Jamie O, Political Crack

Columbia Is Doing The Right’s Bidding

I feel like Columbia University president Nemat Shafik saw what happened to the former heads of Harvard and University of Pennsylvania, both driven from their jobs by right-wing goon squad members disguised as GOP congresscretins, and said nope, not gonna happen to me.

So, she capitulated to the American right, which is currently laser-focused on bringing down American higher education and is cracking down on pro-Palestinian protests on the Columbia campus. Shafik testified last week in front of Congress about the ongoing anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests, and she acted like a good little university administrator. Not just in words, but in actions. The next day, police raided the protest encampments, as if to say that when she said she wanted to shut down the protests, she really meant it.

The hearings themselves are strange. I cannot recall anything quite like this in recent history, and I cannot recall reading about anything even during the Vietnam War that matched this level of investigation of campus protest and thought. In fact, I think you might have to go back to the infamous McCarthy hearings to find as much of an all-out effort by the right to harass universities.

New York Times columnist Michele Goldberg, herself Jewish, offered this assessment of the hearing.

Republicans want to silence Israel’s opponents. In one of the hearing’s most farcical moments, Rick Allen, a Republican from Georgia, asked Shafik whether she knew Genesis 12:3. She didn’t recall the biblical passage offhand, so he explained it to her. “It was the covenant that God made with Abraham, and that covenant was real clear: ‘If you bless Israel I will bless you, if you curse Israel I will curse you,’” he said, explaining how this compact was confirmed in the New Testament.

 

“Do you consider that a serious issue?” Allen asked heatedly. “Do you want Columbia University to be cursed by God?” Shafik responded, “Definitely not.” Allen continued, “Young people are being indoctrinated by these professors to believe this stuff, and they have no idea that they’re going to be cursed by God, the God of the Bible and the God over our flag.”

 

This wasn’t an exchange, I’d venture, intended to ensure that Jews feel at home in American institutions. Another Republican, Brandon Williams, compared D.E.I. statements to Nazi loyalty oaths. Naturally, no one pushed back.

It is a bit disconcerting to see this happening, similar to how it felt to watch two-thirds of the country buy a lie about WMDs in Iraq. And it is not just happening at Columbia; also last week the University of Southern California canceled the graduation speech of its valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, a Muslim criticized for pro-Palestinian social media posts.

It is true that antisemitism has reared its ugly head at Columbia, including a swastika scrawn in a campus bathroom and some horrible things said during protests this weekend, although many note these were not said by Columbia students, but by outside agitators who are less interested in saving Palestinan lives and more interested in antisemitism. Also, there were violent things said by some civil rights protestors during the late 60s; there were Vietnam protestors who supported, and carried out, violent acts. In neither of these cases, shutting down criticism and protest was never okay, just like it is not okay to shut down protest and criticism of a brutal right-wing regime slaughtering specific members of an ethnic group.

The protests themselves at Columbia have, according to reporters on site, been mostly peaceful so far. Just ask the NYPD:

The media overall has been a mixed bag. Some are reporting that the protests are rife with antisemitism and violent, and some who are actually there tell a different story.

Holding a Seder doesn’t strike me as antisemitic.

I will say that I was rather disappointed at the White House statement yesterday. I was also disappointed in voting to give Israel more unconditional aid. Before any one thinks this is just progressive crazies and the Squad against funding Israel, a notable no vote on the Israel aid was Jamie Raskin.

I am a little concerned that this all will hurt Biden, and the specter of a repeat of 1968’s violent protest at the Democratic Convention looms over this year’s version. All that said, we have to still vote for Biden. As is often the case, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez offers some thoughtful words, this time about why progressives need to still vote for Biden. I highly recommend that and I would hope the DNC takes note of her approach.

One more thing before I close, certainly the Campus Free Speech warriors like Bill Maher, Pamela Paul, Bari Weiss, etc. leaped to the defense of the students expelled from Columbia University over speech, right?

HAHAHA of course not. Example.

And as for winning over the right by doing what they want you to do, President Shafik is now learning that no matter what you do for right-wing politicians, they will never, ever be appeased. This was yesterday:

And as Palestinian civilians continue to be killed by right-wing madmen, the focus is now all on American campuses. Almost as if it were planned that way.

In the spirit of the Passover season, the last word is a bit different today, as it goes to the organization T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, which strives to:

“bring the Torah’s ideals of human dignity, equality, and justice to life by empowering rabbis and cantors to be moral voices and to lead Jewish communities in advancing democracy and human rights for all people in the United States, Canada, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.”

 

2 thoughts on “Columbia Is Doing The Right’s Bidding”

  1. Pingback: Mike's Blog Round-Up ... from Crooks & Liars M. Bouffant - Tom Bettenhausen's

Comments are closed.