President Joe Biden supports freedom of expression on American campuses, the White House said Wednesday, as more and more students protest Israel's war on Gaza. The ongoing protests at Columbia University in New York have sparked intense media and political attention. Protesters say they are expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where the death toll has topped 34,200, according to the Hamas government's Ministry of Health, AFP reports.
But pro-Israel supporters and others concerned about campus safety have pointed to anti-Semitic incidents and say the campuses encourage intimidation and hate speech. "The president believes that free speech, debate and nondiscrimination on university campuses are important," White House spokeswoman Caryn Jean-Pierre said at a briefing. "We believe people can express themselves peacefully. But when we talk about hate rhetoric, when we talk about violence, we have to condemn it."
Biden condemned "blatant anti-Semitism" that "has no place on university campuses." Meanwhile, Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson condemned the "virus of anti-Semitism," calling on the president of Columbia University to resign. "If this is not curbed quickly, and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard," Johnson said.
In a high-profile incident in 1970, National Guardsmen at Kent State University in Ohio fired on students during protests against the Vietnam War, killing four.
As the pro-Palestinian protests spread, hundreds of demonstrators at the University of Texas were in tense confrontations with mounted state police, while elsewhere on campus, police in riot gear repelled protesters, according to videos on social media.
Amid rising anger at the death toll in Gaza, especially among younger Americans, Biden tried to walk a tightrope in support of Israel amid his campaign for the November vote. The White House demanded "answers" on Wednesday from Israeli authorities after mass graves were discovered in Gaza, even though President Joe Biden the same day also approved billions in military aid to his key Middle Eastern ally. Israel launched the Gaza war after an unprecedented Hamas assault on October 7 that left some 1,170 people dead. / BGNES
