Joe Biden, Top Democrats Turn on Pro-Palestinian Protesters
US President Joe Biden speaks about his Investing in America agenda at the Wilmington Convention Center in Wilmington, North Carolina, on May 2, 2024. Biden and other leading Democrat figures have become more vocal in their criticism of the pro-Palestinian student protest as violence breaks out on campuses.
A number of leading Democratic figures are now regularly speaking out against the student pro-Palestinian protests across the country, including President Joe Biden decrying the “vandalism” and “violence” breaking out.
The encampment demonstrations, which started in New York’s Columbia University before expanding to other campuses, have been ongoing for weeks now. The movement is protesting Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, which has been accused of amounting to a genocide against Palestinians.
On Tuesday, the New York Police Department removed dozens of protesters who had barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall, which was the scene of student anti-Vietnam war protests in 1968, amid reports of vandalism and destruction occurring inside the academic building. Violence also erupted between masked pro-Israeli groups and pro-Palestinian students on campus at the University of California, Los Angeles, resulting in hundreds of officers swarming the campus to break up the fighting.
The protests have caused a rift between Democrats, with progressive lawmakers defending the students’ right to demonstrate and opposing Israel’s actions. Others have been strong in their opposition, including Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman who suggested there is a “germ of antisemitism in all of these protests” amid reports of violence and threats against Jewish students.
As violence and police intervention break out across the campuses, Biden and other leading Democrat figures such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have turned and become stronger in their criticism of the pro-Palestinian protests.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Biden said the ongoing protests are putting to test “two fundamental” American principles.
“The first is the right to free speech and for people to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard. The second is the rule of law. Both must be upheld,” Biden said.
“We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent…but neither are we a lawless country. We are a civil society, and order must prevail.
“Violent protest is not protected; peaceful protest is. It’s against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations—none of this is a peaceful protest.”
A similar sentiment was expressed by New York Sen. Schumer in a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday.
“Smashing windows with hammers and taking over university buildings is not free speech. It is lawlessness. And those who did it should promptly face consequences that are not merely a slap on the wrist,” Schumer said.
“Campuses cannot be places of learning and argument and discussion when protests veer into criminality.”
Elsewhere Jeffries, who represents New York’s 8th District, previously urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring forward a House vote on the Countering Antisemitism Act which aimed to strengthen federal efforts to counter antisemitism.
“The effort to crush antisemitism and hatred in any form is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It’s an American issue that must be addressed in a bipartisan manner with the fierce urgency of now,” Jeffries wrote in a letter to Johnson.
The Democratic National Committee has been contacted for comment via email.
On Wednesday, the House passed a separate bill, the Antisemitism Awareness Act, to address reports of rising antisemitism on college campuses amid allegations of Jewish students being targeted during the campus protests.
The bill called for the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which defies it as a “certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jew” in order to enforce anti-discrimination laws.
The bill passed with a 320-91 vote, with 70 Democrats and 21 Republicans voting against the measure.
In a statement, Democratic Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, who co-sponsored the bill, said: “With reported antisemitic incidents up by close to 400 percent since Hamas’ terror assault on October 7, we should be focused on implementing President Biden’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism to achieve immediate results to protect Jewish students and foster a conducive learning environment for everyone.”
Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who is of Palestinian descent and has frequently accused Israel of being an “apartheid state,” is among the progressive Democrat figures who have continued to praise the college protests amid the disorder.
“Dissent is a fundamental American value,” Tlaib said in a speech on the House floor.
“From the civil rights movement, to anti-war protests, to the movement for Black Lives and immigrant rights, our country has a long history of student-leading movements for change and challenging the status quo that oppresses and normalizes genocides across the world.
“I am deeply moved by the courageous young people in more than 100 encampments at colleges across our nation that are demanding divestment in support of genocide in Gaza and apartheid government of Israel,” she added.
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