OPINION:
The horrific attacks by Hamas against innocent people in Israel have exposed disturbing antisemitism espoused by radicals on campuses across the country. Years of liberal indoctrination on a wide variety of issues — including significant boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel and support for Palestinian efforts — are most certainly behind these dangerous views.
A professor at Cornell University spoke to a rally this past Sunday and said he was “exhilarated” by Hamas’ attack on Israel. Putting professor Russell Rickford’s comments in context is even worse.
He said: “Hamas has challenged the monopoly of violence. And in those first few hours, even as horrific acts were being carried out, many of which we would not learn about until later, there are many Gazans of goodwill, many Palestinians of conscience, who abhor violence, as do you, as do I. Who abhor the targeting of civilians, as do you, as do I,” Mr. Rickford said at the rally.
“Who were able to breathe, they were able to breathe for the first time in years. It was exhilarating. It was energizing. And if they weren’t exhilarated by this challenge to the monopoly of violence, by this shifting of the balance of power, then they would not be human. I was exhilarated.”
“What has Hamas done? Hamas has shifted the balance of power. Hamas has punctured the illusion of invincibility. That’s what they have done. You don’t have to be a Hamas supporter to recognize that,” Mr. Rickford said. “Hamas has changed the terms of the debate. Israeli officials are right — nothing will be the same again.”
I wish Mr. Rickford’s comments were the only ones like this in the nation. Unfortunately, we are seeing hatred on college and university campuses across the country.
Columbia University professor Joseph Massad said the attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians were “awesome.” Under the headline “Jubilation and awe,” he wrote: “The sight of the Palestinian resistance fighters storming Israeli checkpoints separating Gaza from Israel was astounding, not only to the Israelis but especially to the Palestinian and Arab peoples who came out across the region to march in support of the Palestinians in their battle against their cruel colonizers.”
He went on to attack those who condemned the attacks as parallel to condemning those who opposed attacking the Nazis in Germany. Unbelievable.
A lecturer at Stanford University took it a step further as observers said that he forced Jewish and Israeli students in his class to stand in the corner to make a point about what he claims Israel does to the Palestinians. According to some of the students in the classroom, he claimed that Israel killed more people than were killed in the Holocaust and claimed that Hamas terrorists were innocent of their actions.
In addition, radical faculty members at colleges and universities across the nation and many students and their organizations have held vigils, protests and rallies in support of Hamas. At Young America’s Foundation, we’ve been warning about this dangerous shift over the years.
On full display is the hypocrisy of university administrators and student government officials who are silent about Hamas’ horrific acts of violence against Israelis and the threatening language against Jewish students on campus. At the same time, they frequently block or outright oppose many of our conservative speakers because they claim their views are dangerous to their students. Chants of “death to Israel” and “death to Jews” can be heard at numerous gatherings across the country and around the world. We are right to expose and oppose these mindless mobs.
Thankfully, people who had previously ignored the dangerous trends on college campuses are waking up. It has been heartwarming to see several leaders step up and announce they will not hire students who are part of groups siding with Hamas.
Erroneously, some have tried to compare this to concerns over efforts to cancel conservatives on college campuses. It is fundamentally different. Siding with Hamas is morally wrong. This would be like signing statements in support of the terrorists who orchestrated the attackers on 9/11.
Young people can have disagreements over whether there should be a Palestinian state or not, but the attacks by Hamas boil down to a moral gut check. I am glad to see employers recognize it.
Finally, it is important to connect the dots to Hamas attacking Israel and what it means to have an open border. Many of the people crossing our southern border illegally are not from Mexico or even Central America. Consistent with what I found on trips to the border, significant numbers of people coming into the U.S. illegally are coming from countries that sympathize with Hamas. We need to support Israel and secure our borders, or what happened in Israel could happen in our own country.
• Scott Walker is president of Young America’s Foundation and served as the 45th governor of Wisconsin.
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