Rabbi urges Jewish students at Columbia to leave campus

[Dan the Roman]

This brings up a question I have seen come up occasionally on this forum, and seems especially timely: where do Jewish voters go now?  On pretty much any other issue, they can be counted on to be stalwart Democrats, but with the party likely to become more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause as newer generations replace their elders (and perhaps with a greater Muslim influence), where does that leave the Jewish electorate?

Progressives will be fine with Democrats. Religious Jews had no particular reason to vote Democratic. The shift will be the "liberal" Jews who were already centrist and the fact is that group, Jewish and non-Jewish are on their way to the right anyway(see Nate Silver.)

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

https://twitter.com/BenLorber8/status/1783539028211417571
https://twitter.com/BenLorber8/status/1783539030572843372
Odious. And always fun to think about the fact that our current speaker, and many Republican politicians, share these wackos beliefs.

Fun fact: I've actually been to a couple sermons and worship sessions at Bethel, including while Feucht was worship leader. Of course I went mostly due to peer pressure and for the trip rather than any real religious conviction, but even back then I got strong cultish vibes from that whole community in particular and now they've spawned more than their fair share of these dudes.

[Horus]

https://twitter.com/OsseChi/status/1783824840929222856?t=m09ko85eo2XLTHZWU-grYw&...

[Brittain33]

https://twitter.com/OsseChi/status/1783824840929222856?t=m09ko85eo2XLTHZWU-grYw&...

Personally, I haven’t heard any xenophobic or anti-Islamic comments from any counter-protesters in the last several months.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

https://twitter.com/OsseChi/status/1783824840929222856?t=m09ko85eo2XLTHZWU-grYw&...

Personally, I haven’t heard any xenophobic or anti-Islamic comments from any counter-protesters in the last several months.

There will always be a few, unfortunately. I think an elected official singling them out while supporting the actively antisemitic encampment is a blatantly antisemitic act designed to spur retaliation against the larger Jewish community. Osse is almost as bad as Brisport and Hanif.

[Lief 🗽]

Telling a bunch of spoiled white kids cosplaying as Hamas to go to Gaza is not xenophobic or racist.

[Oregon Eagle Politics]

Telling a bunch of spoiled white kids cosplaying as Hamas to go to Gaza is not xenophobic or racist.

Lol where does the narrative that these protestors are all white come from? It is not true. Racism isn’t acceptable just because it comes from your side. Would you be fine with someone telling a counterprotestor to go back to Israel?

[Brittain33]

People are tweeting that Columbia students elected an Israeli student, Maya Platek, as Student Body President in 2024-25. Platek led a fight against tenured professor Joseph Massad, one of the peace advocates who celebrated the Hamas attack on October 7 as "awesome."

The thing is, I can't find any confirmation of this that doesn't come back to the same 1 or 2 tweets. I don't want to be like one of those kids who sees a post on TikTok and decides it must be true. Can anyone confirm if this really happened or if people are making stuff up because they want something to celebrate for students on Columbia's campus? 

[Lief 🗽]

Telling a bunch of spoiled white kids cosplaying as Hamas to go to Gaza is not xenophobic or racist.

Lol where does the narrative that these protestors are all white come from? It is not true. Racism isn’t acceptable just because it comes from your side. Would you be fine with someone telling a counterprotestor to go back to Israel?

If they want a third intifada, if they want to raze Tel Aviv, if they glorify and praise Hamas, what’s wrong with telling them to go to Gaza and actually fight to achieve all this? Or do they expect the Palestinians to make all the sacrifices while they play terrorist dress-up and then go back to live in their parents’ mansions for summer break?

[Brittain33]

Telling a bunch of spoiled white kids cosplaying as Hamas to go to Gaza is not xenophobic or racist.

Lol where does the narrative that these protestors are all white come from? It is not true. Racism isn’t acceptable just because it comes from your side. Would you be fine with someone telling a counterprotestor to go back to Israel?

Pro-Palestine people generally don't tell their opponents to go back to Israel for obvious reasons.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Pretty good compilation here of what's been going on at Columbia.

Note a few of the things I've discussed previously:

A) Large numbers of students join in these hateful chants, it is not just one person acting as an outlier and misrepresenting the character of the students.

B) Even when obviously hateful and even violent actions are taking place, none of the students stands up to it or tries to put a stop to it -- the most you'll see is an uncomfortable giggle, an awkward attempt to laugh it off and play it as an ironic joke.

C) Yes there are non-students coming on campus to join the protests, but the students are chanting and cheering for these people.  They are not agent provocateurs or feds or corrupting agents, as many have implied, including Eric Adams who blamed the violent/hateful nature of the protests on "outside agitators" as though the poor innocent students were having their protest hijacked.  It's more akin to if Columbia held a KKK rally and invited David Duke to give a speech.

D) There are protests on the street outside the Columbia University gate (it looks like this is the gate at 116th/Amsterdam which separates the South Lawn area from the law school).  And then there are protests inside the campus starting directly on the other side of the gate.  We've been told repeatedly that footage from protests outside the gate shouldn't count because those are a totally different protests.  We can see from the video that actually it's all the same protest and the two groups are frequently coordinating and joining together.  I'm sure people are freely moving between the two sides of the gate as well.

[DaleCooper]

How can these universities expect people to pay for an education when this is the environment they provide? At this point there's frankly no excuse for wasting your money on these "prestigious" universities. If I was in charge I would've called the police immediately.

[DaleCooper]

This reminds me of the situation back in 2015 (and this helped pave the way for a Trump presidency, by the way) when a bunch of rich kids started turning several university campuses into sh-tholes with fake protests. In that case it was fake anti-racism protests, this time it's fake anti-colonial protesters or whatever they're calling it, but I think the left's unwillingness to shut this crap down immediately is going to push a lot of people to the right just like it did a decade ago.

[GeneralMacArthur]

This reminds me of the situation back in 2015 (and this helped pave the way for a Trump presidency, by the way) when a bunch of rich kids started turning several university campuses into sh-tholes with fake protests. In that case it was fake anti-racism protests, this time it's fake anti-colonial protesters or whatever they're calling it, but I think the left's unwillingness to shut this crap down immediately is going to push a lot of people to the right just like it did a decade ago.

It's annoying that things like this move people away from the Democratic Party when Joe Biden has condemned these protests and most of the protests are attacking him and the (very liberal) college administration.

It's far-leftists picking a fight with liberals.  And the liberals get punished because we're also on "the left" even though we're the target!

[DaleCooper]

This reminds me of the situation back in 2015 (and this helped pave the way for a Trump presidency, by the way) when a bunch of rich kids started turning several university campuses into sh-tholes with fake protests. In that case it was fake anti-racism protests, this time it's fake anti-colonial protesters or whatever they're calling it, but I think the left's unwillingness to shut this crap down immediately is going to push a lot of people to the right just like it did a decade ago.

It's annoying that things like this move people away from the Democratic Party when Joe Biden has condemned these protests and most of the protests are attacking him and the (very liberal) college administration.

It's far-leftists picking a fight with liberals.  And the liberals get punished because we're also on "the left" even though we're the target!

Liberals just aren't tough enough. Normal people demand a near-zero tolerance policy when it comes to uncivilized behavior like this. The fact that this didn't end the same day it started already makes people think liberals are too soft.

As for the guilt by association, that's unfortunately just a part of partisan politics. If a psychotic Republican in Idaho calls for slavery to come back, it makes all Republicans look bad. It's the same thing here.

[heatcharger]

Joe Biden has condemned these protests

The emperor has no clothes. Pro-Israel Democrats are the last people in America to realize this.

[Brittain33]

Joe Biden has condemned these protests

The emperor has no clothes. Pro-Israel Democrats are the last people in America to realize this.

Help me understand. I’m more supportive of Biden than ever.

[gerritcole]

Joe Biden has condemned these protests

The emperor has no clothes. Pro-Israel Democrats are the last people in America to realize this.

Help me understand. I’m more supportive of Biden than ever.

The grassroots and future of the Dems are not pro Israel anymore, biden is a figurehead and dos not truly lead the party, his support is good for now due to military aid but the future of Dems and Israel is fraught

[Frodo]

I am a Zionist, and deeply disagree with these protesters.  That said, does it not bother anyone outside the protest movement that the police and government officials are being a bit heavy-handed with them?  They have been overwhelmingly peaceful so far, so there is no reason for the gestapo-approach unless intimidation is the intention.  

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

I am a Zionist, and deeply disagree with these protesters.  That said, does it not bother anyone outside the protest movement that the police and government officials are being a bit heavy-handed with them?  They have been overwhelmingly peaceful so far, so there is no reason for the gestapo-approach.  Unless you think the First Amendment is as 'outdated' as the 14th and the 2nd amendments.

This is definitely not a gestapo approach, but I would say that the only place where the police has been heavy-handed is Texas. These protestors are taking an occupation approach rife with harassment of their fellow students and are breaking plenty of laws. Penn seems to be taking the most professional, efficient response to them.

[Horus]

I am a Zionist, and deeply disagree with these protesters.  That said, does it not bother anyone outside the protest movement that the police and government officials are being a bit heavy-handed with them?  They have been overwhelmingly peaceful so far, so there is no reason for the gestapo-approach unless intimidation is the intention.  

I think most people are bothered by it. But many politicians, especially Christian Republicans like Abbott and Kemp, value Israel more than America and will do anything it takes to protect it. Even if it means violating the rights of their own citizens.

[Frodo]

I am a Zionist, and deeply disagree with these protesters.  That said, does it not bother anyone outside the protest movement that the police and government officials are being a bit heavy-handed with them?  They have been overwhelmingly peaceful so far, so there is no reason for the gestapo-approach.  Unless you think the First Amendment is as 'outdated' as the 14th and the 2nd amendments.

This is definitely not a gestapo approach, but I would say that the only place where the police has been heavy-handed is Texas. These protestors are taking an occupation approach rife with harassment of their fellow students and are breaking plenty of laws. Penn seems to be taking the most professional, efficient response to them.

To present the broader context of my earlier post, we are fighting an existential battle for American democracy against Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.  This is not just another election.  I don't know about anyone else, but I take the threat he and his movement pose extremely seriously, so when I see how police react to Palestine protesters like their predecessors did against anti-Vietnam War protesters under LBJ's presidency, I feel like it undercuts the message we are trying to send to the American people.  As long as the protests are peaceful, leave them be.   

[Antonio the Sixth]

I am a Zionist, and deeply disagree with these protesters.  That said, does it not bother anyone outside the protest movement that the police and government officials are being a bit heavy-handed with them?  They have been overwhelmingly peaceful so far, so there is no reason for the gestapo-approach.  Unless you think the First Amendment is as 'outdated' as the 14th and the 2nd amendments.

This is definitely not a gestapo approach, but I would say that the only place where the police has been heavy-handed is Texas. These protestors are taking an occupation approach rife with harassment of their fellow students and are breaking plenty of laws. Penn seems to be taking the most professional, efficient response to them.

To present the broader context of my earlier post, we are fighting an existential battle for American democracy against Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.  This is not just another election.  I don't know about anyone else, but I take the threat he and his movement pose extremely seriously, so when I see how police react to Palestine protesters like their predecessors did against anti-Vietnam War protesters under LBJ's presidency, I feel like it undercuts the message we are trying to send to the American people.  As long as the protests are peaceful, leave them be.

Yep, as usual the cops are a lot more willing to crack down on these protesters than they were to do the bare minimum to stop the MAGA mobs on January 6.

I'm all for calling out extremism and idiocy on the left when it occurs (and it occurs quite often) but we can't let the right turn this into a moral panic to make us forget the extent of their lawlessness.

[DaleCooper]

I am a Zionist, and deeply disagree with these protesters.  That said, does it not bother anyone outside the protest movement that the police and government officials are being a bit heavy-handed with them?  They have been overwhelmingly peaceful so far, so there is no reason for the gestapo-approach unless intimidation is the intention.  

They have what looks like a homeless encampment set up on campus. The fact that it isn't gone yet is proof that no one is being heavy-handed with them.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

I am a Zionist, and deeply disagree with these protesters.  That said, does it not bother anyone outside the protest movement that the police and government officials are being a bit heavy-handed with them?  They have been overwhelmingly peaceful so far, so there is no reason for the gestapo-approach.  Unless you think the First Amendment is as 'outdated' as the 14th and the 2nd amendments.

This is definitely not a gestapo approach, but I would say that the only place where the police has been heavy-handed is Texas. These protestors are taking an occupation approach rife with harassment of their fellow students and are breaking plenty of laws. Penn seems to be taking the most professional, efficient response to them.

Throughout history students have 'occupied' their own campuses, numerous alumni have been talking about how they've had similar tents and areas of the campus for protests in the past and never been treated like this.

And to believe that the harassment here hasn't come from the police in a large amount of scenarios... Well, I suppose that's a bit of a lost cause on you right now considering y'all are cheering on their provocations. I watched cops in Ohio last night shove a news lady while they gave protesters 5 seconds to 'disperse' and then started beating on them. At the end the cops all stood around when it was over, laughing and punching the air... Our country is diseased.