by Don Keelan
On a late April evening around West 33rd Street in New York City, about 20,000 individuals watched the New York Knicks destroy the 76ers from Philadelphia, figuratively speaking, of course.
At the same time, 80 city blocks north on West 116th Street, 300 individuals, college students, and outsiders took possession of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, literally.
The 33rd Street gathering just wanted to see an NBA playoff basketball game. The gathering north of them had a host of demands: the university to divest from Israel, a cease-fire in Gaza, and others.
At least, that was what some of the Columbia participants were shouting from their barricaded building. Others were adamant in their support for the terrorist army, Hamas and the ultimate destruction of Israel. They were unhesitant to state their objective: “from the river to the sea.”
Once the game ended at Madison Square Garden, the fans left, accompanied by the usual small contingent of N.Y. City police. Not at Columbia.
The university officials called for help to have the students and outsiders who were in occupancy of Hamilton Hall leave. Help came with a massive force from the New York City police; Hamilton Hall was retaken.
Something I thought I would never witness in this country was so many Jewish students and their families living in fear. This was not 1938 Berlin, but 2024 New York City at Columbia University.
A spring campus protest is not an unfamiliar event; it happens almost every year as if it were part of the “rites of spring.” What made this spring different is that it has brought fear to many students and non-students who are of Jewish background.
Before this spring’s unrest, there had been an uptick in Jewish-related hate crime incidents. Since the Israeli government’s response to the horrific attack of October 7th, America has witnessed an organized movement to instill fear in the Jewish community, with Washington, at times, assuming a neutral stance.
One can only imagine the response from Washington if the hatred being spewed was directed at the LGBTQ, African-American, Asian-American, or Native-American communities.
On October 7th, it was reported that over 1,200 Jews were killed in a country of 9 million. On September 11, 2001, America, with 340 million, lost approximately 3,000. This loss, measured against the size of Israel, is equivalent to America losing 46,000 on that day.
In response, in the fall of 2001, President George W. Bush led us to war. Afghanistan was nearly leveled, the monetary cost was over a trillion dollars, and it became America’s longest war. Now, Israel is at war. Let it survive and destroy those who wish to destroy Israel.
College protests, which are in the news daily, also need to be put in perspective. They continue to occur on 130 campuses with thousands of campers/protesters, both students and nonstudents. At last count, there are just under 4,000 colleges in America with approximately 16 million students. One would think it is not a big deal, but it is.
It should be considered a big deal because of the message, the disruption, and the organization underwriting it. What is taking place is not a George Floyd protest, a Civil Rights or Vietnam protest, nor a Down on Wall Street protest. What has taken place is clear: it is anti-Israel. Washington needs to see it in those terms.
To be quite clear, protesting for any cause is a fundamental right and must be preserved and protected. The Israeli government and its actions over the past generation are not and should not be free of criticism.
Unfortunately, that message has been usurped by the small group of protesters who have embraced Hamas, a terrorist organization funded and directed by America’s arch-enemy in the Middle East, the leaders of Iran.
The Israelis are militarily fighting our war, not unlike the Ukrainians, who are also doing this at a significant cost. Washington, wake up. History should have taught us, particularly the history of the 1930s, the cost of waiting, of vacillating.
The author is a U.S. Marine (retired), CPA, and columnist living in Arlington, VT.