Peter Myers Digest: House passes Antisemitism bill targeting anti-Genocide protests

(1) House passes Antisemitism bill targeting anti-Genocide protests
(2) Ilhan Omar: Jewish students should be safe ‘whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide’
3) Antisemitism bill says Jews didn’t kill Jesus, contradicting the Gospels & the Talmud; and makes saying they did a crime
(4) The Talmud says Jews killed Jesus
(5) Biden defends armed police raids on campus, demonising anti-Genocide protestors
(6) Jonathan Greenblatt (ADL) calls on Donors to withhold funds from Universities
(7) Protest camps have been set up on at 80 campuses across the US
(8) UCLA protestor: “They were coming at us with metal pipes”
(9) Anti-genocide groups are being targeted by media and government – Philip Giraldi

(1) House passes Antisemitism bill targeting anti-Genocide protests

https://www.ibtimes.com/house-passes-bipartisan-antisemitism-awareness-bill-amid-concerns-over-campus-protests-3731082

House Passes Bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Bill Amid Concerns Over Campus Protests

By Kiran Tom Sajan

05/02/24 AT 7:00 AM EDT

The House of Representatives passed the <https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-vote-gop-antisemitism-bill-amid-college-unrest/story?id=109830325>Antisemitism Awareness Act on Wednesday in response to growing concerns over nationwide student protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The bipartisan bill, championed by Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, garnered widespread support, passing with a decisive <https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-campus-protests-columbia-congress-df4ba95dae844b3a8559b4b3ad7e058a>vote of 320-91. The measure, co-sponsored by 15 Democrats, aims to address the trend of antisemitic incidents by raising awareness and promoting educational initiatives within academic institutions.

The legislation mandates the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism when enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws. This definition characterizes antisemitism as perceptions of “hatred toward Jews,” and includes elements such as denying Jewish people their right to self-determination and drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.

However, despite its bipartisan backing, the bill faced criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who voted against it.

Many opponents argued that the legislation could potentially infringe upon the constitutionally protected right to free speech, raising concerns about its implications for academic discourse and expression.

Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler, who is Jewish, voiced reservations, fearing that the legislation could stifle constitutionally protected expression by favoring a particular definition of antisemitism.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) called the legislation a “ridiculous hate speech bill”. “Antisemitism is wrong, but this legislation is written without regard for the Constitution, common sense, or even the common understanding of the meaning of words. The Gospel itself would meet the definition of antisemitism under the terms of this bill!” he wrote on X.

Gaetz pointed out that the IHRA’s definition includes “claims of Jews killing Jesus,” suggesting that such a statement could be classified as antisemitic. He cited excerpts from the Bible, implying that passages from the religious text could potentially align with the IHRA’s definition.

Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene also voiced opposition to the legislation, echoing concerns similar to those raised by Gaetz.

In a social media post, Greene expressed concerns that the legislation could lead to the condemnation of Christians for their religious beliefs.

But proponents of the bill say that it is necessary to combat antisemitism and ensure the safety of Jewish students on college campuses.

“It is long past time that Congress act to protect Jewish Americans from the scourge of antisemitism on campuses around the country,” Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) said.

Previous bipartisan attempts to enact legislation targeting incidents of antisemitism have failed to materialize into law. However, the recent escalation of conflict in Gaza, reignited its momentum.

(2) Ilhan Omar: Jewish students should be safe ‘whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide’

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-799013

Ilhan Omar: Jewish students should be safe ‘whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide’

The congresswoman noted that she had met a number of Jewish students who were participating in the encampment.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

APRIL 28, 2024

In response to a question regarding how the protests at Columbia University would influence antisemitism on campus at Columbia University, US Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota referred to Jewish students as “pro-genocide or anti-genocide.”

Omar’s remarks about Jewish students came while visiting Columbia University on Friday.

I had to listen twice to make sure I heard this right because it’s utterly repulsive. @IlhanMN casually calls Jewish students “pro-genocide or anti-genocide.”That’s another way of saying “the unacceptable Jews or the acceptable Jews”<http://pic.twitter.com/4ZCtYAx3MJ>pic.twitter.com/4ZCtYAx3MJ

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) April 27, 2024
“I actually met a lot of Jewish students that are in the encampment,” Omar began. “And I think it is really unfortunate that people don’t care about the fact that all Jewish kids should be kept safe and that we should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they’re pro-genocide or anti-genocide.”

Omar’s statement referred to the Jewish students’ positions on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Omar’s office has not yet issued a statement addressing the congresswoman’s comments. Additionally, Omar has previously been embroiled in controversies related to her statements on Israel and antisemitism.

Ilhan Omar is a member of “The Squad,” a group of Democratic congresspeople known for their left-wing positions and statements regarding Israel that have frequently been denounced as antisemitic.

Previously, Omar’s daughter was arrested at the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University. She was also suspended with several other students from their studies at Barnard College after participating in a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on Columbia University’s campus.

New York Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, members of “The Squad,” were spotted interacting with individuals opposed to Israel at Columbia University on Friday. Their visit coincided with expressions of support for those involved in the encampment erected in protest of the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza.

(3) Antisemitism bill says Jews didn’t kill Jesus, contradicting the Gospels & the Talmud; and makes saying they did a crime

https://www.rt.com/news/596891-jews-jesus-us-israel/

2 May, 2024 15:50

Jews didn’t kill Jesus – US House of Representatives

Lawmakers have broadened the definition of anti-Semitism in the latest legislation

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill which its authors claim is aimed at combating anti-Semitism in American universities. If signed into law, it would mean suggesting that Jesus Christ was killed by Jews could be classed as anti-Semitism.

The Antisemitism Awareness Act contains a list of “contemporary examples” which have been shared online by social media users, including Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Among the cases of hatred toward Jews mentioned in the document is “using the symbols and images associated with classic anti-Semitism (e.g. claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.”

Approved by 320 votes to 91 on Wednesday, with 21 Republicans and 70 Democrats opposing, the bill would require the US Department of Education to adopt a broad definition of anti-Semitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which describes the phenomenon as “certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.”

<https://www.rt.com/news/596840-us-gaza-protest-clashes/> READ MORE: WATCH another US university in chaos over Gaza protest

Taylor Greene was among the lawmakers who voted against the bill. “Antisemitism is wrong,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, but added that she would not support legislation that “could convict Christians of antisemitism for believing the Gospel that says Jesus was handed over to Herod to be crucified by the Jews.”

Other anti-Semitic acts mentioned in the bill include “accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel… than to the interests of their own nations,” making allegations “about a world Jewish conspiracy and or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government,” as well as “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”

Since mid-April, students have set up protest camps at more than 40 colleges across the US, demanding a stop to the violence in Gaza and an end to Washington’s support of Israel.

The demonstrations were initially peaceful, but clashes have erupted at Columbia University in New York, UCLA, and other colleges as police moved in to disperse the gatherings. Hundreds have been arrested amid the unrest.

<https://www.rt.com/news/596800-protesters-storm-university-building/>READ MORE: WATCH pro-Palestine activists take over building at prestigious US university

Israel is facing increasing international criticism over the rising death toll among Palestinians following its latest invasion of Gaza. According to the enclave’s health ministry, more than 34,000 people have been killed in the ongoing airstrikes and ground offensive. The campaign was launched in response to the October 7 cross-border attack on Israel by Hamas, in which at least 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

(4) The Talmud says Jews killed Jesus

Peter Schafer writes in his book Jesus in the Talmud: (Princeton University Press, 2007):

“On (Sabbath eve and) the eve of Passover Jesus the Nazarene was hanged (telduhu). And a herald went forth before him 40 days (heralding): Jesus the Nazarene is going forth to be stoned because he practiced sorcery (kishshef) and instigated (hissit) and seduced (hiddiah) Israel (to idolatry). Whoever knows anything in his defense, may come and state it. But since they did not find anything in his defense, they hanged him on (Sabbath eve and) the eve of Passover” (p. 64).

Michael Hoffman writes at
michaelhoffman.substack.com/p/scapegoating-the-romans-and-pontius

Scapegoating the Romans and Pontius Pilate for Killing Jesus

MICHAEL HOFFMAN

MAR 28, 2024

Almost every year near Good Friday, confusion is sown concerning the death of Jesus, usually put forth by a nationally syndicated liberal “Christian” columnist, or a sermon from an “evangelical” Protestant minister, or a priest of the modern Church of Rome.

They proceed to focus culpability for the crucifixion of Jesus almost exclusively on the Romans and Pontius Pilate. […]

The fact that Jesus praised a Roman officer above everyone in Israel (Matthew 8:5-13), and the Roman administrator Pilate urgently sought to save Christ’s life, calling him a just man, and being threatened by a mob as a result, is washed down the memory hole. […]

The disinformation that renders the Romans the principal malefactors is also undercut by none other than the Babylonian Talmud itself, in Sanhedrin 43a, where it is stated that the Roman “ authorities” were favorable toward Jesus and did not want to execute him:

Babylonian Talmud: Sanhedrin 43a
“Rather it must be that the case against Jesus was different, because he had close connections with the non-Jewish authorities, and those authorities were interested in his acquittal.” — The Steinsaltz Talmud, volume 17, p. 159 (Random House, 1998).

[…] Even in our time, one of most authoritative rabbis in the western world is the medieval halakhist Moses Maimonides, “the Rambam.” He is honored in Congress with a sculpture, and venerated in media and academia, though few of his enthusiasts have bothered to discover what he actually taught. We regret to report that Maimonides was an unabashed Jesus-despiser. In his magnum opus, the Mishneh Torah, he declared: “The Christians are idol worshippers” (Avodah Zara 9:4). “Idol worshippers” are subject to severe penalties according to the “Noahide Laws” promoted by every American President from Ronald Reagan forward, under the rubric of “Education Day USA.”

Furthermore, Maimonides taught that Jesus was killed “by the court,” a reference to the Beth Din (rabbinic court): “Yeshu the Christian, who imagined himself the messiah and was killed by the court…” (Rabbi Moses Maimonides, Mishneh Torah: Laws of the King 11:4).

Nowhere does the Talmud or Moses Maimonides, the supreme halachic authority for western Talmudists, blame the Romans, as do the modern popes, many Protestant “evangelists” and the corporate media.

(5) Biden defends armed police raids on campus, demonising anti-Genocide protestors

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/2/no-surprise-us-students-slam-bidens-comments-on-gaza-encampments

‘No surprise’: US students slam Biden’s comments on Gaza encampments

Students say Biden risks ‘losing entire generation of voters’ over his Gaza policy and condemnation of college protests.

President Joe Biden says “order must prevail” on university campuses in the United States, just hours after police raided and dismantled another <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/2/us-university-protests-live-police-ucla-pro-palestine-encampment> protest encampment in support of Palestinians.

In a brief news conference on Thursday, Biden said both the right to free speech and the rule of law “must be upheld” but stressed that “violent protest is not protected”.

“Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduation — none of this is a peaceful protest. Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not a peaceful protest,” he said.

“Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education,” Biden continued. “There’s a right to protest but not the right to cause chaos.”

Biden’s comments came shortly after police <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/2/ucla-students-arrested-amid-gaza-protests-all-you-need-to-know> arrested at least 132 student protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), early on Thursday and cleared out an encampment.

UCLA is among the <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/29/mapping-pro-palestine-campus-protests-around-the-world> dozens of US universities where students have set up camps over the past few weeks to demand an end to Israel’s war in Gaza. Many are also calling for their schools to divest from any firms complicit in Israeli abuses.

Demonstrators are detained on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles on May 2 [Ryan Sun/AP Photo]

The protests have been met with a fierce backlash from university administrators, as well as pro-Israel lawmakers and groups.

On Thursday, students and other observers quickly slammed Biden’s statement as failing to recognise that US colleges and universities have called heavily armed police forces onto their campuses to disperse non-violent demonstrations.

The recent arrests of students and faculty at UCLA and New York’s <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/1/after-police-crackdown-whats-next-for-columbias-gaza-protesters> Columbia University, among other campuses, have drawn widespread condemnation.

But in his brief address, Biden did not comment on university policies or the use of force by police. Nor did he remark on reports that pro-Israel demonstrators had <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/2/activists-say-ucla-palestine-encampment-assault-followed-days-of-harassment> attacked pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the UCLA encampment this week.

Instead, he said there is no place on college campuses for “anti-Semitism or threats of violence against Jewish students”. Student demonstrators, however, have rejected accusations that their encampments are anti-Semitic or pose a threat.

“There’s a [sense of] disappointment, but there’s no surprise,” Kali, a student protester at George Washington University in Washington, DC, said of Biden’s remarks.

“For the Biden administration to demonise us in this way is honestly incredibly disappointing,” Kali told Al Jazeera. “It paints a target on the backs of Arab, Muslim, Palestinian, anti-Zionist youth.”

Political blowback

Biden has faced months of widespread anger and mass protests over his <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2024/1/30/defies-logic-the-makings-of-joe-bidens-blank-cheque-to-israel> unwavering support for Israel during the Gaza war.

More than 34,500 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since early October. The besieged enclave faces a dire humanitarian crisis, and the top United Nations court said the war has spurred a <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/27/icj-ruling-in-gaza-genocide-case-renews-calls-to-end-israel-arms-transfers> plausible risk of genocide.

The US president, who is seeking re-election in November, also faces growing disapproval among young voters.

Biden’s approval rating stands at 28 percent among voters under age 30, according to a Pew Research Center survey released last week.

A recent CNN poll also showed that a staggering 81 percent of voters younger than 35 disapprove of Biden’s handling of Israel’s war on Gaza.

The Democratic president’s <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2024/1/30/strategic-interests-lobby-power-what-influences-bidens-israel-support> support for Israel, condemnation of the student protests, and silence on the mass arrests and violence against demonstrators may fuel young people’s apathy — if not antipathy — towards him, experts said.

“The Democrats can’t really afford to give people more reasons to vote against Biden, and this actually becomes one,” Omar Wasow, assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley, told Al Jazeera.

‘Losing an entire generation’

Experts say young voters could be key to Biden’s prospects in November, as he faces a likely rematch against his 2020 rival, Republican Donald Trump.

In a close race, as the November election is expected to be, low turnout could spell trouble for the Democratic incumbent.

Hasan Pyarali — the Muslim Caucus chairperson for College Democrats of America, the university arm of the Democratic Party — told Al Jazeera he was disappointed by Biden’s comments on Thursday.

“In our point of view, it’s not just good policy to <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/26/un-expert-accuses-israel-of-several-acts-of-genocide-in-gaza> oppose the genocide; it’s good politics. He has done neither, and we’re really disappointed to see that,” said Pyarali, a senior at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

He added that it was especially disheartening to hear Biden say he would not reconsider his Middle East policy as a result of the student protests.

“We’re here to make it known that if he doesn’t change course, there’s a real risk that we [Democrats] lose 2024,” Pyarali said.

He also said the prospect of Trump winning in November would not be enough to convince young voters to vote for Biden. “It’s not on us to make sure that Trump doesn’t come back; it’s on Biden and his campaign,” he said.

“It’s now on him to go forward. If he wants to continue down the path that is unpopular, unjust and genocidal, he certainly can — he’s the president of the United States. But it’s at the peril of essentially losing an entire generation of voters and also risking the 2024 election.”

(6) Jonathan Greenblatt (ADL) calls on Donors to withhold funds from Universities

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/23/opinions/columbia-university-protests-greenblatt

What’s happening at Columbia is a disgrace

by Jonathan A. Greenblatt

Updated 5:53 PM EDT, Tue April 23, 2024

Editor’s Note: Jonathan A. Greenblatt is CEO and national director of ADL (the Anti-Defamation League). The views expressed in this commentary are his own. Read more opinion at CNN.

CNN
—
On Sunday, I went to Columbia University just uptown from my office to see for myself what is happening there.

As I approached the gates of the university, I saw a seething protest. Drums and chants rang down Amsterdam Avenue. Crowds on both sides of the fence egged each other on, repeating calls for intifada and revolution.

And yet the most sobering experience came from a listening session hosted in the Hillel by the Columbia Task Force on Antisemitism. Approximately 80 Jewish students from across the university came to tell their stories about their encounters with anti-Israel protesters, crowding into a room. Some were crying. Some were yelling in anger. They shared individual stories, each more harrowing than the previous one.

Students told me of having liquids flung at them and getting screamed at for simply wearing a Jewish star.

Students illustrated the madness by showing me videos on their phones. One depicted the assault of a Jewish classmate, an Israeli flag ripped from his hand. Another showed a Jewish student being screamed at by a fully masked individual who came right up to his face, his voice shaking with fury.

I saw a photo of someone standing in front of openly Jewish students; she held up a sign that read, “Al-Qasam’s next targets,” a reference to an armed wing of Hamas. I saw images of oversized posters planted on the Columbia quad, each lionizing men Israel viewed as terrorists. Demonstrators calling openly for Hamas to burn Tel Aviv. Others yelling that October 7 is about to be every day.

To be fair, it is not clear that all of those harassing and assaulting Jewish students are Columbia students. It is quite clear that campus outsiders — even high-profile critics of Israel like Mohammed el-Kurd, Norman Finkelstein and Nerdeen Kiswani — are abundant on campus.

But maybe the most jarring moment came when I left the Hillel building. Standing on the corner, a young woman I had seen during the listening session approached me. She introduced herself and literally broke down in tears. She sobbed and sobbed, overcome by exhaustion, and expressed what I heard throughout the afternoon: anguish, desperation, fear.

What I saw in Morningside Heights felt like a postcard from the future, a glimpse of what lies ahead if we don’t get our arms around this problem without delay. That’s because I have seen firsthand how this situation is unfolding at numerous campuses across the country. And I’m not talking about protests — I‘m talking about sheer, unfettered rage.

And we shouldn’t kid ourselves. While not all of the protestors are violent, the repeated calls of “free Palestine” or “ceasefire now” are not about the legitimate claims of one group of people. They are about marginalizing a group of people, forcibly silencing and shoving them out of public spaces — not because of what they might believe, but simply because of who they are.

Columbia is a preview of a future where persecution has been normalized. This is not some parochial concern. Virulent antisemitism clearly is a problem on its own, but it also is a harbinger of other forms of hate. In that vein, this virus will spread and other minorities will be targeted.

For all of these reasons, it is time for immediate and swift action at Columbia and across the country.

First, Columbia President Minouche Shafik may be doing her best, but she should invite the NYPD back onto her campus to provide the protection that campus security has failed to deliver. And college presidents across the country need to engage with local law enforcement now to develop plans to ensure the safety of their Jewish students. No one should wait for a tragedy to happen in order to take action.

Second, no university should permit full-face masking on their campus. This would not jeopardize the health of any persons — you could wear a medical mask to prevent the spread of viruses like Covid. But entire face coverings intended to disguise an individual should not be allowed on any university environment. This is not a free speech issue. It’s a public safety imperative.

Third, we should reinstitute deterrence: a one-strike policy for those who violate the rules or who break the law. If one student violates the code of conduct, we need the imposition of drastic sanctions, including suspension. If a non-student enters campus and engages in violative behavior, they should be arrested for trespassing, let alone other offenses as appropriate. If local police are on site, this will be easy to implement.

Finally, donors, alumni and parents need to demand action — and to take action themselves. Every single donor who cares about this issue, who treasures their campus, needs to engage. Stopping funds will get attention. Diverting funds to support nonprofit organizations like the Community Security Service that train volunteers to protect Jewish students, or to universities specifically to support the security of Jewish students on campus, could be even more effective.

I anticipate that some critics, even some students, will protest. First, they will gaslight the Jewish victims and complain that it’s the agitators who are suffering from political persecution. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Just because someone says the earth is flat does not make it so.

Others will contest that these guidelines would turn a campus into a police state. However, campuses cannot be lawless zones where anarchy reigns. Jewish students need to be protected.

Already, agitators are threatening to replicate Columbia-style protests at other institutions, and indeed it is already happening at places such as Yale University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before this happens, schools need to reassert some measure of authority and retake their campuses from these anti-Israel protests.

(7) Protest camps have been set up on at 80 campuses across the US

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/may/02/where-are-the-us-college-campus-protests-and-what-is-happening

Where are the US college campus protests and what is happening?

Protest encampments have been set up on more than 80 campuses across the US over the Israel-Gaza war, with unrest flaring at some after police moved in to clear out protesters

Jonathan Yerushalmy, Helen Livingstone and Erum Salam

Fri 3 May 2024 04.00 AEST

(8) UCLA protestor: “They were coming at us with metal pipes”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/2/activists-say-ucla-palestine-encampment-assault-followed-days-of-harassment

Activists say UCLA Palestine encampment assault followed days of harassment

Pro-Palestine activists say dozens were injured when pro-Israel demonstrators attacked the California college encampment.

By Brian Osgood

Published On 2 May 2024

Los Angeles, California – At the entrance of the pro-Palestine encampment at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) on Wednesday, events proceed in an orderly and quiet fashion, save for the constant buzz of a police helicopter hovering overhead.

Those wishing to enter formed a queue, and organisers instructed them on the ground rules: Don’t engage with police or journalists. Ignore the counter-protesters. Don’t litter. No smoking or drinking.

But despite the relative calm, tensions were high. Just hours earlier, during the night, a group of pro-Israel counter-protesters had attacked the encampment, tearing down barricades and assaulting protesters with metal pipes, mace and pepper spray. Fireworks were also fired into the encampment.

Classes at UCLA were cancelled on Wednesday, and the administration released a statement condemning the “horrific acts of violence” against the encampment, which was erected in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Anna, a spokesperson for the encampment who declined to offer her last name, said dozens of pro-Palestine protesters were injured or pepper-sprayed in the attack, which lasted from late Tuesday night into the early hours of Wednesday morning.

She added that the attack partly took place under the gaze of police, who stepped in several hours after the violence began.

“The police did nothing,” she told Al Jazeera on Wednesday, noting that she still felt the lingering effects of being pepper-sprayed and punched by an attacker from the pro-Israel contingent. She explained she had spent hours assisting others who had been hurt.

“They were coming at us with metal pipes. Numerous people went to the hospital because of how badly they were injured. One person left in a wheelchair. Another had their hand completely smashed.”

In an anonymously drafted statement to Al Jazeera, members of the UCLA Radio News Department echoed that assessment, saying campus police did little to help the pro-Palestinian encampment.

“As students were being relentlessly harassed by counter-protesters, the campus security and the University of California Police Department (UCPD) continued to watch and not engage. No efforts were made to protect the students of UCLA,” they wrote.

“Additionally, when LAPD and the California Highway Patrol were called to the scene, they did not intervene with the violent protesters for an hour.”

By daylight on Wednesday, the space previously used by pro-Israel protesters was largely empty, with several large Israeli flags fluttering in the breeze. Reports of an increased police presence, however, led to suspicions that the pro-Palestinian encampment would be cleared later in the day.

UCLA police and CSC Los Angeles, a security and event management company employed on campus, did not respond to questions from Al Jazeera by the time of publication.

Anna sees a contrast between the apathetic police response to last night’s violence and the way law enforcement has aggressively dismantled pro-Palestinian protests on campuses across the country.

In New York City, for instance, an estimated 282 protesters were arrested overnight as police cleared demonstrations at Columbia University and City College of New York.

As of Wednesday, there was a large police presence on the campus at UCLA, with about a dozen patrol cars facing the direction of the encampment.

Still, it was a sleepy scene: Demonstrators quietly listened to speeches, while officers were observed checking their phones. The occasional heckler dropped by, but they were largely ignored.

Anna told Al Jazeera that Tuesday night’s attack, though, was the culmination of several days of harassment.

Aggression from pro-Israel counter-protesters, she said, had grown with “increasing severity”. There had even been an effort one night prior to break into the encampment.

Anna said the counter-protesters also set up speakers at night to play a handful of songs over and over, in an apparent effort to deprive the demonstrators of sleep and disrupt their peace of mind. She likened their methods to those employed against Palestinian prisoners by Israeli forces.

But she emphasised the students in the encampment do not want the violence to detract from their message.

They prefer to keep the focus on Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and displaced more than 90 percent of the enclave’s population.

Despite reports of rights abuses from Israeli forces, the US government has remained steadfast in its support of Israel’s military offensive.

Campus protesters like those at UCLA are demanding an end to university investments in companies seen to be complicit in Israel’s war and its occupation of Palestinian territories. They have also called for the termination of university relationships with Israeli institutions.

“Even though we faced this incredible violence last night, this isn’t about us as students,” Anna said. “This is about how we as students can bring attention to the plight of the Palestinians and to the genocide in Gaza. What has brought so many people to this camp is our love for Palestine, for the life and dignity of freedom of Palestinians.”

Political pressure

The attack on the encampment is one of the most violent manifestations yet of the rising tensions on college campuses across the United States.

Students from coast to coast have erected encampments, occupied buildings and carried out other acts of civil disobedience in opposition to US support for the war.

However, university administrators and elected officials, including President Joe Biden, have alleged the protests include instances of anti-Semitism, thereby creating an unsafe learning environment for Jewish students.

Protest organisers at UCLA and elsewhere reject that allegation, though. Jewish, Arab and Muslim communities have all reported upticks in harassment and discrimination since the war in Gaza began nearly seven months ago, on October 7.

“These protests have only turned violent at the behest of pro-Israeli demonstrators, many of them who are not even students at the institution,” members of the UCLA Radio News Department wrote in their statement to Al Jazeera.

“As students, we shouldn’t have to worry about our safety on campus — especially for existing in our campus spaces as a community.”

Still, since December, two congressional hearings have been held to specifically review allegations of anti-Semitism on campus, with the presidents of four top universities called in for questioning. Two of those presidents have since resigned.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives took further action to crack down on anti-Semitism on campus.

It <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/1/us-house-passes-controversial-bill-that-expands-definition-of-anti-semitism> passed a bill to adopt a definition of anti-Semitism into civil rights law that could potentially penalise criticism of Israel. While the bill has yet to be voted on in the Senate, critics fear any resulting law could be used to withhold funds from universities involved with pro-Palestinian activism.

Facing pressure from lawmakers to crack down on the protests, many universities have called in police to disperse the protesters, including at Columbia and Yale, two prestigious Ivy League institutions.

Nevertheless, after the overnight attack at UCLA, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released a <https://mayor.lacity.gov/news/mayor-bass-issues-statement-following-ucla-command-post-meeting-earlier-today> statement on Wednesday condemning the “detestable violence” and calling for an independent investigation.

California Governor Gavin Newsom also released a statement saying that those who engaged in illegal action “must be held accountable”, without specifying that pro-Palestine demonstrators were the group that came under attack.

Still, Anna urged politicians to do more to support the UCLA protesters and protect their rights to free speech.

“Overwhelmingly the support is from other students, community members and loved ones,” said Anna. “So far, I have not seen any high-profile politicians condemn how we were assaulted last night in the same way that they’ve condemned Jewish students feeling unsafe because of anti-Zionist activism on campuses.”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

(9) Anti-genocide groups are being targeted by media and government – Philip Giraldi

https://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/the-enemy-is-among-us/

The Enemy Is Among Us?
Anti-genocide groups are being targeted by media and government

PHILIP GIRALDI • MAY 2, 2024

Well friends, the verdict is in! If you are opposed to Israel’s slaughter of something like forty thousand Palestinians, mostly women and children, or the clearly enunciated plans by that nation’s government to ethnically cleanse the rest of historic Palestine, making the developing Eretz or Greater Israel a legally Jewish state, and are prepared to protest or speak up about it, then you are an antisemite Jew-hater and probably even a holocaust denier. If you are a student demonstrating against the slaughter you are increasingly being referred to by talking heads and the media as a pro-Hamas terrorist. That you must be condemned and sanctioned or even criminalized as a consequence of the labels is only fair in a country that apparently has come to believe that Jews and Israel, uniquely, cannot be criticized due to their cited ad nauseam victimhood and their anointment by God no matter what the First Amendment to the US Constitution relating to freedom of speech might say. After all, it’s just an old piece of paper though it might strike some as a bit odd that a group of people carrying out a genocide are being given a pass while those trying to stop it are being beaten, going to jail and, in some cases, being denied that degree they earned from four years at college.

That antisemites and even evil foreign governments like China are behind the recent student demonstrations over the atrocities in Gaza is gradually becoming part of the new Gospel, ritually endorsed by the cowering university administrators themselves as well as by a large majority in Congress, the White House and the mainstream media. Pro-Palestinian groups are being routinely shut down and their supporters clubbed, gassed and arrested while Jewish groups supporting Israel’s “right to defend itself” are being allowed to express their rage violently, as occurred at the University of California in Los Angeles on last Tuesday night with police standing by to let the pro-Israel attackers (who were mostly non-students) have access to beat on the pro-Palestinian campers. It was an alignment of hearts and minds that apparently serves both justice and God, who has declared Jews to be his “chosen.” The University of Southern California’s administration <“https://mondoweiss.net/2024/04/meet-the-homegrown-violent-extremism-researcher-behind-the-crackdown-on-pro-palestinian-students-at-usc/?ml_recipient=120137587131156145&ml_link=120137524365493667> has labeled pro-Palestinian groups as “homegrown violent extremists” as an excuse to shut down graduation ceremonies later this month. Governors in Texas and Florida have declared war on those despicable antisemites, insisting that there will be no Jew haters in their states and expressing a willingness to use police and national guard to make sure that that is the case. Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida has vowed that any student who speaks up or demonstrates against Israel will be expelled from college. National Guard troops have also been called in to clear campuses in a number of other states, with more than a thousand demonstrators being arrested and removed on Tuesday alone.

Some jest how it is Israel that controls much of US foreign policy “wag the dog,” not to mention interfering in elections and dictating what must be taught about world i.e. Jewish history in public schools together with mandatory trips to taxpayer funded holocaust museums that are sprouting up like mushrooms throughout the land. The United States is pledging itself to become antisemitism free as quickly as possible, which is surely the right thing to do given all those holocaust survivors who are living down in Miami and apparently starving to death according to all those ads one sees on TV and hears over the radio featuring dispensationalist hucksters like Mike Huckabee, who should move to Israel immediately since he loves the place so much, taking those of a like mind in Congress with him when he goes.

America under Joe Biden and also undoubtedly under Donald Trump if re-elected is pledged to take the lead in protecting Jews worldwide and will sanction anyone who violates that trust. Who else, for example, is so uber sensitive to Jewish issues as to have a Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues and an Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism entrenched with ambassador status and full staffs and budgets in their Foreign Ministry? Not even the cringing Krauts who routinely let Israel lie to them and intimidate them while still sending millions to the apparently endless series of so-called holocaust survivors in Israel as they also are shipping arms to Tel Aviv to assist in killing more Pals. That’s what true friends and allies are for! Britain has Conservative Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Israel which together constitute a majority in Parliament. Both UK party leaders do their best to make love to Israel on a regular basis. And France, Canada and Australia? There is no space between them and Netanyahu. They are as “ironclad” on Israel as Joe Biden constantly professes himself to be!

Greater love hath no man nor no woman to compare to the love of American politicians for Israel! Look what Papa Joe Biden has done for Israel over the past four years out of appreciation for the more than $4 million in donations <https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary?cycle=All&ind=Q05&recipdetail=S> that he has received from the Israel Lobby in political donations in his career. The $26 billion in the pipeline for Netanyahu is certainly an appropriate reward for the great man who single handedly has prevented Iran from getting a nuclear arsenal, something he has been warning about for the past twenty-five years! Biden’s first rule in politics, which he has been observing for forty years, is always do what Israel wants no matter what the cost because the Jewish state and the Jewish US domestic lobby together with its media wing are crucial to getting nominated and elected!

Only American politicians have the gall to call in heads of major universities and berate or even call for their firing if they are not doing enough about antisemitism! During an April 17th House hearing on antisemitism US Congressman Rick Allen <https://religiondispatches.org/do-you-want-columbia-to-be-cursed-by-god-alarming-exchanges-in-congress-and-beyond-highlight-the-desperate-need-for-religious-literacy/> asked Columbia University President Minouche Shafik if she was concerned that God might “curse” the university. Allen had first quoted a passage from the Bible that says God will curse those who curse Israel and added that he personally views Jerusalem as the “center of the universe”. He also suggested the university should create a course teaching students about the Bible so they can learn about “the wrath of God” and how “indoctrinating” professors fail to tall students that don’t know how they “will be cursed by God”.

If Israel is truly America’s greatest friend in the world and best ally there should be some positive evidence of that in the interaction of the two countries. So let’s take a look in terms of reciprocity relating to what has been happening over the past couple of weeks! First of all, at the macro level, i.e. continuing the fighting, Biden has warned the Israelis that if they invade Rafah they will not be supported. Netanyahu has <https://forward.us21.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91f05c72e7a924f7678b9a167&id=e4301a1605&e=6ae30ac5b9> responded, “We will enter Rafah and obliterate all the Hamas battalions there — with or without a deal, to achieve total victory” lest there be any confusion about what he intends to do no matter whether a temporary ceasefire with a hostage exchange is arranged or not. Biden and his amazing talking horse Anthony Blinken did not respond apart from pushing even harder for a ceasefire on Israel’s terms, which would be bad for the Gazans in any event given the key word “temporary” in front of “ceasefire.” Israel will be free to resume killing even though more fighting will be bad for Biden’s electoral prospects in November and he knows it. So does Netanyahu.

Blinken has called for an <“https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/30/us-investigation-gaza-mass-graves?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR18aQW7jNjfd-_br7nkALVLrY315IYqerdsj0j8cGT6aaMHZVEOe0wHi78_aem_Ac3fXZBAYIWFzan8JzhcA8vmRATyU-matnqaYZr67ZT7DpScgKwxBLBW0b7lzsE8tV8k6_6MhgwbU> impartial international investigation of the two mass graves recently discovered at the bombed hospital sites in Gaza, containing four hundred or more bodies, many of which were tortured and/or executed with their hands tied behind their backs or dragged out of hospital beds to be buried still alive in deep pits. Some bodies showed signs of hasty surgery indicating that their organs, a valuable commodity, were removed, a regular signature piece appearing on victims of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Most Moral Army in the World according to that strange looking Franco-Jewish so-called intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy. The Netanyahu and the IDF <https://cosmoschronicle.com/israel-will-not-allow-independent-investigations-into-gaza-mass-graves/> replied that Israel would do its own investigation saying “What is there to investigate?” Blinken did not object.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is <https://news.antiwar.com/2024/05/01/netanyahu-says-icc-arrest-warrant-would-be-an-antisemitic-hate-crime/> preparing to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and two other senior Israeli officials in connection with war crimes. Netanyahu is reportedly reaching wildly out to his many “friends” to prevent such a development. He tweeted that Israel “will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense. The threat to seize the soldiers and officials of the Middle East’s only democracy and the world’s only Jewish state is outrageous. We will not bow to it.” ICC deliberations are secret so it appears that an American or British jurist has leaked the story to enable Netanyahu to mount a campaign against it. The White House and Congress are already moving full speed ahead to make the warrants go away up to and including threats to directly take on and discredit the court if the Israelis are actually punished. Zionist Speaker Mike Johnson has pressured the White House and State Department to “use every available tool to prevent such an abomination.” The US has never before threatened the ICC and has nothing to gain and much to lose in so doing. Rule of Law anyone? There are reports that prosecutors from the ICC have <https://forward.us21.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91f05c72e7a924f7678b9a167&id=871dabe945&e=6ae30ac5b9> interviewed medical staff at two of Gaza’s largest hospitals in their investigation of other possible war crimes committed by Israel in connection with the mass graves.

To be sure some pushback from inside the US government as well as from voters is developing. Fully 92% of Israelis fully support the slaughter of the Palestinians by Netanyahu and his psychopaths but 72% of Americans do not approve of what is taking place in Gaza, for which Biden will likely pay a heavy electoral price. A group of American lawyers, at least 20 of whom work in the Biden administration, <https://forward.us21.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91f05c72e7a924f7678b9a167&id=77bdbfb432&e=6ae30ac5b9> are also calling on the US government to stop selling arms to Israel and are, of course, being ignored. There have also been other lawsuits as well as resignations of senior government officials who have been shocked by the US support of the genocide being conducted against the Palestinians.

Congress <https://www.yahoo.com/news/house-vote-gop-antisemitism-bill-200600525.html> has just passed by an overwhelming vote pf 320 to 91 the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which will, inter alia, place antisemitism monitors in American colleges and universities. Criticism of Israel, defined ipso facto as antisemitism, will be part of their brief. It is being pushed by groups like the infamous Anti-Defamation League (ADL) whose leader Jonathan Greenblatt has called pro-Palestinian demonstrations “Jew haters” and has demanded criminal charges. Several congressmen have likewise called for all Palestinians to be killed, but there seems to be no demand for an Anti-Palestinian Act to protect the Pals. Benjamin Netanyahu has also called out the demonstrators saying “What’s happening on America’s college campuses is horrific. Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities. They call for the annihilation of Israel. They attack Jewish students, they attack Jewish faculty. This is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s. The response of several university presidents was shameful.” By shameful Netanyahu means that the presidents did not crawl enough and beg forgiveness from himself, Israel, and all diaspora Jews as well as from a Zionist Congress and White House.

Joe Biden intends to sign the anti-antisemitism legislation in spite of its direct assault on the First and Fourth Amendments to the US Constitution. The new legislation will join the recently approved FISA renewal that will allow the US government to spy on citizens without a warrant. It should surprise no one to learn that the FISA bill was particularly pushed by Greenblatt and ADL to “protect Jews” by making it easier to spy on suspected antisemites. The US government ban on TikTok was also promoted by ADL due to the fact that the site includes too much information critical of Israeli behavior. Clearly, the US Congress does what Greenblatt wants.

Finally, a US pledge to determine responsibility and sanction perpetrators for the killing of American citizens in Israel, as well as the harassment and killing of Palestinian civilians on the West Bank, has not gone anywhere. The State Department investigation found that five IDF units <https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/29/us-says-five-israeli-units-guilty-of-gross-human-rights-violations-but-wont-cut-off-military-aid/> had committed “individual incidents of gross violations of human rights” prior to October 7th, including the beating to death of an 80 year old Palestinian-American and the sniper execution of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu-Akleh. The investigation determined that there was one particularly nasty extremist-fundamentalist Netzah Yehuda battalion which had killed the octogenarian and others whose capital offense consisted of walking in their town on the West Bank. They could have joined the roughly 10,000 Palestinian prisoners held in “preventive” detention without any charges by the Israeli government, but instead they were picked up on the street, were not charged with anything, and were then beaten and killed. The killing should surprise no one. On Monday Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the death of Gaza saying “There are no half measures. Rafah, Deir al-Balah, Nuseirat – total annihilation. ‘You will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven’ – there’s no place under heaven.” The reference to “Amalek” was from a line in the Hebrew Bible where Amalek was a nation that the Israelites were commanded to destroy, God telling them to “slay both man and woman, infant and suckling.” Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir came up with a similar genius solution to the country’s overcrowded prison problem – many of the Palestinians should be released and then killed to make more room.

Blinken, who has not commented on either the Smotrich or Ben-Gvir suggestions, has been sitting on the IDF report but was confronted with a challenge by House Speaker Mike Johnson who threatened to take steps to block any White House action directed against our best friend in the whole world Israel. As a result, the State Department will now neither restrict military aid nor in any way sanction the punishment of any of the units in question, even though it is actually illegal under US law to provide arms to governments committing human rights violations and war crimes. The US backdown also came after Netanyahu stated that the US would not be allowed to in any way punish or interfere with IDF units. Blinken then rolled over completely when confronted by the power of the Jewish state with a State Department spokesperson saying the units “have effectively remediated these violations,” whatever that is supposed to mean.

So killing Americans does not even merit a slap on the wrist if Israel is involved… That is where we Americans now find ourselves: fundamental rights are disappearing and our government and society are victims of Israel and its army of paid-up friends here in the US. Will Americans wake up in time to stop the rot? Not likely, as the mainstream party choices Biden and Trump will do whatever the Jewish state demands. That is our dilemma.