worded statements don’t mean anything if they’re not backed by action.”

McConnell noted that “elite universities aren’t in the news for a decline in academic rigor” or because “another generation of students has decided to test the limits of the First Amendment with grotesque hate.”

“No, they’re in the news because weakness and inaction from campus leaders has allowed universities to become cauldrons of criminal chaos,” McConnell said.

McConnell also used his speech to target the criticism he and other Republicans have received for opposing Adeel Mangi’s nomination to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Mangi, a Pakistani American litigator, has faced universal GOP opposition and tepid Democratic support for his nomination. Both Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) say they’ll vote against Mangi’s confirmation due to his lack of bipartisan support and ties to controversial groups, though he has the backing of a wide swath of the Jewish community, including the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee and National Council of Jewish Women..
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey backs anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University
Jack Dorsey has thrown his support behind the anti-Israel protesters who occupied a building at Columbia University.

The Twitter co-founder posted and shared several messages on X that were critical of law enforcement’s response to the protesters — scores of whom were arrested after they were evicted from the building by force.

Dorsey, who stepped down as CEO of the company then known as Twitter in 2021, approved of a post by left-leaning podcaster Kyle Kulinsky who compared the Columbia protesters to demonstrators who rallied against the Iraq and Vietnam wars — all of whom were “smeared and hated in the moment.”

“Today anybody with a functioning brain realizes they were 100% correct and the conventional wisdom was dead wrong,” Kulinsky wrote, adding that “the fact that people don’t see this is exactly what’s happening now is astonishing.”

Dorsey, who has more than 6.4 million followers on the social media platform that he co-founded and has since been rebranded X, commented on the post, writing: “Yes.”

The tech mogul also commented on a video that was posted to X showing the heavy machinery deployed by the NYPD to evict the protesters.

“The level of military equipment local police have is kinda alarming,” wrote X user Luke Rudkowski, who was commenting on a vehicle that was used to transport NYPD personnel to the protest site at Columbia University.

“This has been all over the country for over a decade,” Dorsey wrote in response to the video.

Another post by Dorsey on Tuesday expressed agreement with a comment from X user Alex Miller, who wrote: “It will never cease to amaze me how much people love state power when its on their side.”
Ilhan Omar could face censure call after saying Jewish students are ‘pro-genocide’
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) could be the latest Democratic lawmaker to face a censure resolution in the House after Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) announced plans to condemn the hard-left lawmaker over her comments on pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.

Bacon is set to introduce the resolution as early as Wednesday, although it remains unclear when the Nebraska Republican will seek to force a vote on the measure. The text has not yet been finalized for the resolution, although it’s likely to include Omar’s latest comments as well as past statements regarding Israel, according to a source familiar.

Omar has previously faced censure threats, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) filing a similar resolution over statements related to Somalia. However, that resolution never made it to the floor for a vote.

The latest censure resolution comes in direct response to comments Omar made last week suggesting that some Jewish students at Columbia University were “pro-genocide.”

“I think it is really unfortunate that people don’t care about the fact that all Jewish kids should be kept safe,” Omar said. “We should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they’re pro-genocide or anti-genocide.”

That statement, Bacon argued, amounted to antisemitic speech.

“Folks can protest Israel, but don’t blame Jewish American students for Israel,” Bacon told Axios. “That is by definition antisemitism.”

The censure effort also comes nearly six months ago after fellow “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) was censured over pro-Palestinian comments and use of the phrase “from the river to the sea,” referring to the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River that includes Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. That phrase has prompted widespread backlash from several lawmakers, who pointed to the slogan’s adoption by the Hamas terrorist group to advocate the destruction of Israel
Ilhan Omar attacks Sen. Blackburn's 'dangerous stance' on Columbia protesters
United States Rep. Ilhan Omar, in a Tuesday X post, critiqued Senator Marsha Blackburn’s stance that students encouraging or committing acts of terror on behalf of Hamas should be put on both a terrorism watchlist and the US’s No Fly List.

Blackburn posted on X that “any student who has promoted terrorism or engaged in terrorist acts should be immediately added to the terrorist watchlist and placed on the TSA No Fly List.”

In response to the post, Omar wrote, “A sitting senator labels Americans protesting against a foreign country accused of carrying out a genocide funded with our tax dollars as terrorists and puts a target on their back to be attacked. This is insanely dangerous and somehow no one will condemn it.”

Hamas is a registered terrorist organization in the United States.

A precursory look at Blackburn’s past X posts showed that the senator regularly criticized the violence at pro-Palestinian protests and the hostile rhetoric expressed during such events but also that none of her posts labeled all pro-Palestinian protesters as terrorists.

Further, Blackburn had expressed similar remarks in the past to those that she had made about the watchlist. For instance, she called to “deport foreign students on visas who support Hamas and call for death to America.”


Astroturfing Exposed: The Coordinated Anti-Israel Protests and the Power Behind Them
In a revealing video conversation, veteran Canadian journalist Brian Lilley and seasoned political strategist Warren Kinsella discuss the intricate web of funding and orchestrated campaigns targeting journalists who critique the financing of global anti-Israel protests. The dialogue uncovers the sophisticated nature of these protests, labeling them as “Astroturf”—a term used to describe artificial grassroots movements. This suggests that these protests are not the spontaneous uprisings they appear to be but rather well-organized, state-backed events.

Kinsella explains that numerous protestors and organizers receive substantial compensation, reportedly as much as $20,000 monthly, for participating in these events. The funding, according to Lilley and Kinsella, is traced back to Iran and Qatar, among others, revealing a complex network aimed at influencing public opinion against Israel and Jewish communities worldwide.

The conversation also sheds light on the tactics used by supporters of these protests, including a deluge of coordinated emails aimed at discrediting journalists like Kinsella and Toronto Sun editor Adrian Batra. These emails, often sharing identical subject lines and content, are classic indicators of an Astroturf campaign designed to simulate widespread support while masking the true orchestrators.

Moreover, the journalists delve into the mechanics of these protests. They highlight the use of professional-grade marketing techniques—slick graphics, focus-tested messaging—that suggest the involvement of skilled professionals rather than grassroots activists. This level of coordination and funding implies a significant organizational backbone, potentially linked to state actors and established advocacy groups.

The discussion also touches on specific groups like Samidoun, which is associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated terrorist organization in several countries. The group’s activities, including protests featuring inflammatory symbols and rhetoric, raise questions about the legality and propriety of their operations within countries like Canada, where they are not officially banned.
Actress Susan Sarandon denies Hamas committed rape, justifies ceasefire rejections
Actress Susan Sarandon was confronted by social media user Keren Picker in a video shared four days ago, where she denied Hamas’s October 7 atrocities and defended the terror group’s decision to reject multiple ceasefire agreements.

“As the singer and songwriter of the song ‘Ceasefire Now,’ do you know Hamas rejected every ceasefire agreement since October 7?” Picker asked Sarandon.

In response to Picker’s question, Sarandon answered “Do you know why?”

“Why?” Picker prompted.

“Because they’re terrible deals,” Sarandon finally answered. “Palestine is not Hamas.”

The deals Hamas rejected included the March rejected ceasefire agreement, which would have seen 400 Palestinian security prisoners and terrorists in exchange for 40 hostages kidnapped on October 7 and a 6-week ceasefire. The hostages released under the agreement would have also fallen under humanitarian categories: women, children under 19, elderly over 50, and the sick, an anonymous official told Reuters.

Hamas has insisted that a hostage release would come at the cost of a complete and permanent ceasefire, despite officials from the terror group promising to repeat October 7 – a mass terror attack in which more than 1200 people were killed and a further 253 kidnapped.

“We know that all of those myths about babies in ovens and the rapes…” Sarandon continued while Picker interrupted and insisted “It’s not a myth. You’re denying, you’re denying the terror actions made on October 7th to so many innocent civilians.”

It is unclear what source Sarandon used as Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten found that there was substantial evidence to conclude that victims, as well as hostages and survivors of October 7, were sexually abused and raped. Additionally, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel interviewed surviving victims and witnesses and concluded that terrorists forced families to watch their loved ones being sexually assaulted at gunpoint. Released hostages have also testified that Hamas sexually abused the women and men held captive.
JPost Editorial: Only unity can combat anti-Jewish hate on campuses
The anti-Israel protests on major US campuses are spiraling out of control and the authorities must put a lid on them now before it is too late.

On the Manhattan campus of Columbia University, where protesters established a pro-Palestinian tent encampment almost two weeks ago, dozens of students occupied Hamilton Hall – one of the buildings occupied during the 1968 student protests against the Vietnam War – smashing windows with hammers and unfurling an “Intifada” banner. Hours earlier, the university announced it was suspending students who refused to leave the encampment before a 2 p.m. Monday deadline.

Universities have struggled to contain the protests at campuses across the United States for more than a week, claiming that they seek to balance free speech rights while limiting disruptions to studies.

In reality, however, legitimate protests calling for a halt to the war in Gaza have morphed into “Free Palestine” hate fests against Israel’s existence. The measures taken by university administrators, including the suspension of protesters, seem to fan the flames further. Model for handling protests

The University of Texas at Austin, however, proved that a tough approach can work. Its handling of the protests should be a model for others. On Friday, it placed its Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) chapter on interim suspension, citing its involvement in the anti-Israel protest that caused chaos on campus.

The group organized a demonstration last Wednesday where more than 500 students walked out of class, ostensibly to demand that UT-Austin divest from manufacturers supplying Israel with weapons used in Gaza. This was immediately met with a forceful police response as scores of riot police deployed to the campus. They cleared the protest and made more than 55 arrests.

In a post on Instagram, the PSC claimed that its suspension was “an attack on free speech to distract from and enable Israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people” and slammed UT Austin President Jay Hartzell and Republican Governor Greg Abbott for authorizing the action against the protest.
House Appropriations Committee member warns schools about inaction on Jew-hatred
Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, issued a statement on Tuesday about the “sharp increase in antisemitism on college campuses nationwide.”

“I respect the right to assemble and free speech. Denying students access to areas of campus because they are Jewish is discrimination,” the congresswoman said. “Intimidating and harassing Jewish students, breaking into academic buildings and spewing hate speech is not legitimate discourse. There is no place for this vile behavior in America.”

“I would remind college and university administrators that violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act could result in a loss of federal funding,” she added.
Poll shows Harvard faculty divided over severity of campus antisemitism
Harvard University’s student newspaper published research providing a snapshot of views held by professors at the Ivy League school on the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip after Oct. 7.

The annual Faculty of Arts and Sciences survey by The Harvard Crimson—open from April 3-17 to more than 1,400 faculty members—received 508 responses, 310 completed in full. The stated goal of the poll, which varies the topic from year to year, is to provide a broad understanding of faculty experiences and to compare conditions with peer institutions.

The results showed that 59.4% of respondents either “somewhat” or “strongly” disagreed with the claim of systemic antisemitism at the college in Cambridge, Mass. Those who “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed measured 25.2%.

Those who believe that Israel has engaged in genocide against the Palestinians numbered 28% while those regarding Israel’s response as merely “excessive” numbered 47.9%. Those who support Israel’s efforts to eradicate Hamas from Gaza numbered 14.2%, with 1.4% claiming that the Jewish state has not gone far enough.

The survey also showed significant numbers supporting Israelis or Palestinians while rejecting their leaders. Those advocating for Palestinians but not for Hamas reached 72%, while those rejecting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration reached 67%. Those who support both Israel and Netanyahu numbered 2.9% while Hamas-supporting Palestinian voices only added up to 2.6%.
Pro-Palestine campus group behind Columbia University protests received over $3million a year in funding from 'charities' linked to Hamas
The group behind pro-Palestine student protests at Columbia received 'over $3 million a year' – and is linked to organizations accused of funding terrorist organization Hamas, a new think tank has revealed.

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a campus group with more than 250 chapters across the country, is one of the main organizers of a protest that brought the Manhattan university to a standstill.

The new report by the think tank Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), reveals the group got millions from several charities with alleged links to Hamas.

The 73-page report, exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com, also pointed out explicit pro-Hamas statements, chants and placards by protesters, and asserted that the demonstration has crossed the line from criticism of the Israeli government to bald-faced antisemitism.

The report also called for a law enforcement and government investigation into SJP.

'It's being presented as a peace movement, that there's Jews involved, that it's not anti-semitic. But when people chant 'globalize the intifada' it's very clear,' ISGAP executive director Dr. Charles Small told DailyMail.com.

'What Hamas represents, its ideology, is a commitment to dismantling Israel and exterminating Jews around the world.'

The student groups say they do not promote violence, are inclusive towards Jewish people, and are exercising a legal right to protest.

The ISGAP report asserts that SJP has become an effective and well-funded network for organizing protests around the country, but that its failure to register as a charity or formal organization left its funding sources and operations murky and unregulated.

Hints of financial backing could be seen at the Columbia 'Gaza Solidarity Encampment', including students erecting several identical high-end tents costing hundreds of dollars each, and handing out free Dunkin' Donuts coffee, $12.50 sandwiches from Pret-a-Manger and $10 rotisserie chickens to participants.

Small said his think tank, with 'a group of forensic accountants and experts in terror financing', have been working to follow the money funneled into protests.

What they found was a combined flow of more than $3 million a year going to campus chapters, coming from a constellation of charities, some of which have alleged links to Hamas.

The nonprofits funding SJP include the Westchester People's Action Coalition (WESPAC), Tides, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), its parent organization Americans for Justice in Palestine (AJP), and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

The ISGAP report said SJP had the closest financial links with WESPAC, which acts as a 'financial sponsor' for the organization, routing tax-free donations through its accounts to SJP chapters.
Charting courses US colleges where students have been arrested over anti-Israel protests
More than 1,000 college students across the nation have been arrested during anti-Israel protests that have sprung up “tent cities” at some of America’s most prestigious universities.

The chaotic protests were spurred by the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” born at Columbia University, which saw more than 100 demonstrators arrested on April 18.

Since then, police have arrested demonstrators at more than 25 campuses nationwide, with several universities seeing more than 100 arrests.

Columbia University
Columbia’s Manhattan campus lawn has been occupied by protesters for about two weeks and saw NYPD officers called in to arrest 108 people during the initial attempt to clear out the encampment on April 18.


Finally, late on Tuesday, hundreds of pro-terror protesters were cuffed and hauled away from Columbia University — as one of the groups behind the violent anti-Israel demonstrations called for supporters to rally outside 1 Police Plaza where the perps were being processed.

Two-hundred thirty people were nabbed at the Ivy League campus after the NYPD stormed in to oust a destructive mob that had illegally taken over the Hamilton Hall academic building, police said.

New York University
A total of 120 people were nabbed at NYU on April 22, with 116 protesters receiving summonses for trespassing and four given desk appearance tickets for charges that included resisting arrest.


Anti-Israel Group Encouraged Columbia Protesters To Re-Create 'The Summer of 2020' Hours Before Students Stormed a Building
A New York City nonprofit that received more than $12 million from Goldman Sachs' charitable arm encouraged anti-Israel activists to re-create the violent protests of "the summer of 2020," just hours before rioters stormed and occupied a building on Columbia University’s campus.

More than 100 masked and keffiyeh-clad activists convened in the People’s Forum’s Manhattan office Monday evening to plan their next moves as anti-Israel protests reach a fever pitch across the country. The meeting, which was scheduled to start at 6:45 p.m., was delayed to give protesters from Columbia time to make it downtown.

Once the Columbia protesters arrived, People’s Forum executive director Manolo De Los Santos urged the group to "give Joe Biden a hot summer" and "make it untenable for the politics of usual to take place in this country." Los Santos praised Columbia students for "decid[ing] that resistance is more important than negotiations," and urged those assembled at the People’s Forum to "support our students so that the encampments can go for as long as they can."

Los Santos also ranted about the "Zionist" Columbia administrators who "want to be more like their masters in Israel."

The "Volunteer Meeting," which the Washington Free Beacon attended via Zoom, concluded at 9:30 p.m. following "break out sessions" that focused on organizing new methods of "resistance." A few hours later activists smashed the windows of Columbia’s Hamilton Hall and barricaded themselves inside.

No arrests were made. The People’s Forum did not respond to a request for comment over whether they were aware of any attendees who rioted at Columbia.

The People’s Forum, a registered charity that describes itself as "a movement incubator for working class and marginalized communities," has been a mainstay at anti-Israel protests since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the Jewish state. A day after the attack, the People’s Forum organized a Times Square protest where attendees celebrated Hamas and waved posters with anti-Semitic slogans and imagery. One protestor waved a picture of a Nazi flag on his cellphone.

It is not clear who was or who was not a Columbia student at the People’s Forum meeting, although several had just returned from the campus. But Los Santos encouraged attendees to head back.

"The moment the call goes out, we have to go back out," he said. "We have to be the bodies willing to stand between the police and our students."


Jewish leaders slam Northwestern agreement with anti-Israel protesters
After an anti-Israel encampment was erected at Northwestern University last week, the school’s president on Monday reached an agreement with protestors to end the encampment — acceding to several of their demands in the process, which drew strong condemnation from many in the Chicago and national Jewish communities.

In a letter to university President Michael Schill, the Jewish United Fund — Chicago’s Jewish federation, which also oversees Northwestern Hillel — excoriated the administrator for embracing “those who flagrantly disrupted Northwestern academics and flouted those policies.”

“The overwhelming majority of your Jewish students, faculty, staff, and alumni feel betrayed. They trusted an institution you lead and considered it home. You have violated that trust,” the letter said. “You certainly heard and acted generously towards those with loud, at times hateful voices. The lack of any reassuring message to our community has also been heard loud and clear.”

The Anti-Defamation League, StandWithUs and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law joined together to call for Schill’s resignation after the agreement was announced.

“For days, protestors openly mocked and violated Northwestern’s codes of conduct and policies by erecting an encampment in which they fanned the flames of antisemitism and wreaked havoc on the entire university community,” the groups said in a statement. “Rather than hold them accountable – as he pledged he would – President Schill gave them a seat at the table and normalized their hatred against Jewish students.”

In a document deemed “Agreement on Deering Meadow,” Schill agreed to allow students to protest until the end of classes on June 1 so long as tents are removed, and to encourage employers not to rescind job offers for student protestors. The school will also allow students to weigh in on university investments — a major concession for students who have been demanding the university to divest from Israeli corporations.

A section titled “inclusivity” pledged extra funding to programs supporting Muslim students and Palestinian faculty, and to build a campus house for Muslim students. (A university spokesperson declined to say whether Northwestern will also offer funds for the campus Hillel house, an independent organization that funds its own operations.) The agreement earned the praise of the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. It mentioned Jewish students once, in a section committing to “additional support for Jewish and Muslim students.”
Brown becomes first US university to consider divesting from Israel
Brown University reached an agreement on Tuesday with students protesting the war in Gaza that would see them remove their encampment from school grounds in exchange for the institution considering divesting from Israel.

The move represents the first major concession from an elite American university amid relentless student protests that have paralyzed campuses across the country, divided public opinion and led to hundreds of arrests.

In a statement, Brown president Christina Paxson said students had agreed to end their protests and clear their camp by 5 p.m. local time Tuesday and “refrain from further actions that would violate Brown’s conduct code through the end of the academic year.”

In turn, “five students will be invited to meet with five members of the Corporation of Brown University in May to present their arguments to divest Brown’s endowment from ‘companies enabling and profiting from the genocide in Gaza.'”

The board will vote on the proposal in October.

Student protesters jumped for joy upon hearing the news of the deal and chanted “with love not fear, divestment is getting near” before beginning to remove their tents.
I witnessed Columbia University’s impotent surrender to the mob
At half-past-midnight yesterday, I received a text from a Columbia undergraduate friend: “They are attempting to occupy Hamilton Hall.”

It goes without saying that things inside were hectic.

A couple students I know closely attempted to block the protesters from breaking into Hamilton, an audacious last stand that ended with them being shoved, grabbed, and later threatened anonymously.

Other friends dialed 911, troubled by ongoing vandalism and the very real possibility of an all-out brawl.

Outside, I saw your typical sign-waving, starry-eyed students, along with another darkly-clad cohort of protestors surveilling campus.

Their black balaclavas and combat boots made it clear they weren’t Columbians.

I first ran into a group of them fumbling with a chained campus gate.

Upon inquiring into their lock-shaking activities, I was met with a series of nasally-voiced expletives.

As un-intimidating as they sounded, I thought it would be a good idea to tell somebody.

This turned out to be a difficult task.

Since the beginning of the South Lawn “liberated zone,” Columbia has outsourced border control to third-party contractors like Allied Universal and Apex Security.

Though there are plenty of guards, most of them sit around on their phones, headphones plugged in.

As it turns out, if you report suspicious behavior to them, they’ll tell you to find someone else.

Thus I made my way around the school to a Columbia Public Safety booth, passing another balaclava-wearing band on Broadway.

Unfortunately, I was too late: online, videos were circulating of these outsiders climbing through the windows of John Jay Hall, a first-year dormitory.

Though Public Safety initially denied the break-in, students inside knew better and were panicking on social media.

The intruders reportedly fled after some time, but the university has refused to release a statement on the matter.

How assuring.


Wife of convicted terrorist Sami Al-Arian was hanging out at Columbia encampment before dramatic raid
The wife of an ex-college professor convicted of terrorism-related charges was spotted hanging out at Columbia University’s encampment prior to the dramatic NYPD raid where cops busted 109 people Tuesday night.

Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday blamed “outside agitators” for the campus chaos, saying cops had identified individuals who weren’t Columbia students among the protesters.

While he refused to offer up names, Hizzoner told MSNBC during a media blitz that “one of the individual’s husband was arrested for and convicted for terrorism on a federal level.”

“One of them was married to someone that was arrested for terrorism,” he later reiterated during a follow-up interview on CBS.

Sami Al-Arian — who pleaded guilty in 2005 to fundraising and other support for the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad — had earlier boasted on social media that his wife, Nahla, was among those who joined anti-Israel protesters at the Ivy League campus last week.

Al-Arian, who was deported from the US in 2015 after serving time, shared a photo of his wife smiling and sitting alone among the tents.

Follow The Post’s live blog for the latest on Columbia University’s anti-Israel protest

Police later clarified Nahla Al-Arian was only on the Morningside Heights campus last week and was not among the pro-terror mob that broke into an academic building early Tuesday and occupied it for nearly 24 hours before cops were given the green light to storm in and make arrests.

While there was also no evidence of any wrongdoing on her part, the NYPD’s head of counterterrorism said Nahla’s on-campus presence wasn’t something she’d want for her own child.
NYPD’s bust up at Columbia doesn’t mean this disgraceful antisemitic episode is over
Although the NYPD was finally allowed to do its job at Columbia University, it would be a mistake to believe the disgraceful episode is over.

After all, the pro-Hamas stooges, the complicit faculty and the quisling administrators are still jockeying for power.

With graduation still two weeks away, it’s too early to declare a winner.

Start with the radical students. They set up a camp in the middle of the famous quad and day-after-day chanted slogans that revealed an allegiance to terrorists.

They harassed Jewish students and their commitment to the elimination of Israel marks the resurgence of an ancient hatred in a city that has long been a safe haven for Jews.

What are the students reading in their fetid tents — “Mein Kampf”?

Meanwhile, their demands for ending the rebellion are not likely to change despite the scores of arrests Tuesday night.

Chief among them is that the Ivy League school end all investments in military suppliers and tech companies that do business with Israel’s government.

No more amnesty
Coming from a group called Apartheid Divest, the demand, along with the students’ celebrating terrorists who butcher babies and use rape as a weapon, proves beyond doubt the activists have contracted a serious case of antisemitism.

It also means they’re not very bright. No doubt most of them own Apple products, many of which include components manufactured in Israel.

Shhh — don’t tell them.

Reflecting their collective ignorance, one of the stooges said earlier Tuesday, “We will not stop until every single one of our demands are met, until every single inch of Palestine is free.” Free in this case means free of Jews.

He, or his parents, deserve a tuition refund because he has learned nothing of value and doesn’t realize how sick with hate he is.

But there’s another demand the rabble-rousers were making that now appears to be obsolete: amnesty.
Dozens arrested as NYPD cops dramatically storm Columbia campus to clear out anti-Israel mob
NYPD cops stormed onto Columbia University’s campus on Tuesday night after finally being given the green light to oust a pro-terror mob that illegally took over an academic building – and to clear out an anti-Israel encampment that brought campus life to a halt.

Hundreds of officers swooped inside the gates of the Morningside Heights campus shortly after 9 p.m. — as other officers also descended on an “intifada’ encampment at the nearby City College of New York.

At Columbia, cops set their sights on historic Hamilton Hall, the building that was taken over by rogue rioters in a drastic escalation of the protests that have plagued the campus for weeks.

But when dozens of Emergency Service Unit officers approached the building, they were blocked from entering the front doors which had been barricaded by the unruly mob.

Several protesters appeared unbothered as they stood in the doorway with only a glass pane between them and the officers — as their comrades on the streets shouted “Pigs!”

The NYPD then brought in its Mobile Adjustable Ramp System vehicle and scores of riot-gear clad cops carrying zip-tie handcuffs entered Hamilton Hall through the second-floor window in a dramatic scene.

According to officials, cops used four distraction devices — described by Assistant Commissioner Carlos Nieves as a “very loud bang to distract people” — to infiltrate the academic building.

In total, about 100 protesters were cuffed and hauled away in the mass sweep, law enforcement sources told The Post.


Shocking footage shows inside the trashed Columbia University hall occupied by pro-Palestine protesters after riot cops raid that saw 100 arrested: Police to patrol the campus for THREE WEEKS
Columbia University protesters smashed windows, upended furniture and caused damage throughout Hamilton Hall during the occupation before police stormed the campus and arrested more than 100 protestors Tuesday night.

Around 40 protesters were arrested on the first floor of the building after police swooped just after 9pm ending the pro-Palestine encampment that stretched on for nearly two weeks and included students taking over the hall.

Pictures and video taken of the aftermath show the hall's trashed interior strewn with activists' belongings.

Columbia's President Minouche Shafik called in the NYPD in to 'restore order and safety' to the campus amid the escalating protests, which also included a massive encampment on the school's lawns.

The raid saw demonstrators arrested across the campus and at nearby City College New York, where similar protests unfolded.

Police stormed Hamilton Hall through an upstairs window after students used furniture to barricade the entrance.

Pictures show how chairs and desks have been turned upside down to become makeshift barriers. The cost of damage to the building is likely to total thousands of dollars.

The occupation followed weeks of unrest at Columbia, which began with the establishment of the encampment on April 17.

Protesters set up tents after Shafik was grilled before Congress about anti-Semitism on campus.

They repeatedly ignored calls to disband, with the demonstrations ramping up early Tuesday with the violent takeover of Hamilton Hall.

After two weeks of chaos, which saw classes moved online and facilities shuttered, Shafik finally called in the police who managed to clear out the campus in just two hours.

University administrators have now asked the police to maintain a presence until May 17, two days after graduation.
Professional organizers among 300 arrested at Columbia and City College: NYC mayor
New York City Mayor Eric Adams claimed professional organizers were among the nearly 300 protesters arrested on city campuses Tuesday night, and those organizers were part of a global effort to “radicalize young people.”

Adams’ remarks on Wednesday come after the New York City Police Department arrested 117 people at Columbia University and 173 at the City College of New York, after both schools asked for assistance with ongoing anti-Israel protests.

During a press conference Wednesday, police and city officials did not clarify how many professional organizers were arrested. They said police were investigating each person arrested for connection to the schools, and it would take time to determine who was not affiliated.

“These external actors are obviously not students, and their presence on campus is a violation of Columbia’s clearly stated policy,” Adams said.

“This group … is an outside agitator with a history of escalating a situation and trying to create chaos. It is our belief they are now actively co-opting what should be a peaceful gathering. This is to serve their own agenda. They are not here to promote peace or unity or allow a peaceful display of one’s voice. They are here to create discord and divisiveness.”
NYPD raises American flag on City College campus, tosses Palestinian flag away in iconic moment after busting pro-terror protesters
The American flag was re-raised at City College of New York after anti-Israel protesters removed it and replaced it with a Palestinian flag at the Harlem Heights campus.

"An incredible scene and proud moment as we have assisted @CityCollegeNY in restoring order on campus, culminating in raising Old Glory once again on their campus flagpole," NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry wrote on X.

The Palestinian flag had been flying at CCNY since protesters raised it last week when they set up an encampment at the public institute.

Video from Wednesday morning captured members of the NYPD standing atop the base of the flagpole as they worked to remove the quad color flag, where they ripped it from the rope before tossing it to the ground.

The American flag was subsequently raised back up during an impromptu ceremony along with a speech from Daughtry.


Anti-Israel protesters violently clash with NYPD cops outside of City College of New York
Anti-Israel protesters violently clashed with police who arrived to clear out an “intifada” encampment at the City College of New York late Tuesday around the same time as officers were also finally called to end the takeover of nearby Columbia University.

The chaos broke out around 8 p.m. as protesters at the public university in Harlem tried to bust through a barricade blocking them from reaching the tent city that popped up Friday, video posted to social media shows.

Cops can be seen pushing the demonstrators back as they tried to maintain their position, video posted on social media shows.

One man and a cop exchanged hard shoves while some protesters hurled garbage at the officers.

Suddenly a swarm of cops moves in to make arrests, the clip shows.

As the protests moved out into the streets, one man was filmed bashing an NYPD officer in the head with a 5-gallon water jug with a sticker that read “Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.”

The man was promptly wrestled to the ground by several officers and taken into custody, video shows.

Later in the night, a sea of cops in riot gear flooded through the front gates of the college as a recorded message repeated: “This is the New York City Police Department. You have been warned as per City College to leave the campus. If you refuse to leave, you may be placed under arrest,” police video showed.

“As requested by the university, we are currently on campus to assist the university in dispersing those trespassing,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry wrote on X.

The officers then swarmed the lawn where protesters set up tents and began arresting individuals who had linked arms to form a human barrier around some of the tents.

Once the encampment was cleared out, police removed a Palestinian flag that had been raised by the protesters on the campus flagpole and replaced it with the American flag.


U. Wisconsin Anti-Israel Protesters Chant ‘Heil Hitler’ at Jewish Students
University of Wisconsin-Madison police confirmed a bunch of anti-Israel protesters chanted ‘Heil Hitler’ at Jewish students.

The tents remain at UW-Madison, too. UW-Milwaukee told students it’s against the law to camp on school grounds. Their demands:
- Disclose all financial assets and “divest accordingly,” including investments made by the UWM Foundation. The school said the foundation is a separate legal entity and that it cannot control its investments, which are in mutual funds. The foundation can’t divest from specific companies in those funds, it said.
- Cut ties with weapons manufacturers and commit to no future deals with organizations that “profits from or supports the occupation of Palestine.” The school said it does not have investments in weapons manufacturers.
- End study abroad trips to Israel and research partnerships with institutions in Israel. The school said it does not have any active study-abroad trips to Israel and that preventing faculty from engaging with Israeli institutions would infringe on academic freedom.
- Release a statement condemning the “ongoing genocide of Palestinians by the apartheid state of Israel.” The school repeated its call for the release of hostages and for a ceasefire.


UCLA Pro-Israel Demonstrators Counterattack After Pro-Hamas Mob Beat Jewish Protester Unconcious
We know UCLA told its police department not to do anything regarding the anti-Israel encampment on campus, even after a video showed a Jewish girl unconscious after anti-Israel protesters beat her.

Well, chaos erupted overnight between anti-Israel people and pro-Israel protesters, leaving people bruised, maced, and bloody…as hired security sat on the sidelines.

The LAPD barely did anything when they arrived, too.

Barrier Line Drawn
Pro-Israel students showed up because UCLA wasn’t going to do a darn thing to protect its Jewish students and the rest who did not participate in the anti-Israel encampment:
Counter-protesters calling for the release of Israeli hostages taken captive on Oct. 7 by Hamas have used screens and speakers to blast images and stories of survivors just feet away from the encampment.

“I think this is blatant antisemitism,” one young man, who was not identified, told KTLA. “This is crazy what’s going on, what they’re letting go on. They’re chanting to kill us. They’re chanting ‘from the river to the sea,’ which is just blatantly to kill us all. I wanted to see what’s going on and it’s scary.”

They started showing up at 11 PM.


Fighting breaks out at UCLA as counter-protesters confront pro-Palestinian encampment
Dueling groups of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters clashed Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another as days of tensions over the war in Gaza burst into outright violence.

The brawl took place hours after police burst into a building at Columbia University in New York City that had been taken over by pro-Palestinian protesters and broke up a demonstration that had paralyzed the school, as a wave of anti-Israel protests sent shockwaves through college campuses across the United States and elsewhere.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said about 300 people had been arrested and he blamed the protests on outside agitators, but without offering concrete evidence.

At UCLA, riot police wearing helmets and face shields formed lines and slowly separated the groups after several hours of scuffles between demonstrators. The move appeared to quell the violence.

The fighting took place after several days of rising friction between demonstrators protesting Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group and counter-protestors, who tried to pull down barricades and plywood built by pro-Palestinian activists to protect a protest encampment.

Video showed fireworks exploding over and in the encampment. People threw chairs and at one point a group piled on a person who lay on the ground, kicking and beating them with sticks until others pulled them out of the scrum.




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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 19 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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