HIt should be that simple. Something is happening in the world, there are people who believe that it should not happen, and who then demonstrate against it and try to influence their immediate environment so that it stops or happens less. And who is listened to or not listened to, or only a little.
But it doesn’t work that way when it comes to Israel, and especially not when the demonstrations are taking place at American universities. If anywhere shows how polarization can drive all reason out of a debate, it is there.
American students who are agitating against Israeli violence in the Gaza Strip want their universities to no longer invest in companies with ties to Israel, or in (military) companies that facilitate the war. This is accompanied by demonstrations and tent camps. Normally this would lead to discussions with the university boards and possibly negotiations. Now this is leading to harsh evictions and arrests from New York to Texas. There is actually no place for these types of protests.
The first problem is that such pro-Palestinian protests (in which Jewish students also participate) attract abject ‘supporters’ who use a protest against Israel for anti-Semitic hatred and chants. Even though they are incidents and even though these incidents partly take place off campus, they also tarnish the justified demonstrations.
The second problem is that these incidents are used by right-wing provocateurs to portray the entire pro-Palestinian movement as anti-Semitic. This reduces a political protest to an absolute evil that no longer needs to be listened to.
On both extremist sides, Israel is equated with the Jewish people. On the one hand, this leads to actual anti-Semitism, on the other hand to unjustified accusations of anti-Semitism.
There is no middle path in this dynamic. Columbia University President Minouche Shafik tried to explicitly distance himself from the anti-Semitic excesses surrounding the protests before a House committee. But in her zeal, she had a tent camp with reasonable students protesting cleared. The university’s Senate is investigating her crackdown. Now that she has more or less repented, it is precisely Republicans who believe that she is not taking tough enough action.
This also has political consequences. For Republicans, the situation is ideal: universities, already targets of populist rhetoric, can thus be portrayed as hotbeds of absolute evil. The situation is dire for Democrats, who also have a Jewish support base: every (too) harsh action against the demonstrators drives more (young) voters away from the political center. Polarization always helps the party that is the most extreme.
The rhetoric is also being adopted by some in the Netherlands. Yes, there are more anti-Semitic incidents, but the anti-Semitism label is very eagerly attached to pro-Palestinian protests. It is hoped that we can remain reasonable here.
The newspaper’s position is expressed in the Volkskrant Commentary. It is the result of a discussion between the commentators and the editor-in-chief.
Tags: Rightwing provocateurs incidents portray entire proPalestinian movement antiSemitic
