Podcast: The Gaza-Israel protests on American campuses could become a global movement
But police or military response, I argue, should be a last resort
As I mentioned in my last post, the Guardian — where I write a weekly column — interviewed me for its “Today in Focus” podcast.
Here’s the half-hour episode, which also features a Guardian US reporter on the ground in New York City. The podcast has a large, international audience.
The US College Protests and the Crackdown on Campuses
I’ll also share here the latest from the excellent Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia which deplores the widespread deployment of police forces to respond to these protests as “deeply reckless” and a dangerous precedent.
Democratic President Joe Biden, who has been criticized by the protesters for supplying funding and weapons to Israel, told reporters on Monday that he condemned both "antisemitic protests" and "those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians." President Biden, Why don’t you explain to all of us what is going on?
I'm a little behind on listening, but you make great points. It doesn't seem like most of the protesters are causing trouble. Maybe universities are making a bigger deal out of this than they need to. It's really astonishing to see American universities calling in dozens of police in riot gear to remove a small amount of students from their quads. Then, they double down and expel them. It's such a bad look.