Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023 | 2 a.m.
College students are being scapegoated, blamed for the sins of national and world leaders who are busy trying to deflect our attention away from their failures and genocidal rhetoric.
That’s been true for several years, as conservative legislators and donors have launched a crusade against students for daring to not see the world the way those conservative legislators and donors say they must. It’s been even more true since Hamas committed an act of terrorism in Israel on Oct. 7.
The scapegoating has been aimed particularly at students who dare to uplift the humanity of Palestinian citizens who had nothing to do with the terror attack by Hamas.
Let me be clear, as I have since this latest eruption of unrest and uncomfortable debate: Hamas committed an obvious evil. There should be no equivocation about that from anyone who has a soul.
Jewish lives matter. Israel has a right to defend itself. Palestinian lives matter, too, and a right to self-defense does not mean a right to perpetrate evil in response to evil.
But in this country, there has been a growing push to equate Hamas with all Palestinians in a clear attempt to justify the slaughter of Palestinians.
That hasn’t only come from prime-time TV hosts such Jesse Watters of Fox News, who said he gets upset when people (rightly) distinguish between Hamas and Palestinian civilians. That language has also been uttered by top U.S. and Israeli officials and conservative think tanks, such as the Heritage Foundation, which claimed allowing Palestinian refugees into the U.S. “would be certain suicide for Americans.”
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was asked: “What about the babies in incubators in Gaza whose life support has been turned off because the Israelis have cut off the power?” He responded: “Are you seriously asking me about Palestinian civilians? What’s wrong with you? Have you not seen what happened? We’re fighting Nazis.”
Rep. Max Miller said, “Palestine will be turned into a parking lot.”
The rhetoric designed to dehumanize Palestinians has gotten so disgusting that even American diplomats are becoming increasingly alarmed by comments from their Israeli counterparts regarding their intention to deny water, food, medicine, electricity and fuel into Gaza. Even President Joe Biden during a press conference seemed to initially be dismissive of reports on the loss of Palestinian lives.
The U.S. Senate and House have ignored all of that and instead advanced resolutions pretending to be against antisemitism on college campuses, though its clear the real aim is to force into silence those who believe Palestinians are human, too.
I am horrified by college students who express antisemitic views and rhetoric, who have so much hatred they tear down photos of Israelis being held captive by Hamas or shout ugly things about Jews. But I would also be horrified if college students, and others, remained silent in the face of so much dehumanizing talk about Palestinians from the people making the decisions to go to war.
College students didn’t create the seemingly intractable mess in the Middle East. They had nothing to do with the horrors Hamas unleashed Oct. 7, nothing to do with decades of occupation and the failure of the leaders of the U.S., Israel and other countries to resolve the situation peacefully.
College students are not terrorists — even those who say things we wish they wouldn’t. They are learning. Part of a healthy learning environment is leaving space for students to mess up, even royally, even at a time like this — especially a time like this.
For several years, conservatives have falsely claimed that colleges are indoctrinating students. Those same officials are now decrying that students haven’t been indoctrinated enough, demanding colleges force them into going along with U.S. and Israeli officials who seem to not view more than 2 million Palestinians as fellow children of God.
College students are not the problem. “Leaders” too cowardly to speak up on behalf of innocent people — no matter their background, nationality or ethnicity — are.
Issac Bailey is a columnist for The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer.
