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Campus Rioters Are Not Justice Warriors
(Los Angeles Jewish Journal) David Suissa - Israeli troops have long evacuated most of Gaza, humanitarian aid has been flowing in. At the same time, terrified hostages have been held captive for over 200 days by the terror group Hamas. If you're a college student looking for a noble cause, I can't think of a nobler one than "Let the Hostages Go!" Imagine the protesters directing their anger at Hamas, with banners and chants calling to "Liberate the Hostages, Don't Wait Another Day!" It's not enough to have the "optics" of justice-seeking warriors unafraid to take on the police and get arrested. It's not enough to set up tents and play drums and wear keffiyehs and throw temper tantrums trying to convince the world there's no country worse than Israel. A cause needs a minimal level of credibility. Many of these Israel-hating groups lost their credibility right after Hamas murdered, mutilated, raped and burned alive 1200 Israelis on Oct. 7 - before any war started in Gaza. Instead of condemning the carnage, they defended it. The campus protests have never been about a war or about helping Palestinians. The war was the ideal pretext for protesters to unleash rage against Jews and Israel and everything they hate about the West. These riots are anti-America as much as they are anti-Israel. Their actions have nothing to do with free speech. Intimidating and harassing students you don't like, and violating university codes of conduct, is not protected speech. It is an assault on the free speech of others. These protests are about crushing Israel, not criticizing it. These are not cool revolutionaries. They are boring conformists. The hysterical rioters are blowhards pretending to be rebels and picking on the world's easiest target.