During the Nixon administration, much ado was made to paint anti-war protests as anti-troop or anti-America. The idea was that dissent itself was anti-America. A pernicious myth was replicated that college hippie protesters were calling soldiers “baby-killers” and spitting on them, despite there being no documented evidence of this, and most evidence pointing to compassion between protesters and soldiers returning home. Scores of noncombatants and veterans shared anger at government leaders for putting us in that mess.
I passed by a peaceful protest in support for the people of Gaza yesterday. I am aware that in some locations a select few protesters hurled some anti-semitic rhetoric (and rocks, apparently) at fellow students, and that is wrong. But to confuse a protest for Palestinian rights with a protest in the name of Hamas is to fail to learn from history. The protest movement happening across campuses currently is not anti-semitic any more than standing up for the rights of Jews in Germany would have been anti-Germanic.
If the protests are anti-Jew, why are Jews joining in? Jews rallied outside Schumer’s home in protest against giving aid to…Israel. It’s about stopping war and carnage. And in this instance, people of various identities, including Jews, are wanting to stop Jewish aggression against Gaza’s. Maybe they know something a lot of Americans don’t. Or don’t want to admit. Maybe these Jews know that the government of Israel has acted against Gaza (which, some of you probably don’t know, is not Hamas).
So while Fox news plays over and over again one clip of one Arab American hurling insults at one Jewish American—(and MSNBC is wasting everyone’s time showing shocking footage of *gasp* Trump’s limo pulling up to the courthouse)—look for when Jews, Arabs, Americans, Ukrainians, Russians, and people the world over are joining hands to call out world leaders. What exactly are all these people anti of? One another? Not when they do this. Not when they call for ceasing the violence brought on by those that failed in leadership.
Horrible leaders are trying to protect themselves. They want people at one another’s throats. It’s how they get votes. From Putin to Netanyahu to Haniyeh to Biden to Trump.
Protest them. Peacefully. You’ll get maligned. Keep going.
“This is the Passover that we take our exodus from Zionism. Not in our name. Let Gaza live.”
CALEB COY 