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I Spoke Up for Israel at Michigan State University; And I Will Do So Again
I have always been shy. Until I started college, I was never confident in myself as a leader and definitely not willing to speak up, even regarding issues I am passionate about. In elementary school, I was too nervous to talk in class. I had many friends, all sensitive to how “I wasn’t ready yet” and on my path to finding my voice.
Today, I am proud to declare that I am a Zionist. I stand with Israel.
On October 19, a mere 12 days after Hamas brutally attacked and infiltrated Israel, murdering, raping, and kidnapping thousands of Israelis, the Associated Students of Michigan State University (ASMSU) passed a resolution calling on Michigan State to “address the ongoing Palestinian crisis and support Palestinian students and all impacted students.”
The Arab Cultural Society (ACS), Muslim Student Association (MSA), Students United for Palestinian Rights (SUPR), Yemeni Student Association (YSA), Egyptian Student Association (ESA), Students Organize for Syria (SOS), and March for Our Lives (MFOL) introduced Bill 60-30.
While the title sounds empathetic, a strong one-sided bias is evident throughout the legislation.
The bill is plagued with misinformation. The authors state that “under International Law, the Palestinian people have the right to defend against colonialism and apartheid experienced in … Gaza and the West Bank … in which Israel still has control over.”
For one, Israel is not an apartheid state.
Israeli Arabs have the same legal rights as Jewish Israelis, serve in the Israeli parliament, hold successful careers, and are integrated into society. In comparison, an apartheid state imposes racial segregation under the law, which is not the case in Israel. Furthermore, Israelis are not colonialists as they are indigenous to the land. You cannot be a colonizer in the land where you are from.
It is also important to point out that Israel doesn’t control Gaza or the entire West Bank. Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip in 2005, and since then, no Jewish people have inhabited the territory. Gaza is fully controlled by the terrorist organization Hamas, and Area A of the West Bank, where the majority of Palestinians live, is governed by the Palestinian Authority.
The Michigan State bill makes the addition of Jewish students to the legislation seem like an afterthought, when it claims that “ASMSU will support Palestinian, Arab, Jewish, and allied people.”
It’s clear from this language that members of the Michigan State community are not equally represented through this bill.
On October 19, at the ASMSU General Assembly meeting, approximately 50 Jewish students and 70 Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students, along with their allies, attended to determine the fate of Bill 60-30.
Palestinian students and their allies were seated on the right and had tape over their mouths to demonstrate that their beliefs were being “silenced.” This was ironic considering that the bill gravely underrepresented Jewish students and included propaganda spread by pro-Palestinian students.
At one point, a student in support of the bill exclaimed, “this is genocide, this is apartheid, this is not political.” They presented these claims without any proof — as none could be offered.
I, too, agree this is not “political.” 1,200 Israelis were brutally murdered by Hamas, a terrorist organization that vows to murder Jews globally, and 240 innocent Israelis remain in their custody in Gaza.
The President of ASMSU claimed this critical fact was “not germane to the bill.”
Many students speaking in support of the anti-Israel bill also tried to equate the actions of Hamas with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a ludicrous comparison that has no basis in truth. It is a known fact that Hamas is a terrorist organization recognized as such by the United States, Canada, Australia, EU, and the United Kingdom.
The IDF is the world’s most moral army, going as far as to warn Gazan civilians exactly where they are attacking hours or even days beforehand. No other country does this.
Unfortunately, Israel is fighting against terrorists, who use innocent civilians as human shields. There is no realistic way to avoid casualties. Let’s be clear: collateral damage is not the same as intentionally targeting civilians, like what Hamas does.
The students on the Palestinian side detailed graphic statements of events not relevant to the discussion at hand, such as the murder of Wadea Al Fayoume, without any scrutiny from student government representatives.
How are details of the murder of a six-year-old in Chicago “germane” to a bill that demonizes the State of Israel?
I gave my public comment, and it was the most nerve-racking speech I ever gave, proving that I had indeed found my voice. My heart was racing as I identified myself as a Zionist, and immediately, the “other half” of the room responded by holding up Palestinian flags, pictures of Wadea Al Fayoume, and waving posters with horrible messages that I could not convince myself to read.
After speaking, I was too afraid to go out into the hallway to buy a bottle of water from the vending machine, concerned that I would be harassed for staying true to myself.
I never thought something like this would happen at my university.
Unfortunately, the General Assembly representatives responded to ACS’s intimidation tactics, and the anti-Israel students’ lies and chants. They passed bill 60-30. I do not feel represented by the students elected to represent me. It is evident that they only speak for those who yell the loudest lies and unabashedly target Jewish students.
Laela Saulson is a senior at Michigan State University.
The post I Spoke Up for Israel at Michigan State University; And I Will Do So Again first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s Sharaa Says Talks With Israel Could Yield Results ‘In Coming Days’
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks at the opening ceremony of the 62nd Damascus International Fair, the first edition held since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, in Damascus, Syria, Aug. 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results “in the coming days.”
He told reporters in Damascus the security pact was a “necessity” and that it would need to respect Syria’s airspace and territorial unity and be monitored by the United Nations.
Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.
Reuters reported this week that Washington was pressuring Syria to reach a deal before world leaders gather next week for the UN General Assembly in New York.
But Sharaa, in a briefing with journalists including Reuters ahead of his expected trip to New York to attend the meeting, denied the US was putting any pressure on Syria and said instead that it was playing a mediating role.
He said Israel had carried out more than 1,000 strikes on Syria and conducted more than 400 ground incursions since Dec. 8, when the rebel offensive he led toppled former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Sharaa said Israel’s actions were contradicting the stated American policy of a stable and unified Syria, which he said was “very dangerous.”
He said Damascus was seeking a deal similar to a 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria that created a demilitarized zone between the two countries.
He said Syria sought the withdrawal of Israeli troops but that Israel wanted to remain at strategic locations it seized after Dec. 8, including Mount Hermon. Israeli ministers have publicly said Israel intends to keep control of the sites.
He said if the security pact succeeds, other agreements could be reached. He did not provide details, but said a peace agreement or normalization deal like the US-mediated Abraham Accords, under which several Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel, was not currently on the table.
He also said it was too early to discuss the fate of the Golan Heights because it was “a big deal.”
Reuters reported this week that Israel had ruled out handing back the zone, which Donald Trump unilaterally recognized as Israeli during his first term as US president.
“It’s a difficult case – you have negotiations between a Damascene and a Jew,” Sharaa told reporters, smiling.
SECURITY PACT DERAILED IN JULY
Sharaa also said Syria and Israel had been just “four to five days” away from reaching the basis of a security pact in July, but that developments in the southern province of Sweida had derailed those discussions.
Syrian troops were deployed to Sweida in July to quell fighting between Druze armed factions and Bedouin fighters. But the violence worsened, with Syrian forces accused of execution-style killings and Israel striking southern Syria, the defense ministry in Damascus and near the presidential palace.
Sharaa on Wednesday described the strikes near the presidential palace as “not a message, but a declaration of war,” and said Syria had still refrained from responding militarily to preserve the negotiations.
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Anti-Israel Activists Gear Up to ‘Flood’ UN General Assembly
US Capitol Police and NYPD officers clash with anti-Israel demonstrators, on the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, July 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Anti-Israel groups are planning a wave of raucous protests in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) over the next several days, prompting concerns that the demonstrations could descend into antisemitic rhetoric and intimidation.
A coalition of anti-Israel activists is organizing the protests in and around UN headquarters to coincide with speeches from Middle Eastern leaders and appearances by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The demonstrations are expected to draw large crowds and feature prominent pro-Palestinian voices, some of whom have been criticized for trafficking in antisemitic tropes, in addition to calling for the destruction of Israe.
Organizers of the demonstrations have promoted the coordinated events on social media as an opportunity to pressure world leaders to hold Israel accountable for its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, with some messaging framed in sharply hostile terms.
On Sunday, for example, activists shouted at Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon.
“Zionism is terrorism. All you guys are terrorists committing ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza and Palestine. Shame on you, Zionist animals,” they shouted.
BREAKING: PRO-PALESTINE PROTESTORS CONFRONT “ISRAELI” AMBASSADOR DANNY DANON AT THE UNITED NATIONS
1/5 pic.twitter.com/4G1VYEMGzV
— Within Our Lifetime (@WOLPalestine) September 14, 2025
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), warned on its website that the scale and tone of the planned demonstrations risk crossing the line from political protest into hate speech, arguing that anti-Israel activists are attempting to hijack the UN gathering to spread antisemitism and delegitimize the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Outside the UN last week, masked protesters belonging to the activist group INDECLINE kicked a realistic replica of Netanyahu’s decapitated head as though it were a soccer ball.
US activist group plays soccer with Bibi’s mock decapitated HEAD right outside NYC UN HQ
Peep shot at 00:40
Footage posted by INDECLINE collective just as UN General Assembly about to kick off
‘Following the game, ball was donated to Palestinian Genocide Museum’ pic.twitter.com/TQ84sgZhKr
— RT (@RT_com) September 9, 2025
Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a radical anti-Israel activist group, has vowed to “flood” the UNGA on behalf of the pro-Palestine movement.
WOL, one of the most prolific anti-Israel activist groups, came under immense fire after it organized a protest against an exhibition to honor the victims of the Oct. 7 massacre at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. During the event, the group chanted “resistance is justified when people are occupied!” and “Israel, go to hell!”
“We will be there to confront them with the truth: Their silence and inaction enable genocide. The world cannot continue as if Gaza does not exist,” WOL said of its planned demonstrations in New York. “This is the time to make our voices impossible to ignore. Come to New York by any means necessary, to stand, to march, to demand the UN act and end the siege.”
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), two other anti-Israel organizations that have helped organize widespread demonstrations against the Jewish state during the war in Gaza, also announced they are planning a march from Times Square to the UN headquarters on Friday.
“The time is now for each and every UN member state to uphold their duty under international law: sanction Israel and end the genocide,” the groups said in a statement.
JVP, an organization that purports to fight for “Palestinian liberation,” has positioned itself as a staunch adversary of the Jewish state. The group argued in a 2021 booklet that Jews should not write Hebrew liturgy because hearing the language would be “deeply traumatizing” to Palestinians. JVP has repeatedly defended the Oct. 7 massacre of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel by Hamas as a justified “resistance.” Chapters of the organization have urged other self-described “progressives” to throw their support behind Hamas and other terrorist groups against Israel
Similarly, PYM, another radical anti-Israel group, has repeatedly defended terrorism and violence against the Jewish state. PYM has organized many anti-Israel protests in the two years following the Oct. 7 attacks in the Jewish state. Recently, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) called for a federal investigation into the organization after Aisha Nizar, one of the group’s leaders, urged supporters to sabotage the US supply chain for the F-35 fighter jet, one of the most advanced US military assets and a critical component of Israel’s defense.
The UN General Assembly has historically been a flashpoint for heated debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Previous gatherings have seen dueling demonstrations outside the Manhattan venue, with pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups both seeking to influence the international spotlight.
While warning about the demonstrations, CAM noted it recently launched a new mobile app, Report It, that allows users worldwide to quickly and securely report antisemitic incidents in real time.
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Nina Davidson Presses Universities to Back Words With Action as Jewish Students Return to Campus Amid Antisemitism Crisis
Nina Davidson on The Algemeiner’s ‘J100’ podcast. Photo: Screenshot
Philanthropist Nina Davidson, who served on the board of Barnard College, has called on universities to pair tough rhetoric on combatting antisemitism with enforcement as Jewish students returned to campuses for the new academic year.
“Years ago, The Algemeiner had published a list ranking the most antisemitic colleges in the country. And number one was Columbia,” Davidson recalled on a recent episode of The Algemeiner‘s “J100” podcast. “As a board member and as someone who was representing the institution, it really upset me … At the board meeting, I brought it up and I said, ‘What are we going to do about this?’”
Host David Cohen, chief executive officer of The Algemeiner, explained he had revisited Davidson’s remarks while she was being honored for her work at The Algemeiner‘s 8th annual J100 gala, held in October 2021, noting their continued relevance.
“It could have been the same speech in 2025,” he said, underscoring how longstanding concerns about campus antisemitism, while having intensified in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, are not new.
Davidson argued that universities already possess the tools to protect students – codes of conduct, time-place-manner rules, and consequences for threats or targeted harassment – but too often fail to apply them evenly. “Statements are not enough,” she said, arguing that institutions need to enforce their rules and set a precedent that there will be consequences for individuals who refuse to follow them.
She also said that stakeholders – alumni, parents, and donors – are reassessing their relationships with schools that, in their view, have not safeguarded Jewish students. While supportive of open debate, Davidson distinguished between protest and intimidation, calling for leadership that protects expression while ensuring campus safety.
The episode surveyed specific pressure points that administrators will face this fall: repeat anti-Israel encampments, disruptions of Jewish programming, and the challenge of distinguishing political speech from conduct that violates university rules. “Unless schools draw those lines now,” Davidson warned, “they’ll be scrambling once the next crisis hits.”
Cohen closed by framing the discussion as a test of institutional credibility, asking whether universities will “turn policy into protection” in real time. Davidson agreed, pointing to students who “need to know the rules aren’t just on paper.”
The full conversation is available on The Algemeiner’s “J100” podcast.