During a speech on Monday night, President Joe Biden addressed the ongoing pro-Palestine demonstrations on college campuses, going as far as to call them “antisemitic.”
Biden’s remarks came after he delivered a speech at an Earth Day Event in Northern Virginia.
“I condemn the antisemitic protests,” Biden said. “That’s why I’ve set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
New York Sens. Chuck Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D) have also criticized the demonstrations, which continued as Passover, the Jewish holiday, began on Monday at sundown.
“College campuses must be places of learning and discussion,” Schumer wrote. “Every American has a right to protest, but when protests shift to antisemitism, verbal abuse, intimidation, or glorification of Oct. 7 violence against Jewish people, that crosses the line. Campuses must remain safe for all students.”
The protests in question have occurred on the campuses of Columbia University, Yale, NYU, Tufts University, MIT, Boston University, Emerson College, and more.
Since the protests broke out at Columbia University last week, more than 100 people have been arrested, while at Yale, police have arrested 45 protestors.
While the students at Yale and Columbia are protesting for a ceasefire in Gaza and demanding their schools stop associating with companies that are connected to Israel, some Jewish students at Columbia have said the majority of the chants are antisemitic. Others have said they are concerned for their safety on campus, CBS News reported.
In an effort to de-escalate the situation, Columbia’s president, Nemat Shafik, has moved the school fully remote. However, some are calling for her job, saying he should resign over his handling of the situation thus far.
Among those to call for his resignation was the entire Republican congressional New York delegation, which accused her of failing to protect students.
“The ongoing situation that has unfolded is a direct symptom of your continued lax enforcement of policy and clear double standards,” the lawmakers wrote. “Your failure to enforce the rules on campus has created an environment in which students and outside agitators know they are able to operate with impunity and without any accountability. While the rot is systemic, the responsibility rests squarely on your shoulders.”
As for Biden, the president doubled down on his condemnation of antisemitic protests on college campuses in a written statement on Sunday night.
“Silence is complicity,” he said. “Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country.”