President Joe Biden issued a stern warning on Sunday about an "alarming surge of Antisemitism" in the United States, making pointed reference to the highly charged Pro-Palestinian protests and escalating tensions targeting Jewish students at Columbia University.
"Silence is complicity," Biden's statement read. "Even in recent days, we've seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous — and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country."
The president's remarks, formally timed to mark the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover, referred to the unfolding events at the Ivy League school and stated "My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad."
Just hours earlier, the White House issued its own statement condemning the situation at Columbia. "While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly Antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous," said White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates.
Bates was referring to a video circulating on social media that appeared to show pro-Palestinian activists telling Jewish students, "The 7th of October is going to be every day for you," referencing the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel. "Echoing the rhetoric of terrorist organizations, especially in the wake of the worst massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, is despicable. We condemn these statements in the strongest terms," he added.
The events have provoked fears among some in the Jewish community at Columbia. As reported by CNN, Rabbi Elie Buechler confirmed sending a message to 300 Jewish students advising them to leave campus temporarily for their own safety and not return until further notice. However, the Hillel organization rejected that guidance despite acknowledging "a time of genuine discomfort and even fear for many of us on campus."
In response to "horrific" scenes of antisemitic harassment at and around campus, the Orthodox Rabbi at Columbia/Barnard sent a WhatsApp message to more than 290+ Jewish students this morning recommending that they go home until it's safe again for them on campus: pic.twitter.com/uqAntEICLv
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 21, 2024
The Jewish holiday of Passover begins on Monday evening, adding increased attention and urgency. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, Jewish himself, pledged on the social media platform X to come to Columbia "to walk with the Jewish students. If the University won't protect them, Congress will!"
Former Rep. George Santos also offered to "escort Jewish students to and from class in [safety] at @Columbia! Who's with me? Let's show our support and push back on evil!"
The tensions at Columbia were inflamed last week when the New York Police Department swarmed the campus and arrested over 100 pro-Palestinian student protesters amid an encampment that the university president Minouche Shafik said was "severely disrupting campus life" and creating "a harassing and intimidating environment."
In his statement, Biden noted the approaching Passover holiday coincided with a notably challenging moment for Jews who are still processing the events of Oct. 7. He vowed his administration would "continue to speak out and aggressively implement the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, putting the full force of the federal government behind protecting the Jewish community."
For Israeli students and faculty at Yale University, the campus climate is a mixed bag of tolerance and open animosity.
"The atmosphere at Yale is better than other places – but that doesn't mean it's comfortable here," said Israeli student Dr. Meital Peleg Mizrachi, a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Economics. "A few days ago, protesters demonstrating in memory of a terrorist were cleared, and in the ensuing confrontation, a woman was struck with a flagpole. Ultimately, there is a huge event on campus dedicated to a man who was a terrorist and murdered Jews. It's a very difficult feeling...as scholars, we rely on collaboration across all fields, especially research – and there is undoubtedly a boycott of Israeli post-docs, both covert and overt. It severely limits our work, bordering on impossible," she said, adding, "To them, it's just #watermelon," referring to the symbol used by pro-Palestinian demonstrators because of its resemblance to the Palestinian flag. "In the end, it's students unconnected to the Middle East who don't understand this is about people's lives and the impacts on them."
