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Some Campus Protesters Despise America as Much as They Do Israel
As New York police cleared an anti-Israel encampment at New York University on the morning of May 3, officers discovered rudimentary signs proclaiming “Death to Israeli real estate” and “Death to America!”
The latter is an Islamist rallying cry popularized during the 1979 Iranian revolution. In addition to a hatred of Jews and Israel, some of the rhetoric and conduct that emerged from campus protests shares a similar militant antipathy toward the United States.
While the incidents might appear relatively few in number, Americans would be wise to recognize what this potential trend might mean for the Democratic Convention in August and campus life in the fall, and the country more broadly.
At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) — America’s first public university — anti-Israel protesters replaced the American flag with a Palestinian flag on April 30, amid chants of “There is only one solution! Intifada revolution!”
On April 19, crowds at Yale mocked America and cheered as protesters removed and tried to burn the US flag flying in front of a war memorial honoring Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Protesters at Yale repeated the same chant heard at UNC.
At the University of Michigan, organizers shared pamphlets with students declaring, “Freedom for Palestine means Death to America.” To the antisemitic and anti-American messaging, the pamphleteers added an anarchist element: “Ultimately, our main task as revolutionaries in the United States remains to be the unmaking of the American empire.”
The toxic combination of antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-US sentiment at campus protests should sound familiar to Americans.
The parents and grandparents of many campus protesters will remember 9/11. Osama Bin Laden, the Islamist terrorist responsible for orchestrating the most devastating terror attack on the US homeland in its history, called the killing of “Jews and Americans” one of “the most important duties.”
That’s just what Hamas did on October 7. Among the 1,200 killed and 240 abducted on that day were dozens of Americans, some of whom remain hostages. That doesn’t stop campus protesters from supporting Hamas, and championing its goals.
Some campus protesters have even supported the Houthi militia, another Islamist terror group and benefactor of Iran. Protesters at Columbia, Brown, and UCLA shouted “Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around!” referring to Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea — including American vessels. The Houthis chant their mantra, “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory to Islam.”
After the UNC Chancellor and administrators, escorted by police officers, brought a new American flag to replace the Palestinian one, protesters tried pulling that flag down, too. But with a patriotic spirit reminiscent of the New York City firefighters who raised the flag above Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, members of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity rushed to lift the Stars and Stripes above the ground, protecting it for hours as anti-Israel protesters pelted the guardians with objects.
The fraternity brothers at UNC have shown us the way. We will need more young Americans willing to do the same.
Antonette Bowman is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
The post Some Campus Protesters Despise America as Much as They Do Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Rubio Heads to Israel Amid Tensions Among US Middle East Allies
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media, before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, September 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool
US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow US allies in the Middle East over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the US and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.
Rubio said the US relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump’s desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the terrorists and end the Gaza war.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” he said.
“There are still 48 hostages that deserve to be released immediately, all at once. And there is still the hard work ahead once this ends, of rebuilding Gaza in a way that provides people the quality of life that they all want.”
Rubio said it had yet to be determined who would do that, who would pay for it and who would be in charge of the process.
After Israel, Rubio is due to join Trump’s planned visit to Britain next week.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the US, trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. US officials described it as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests.
The strike on the territory of a close US ally sparked broad condemnation from other Arab states and derailed ceasefire and hostage talks brokered by Qatar.
On Friday, Rubio met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House, underscoring competing interests in the region that Rubio will seek to balance on his trip. Later that day, US President Donald Trump held dinner with the prime minister in New York.
Rubio’s trip comes ahead of high-level meetings at the United Nations in New York later this month. Countries including France and Britain are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move opposed by Israel.
Washington says such recognition would bolster Hamas and Rubio has suggested the move could spur the annexation of the West Bank sought by hardline members of the Israeli government.
ON Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state. Last week, the United Arab Emirates warned that this would cross a red line and undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalized UAE-Israel relations in 2020.
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Netanyahu Posts Message Appearing to Confirm Hamas Leaders Survived Doha Strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a statement posted to social media on Saturday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Qatar-based leadership of Hamas, reiterating that the jihadist group had to regard for the lives of Gazans and represented an obstacle to ending the war and releasing the Israelis it held hostage.
The wording of Netanyahu’s message appeared to confirm that the strike targeting the Hamas leaders in Doha was not crowned with success.
“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” wrote Netanyahu. “They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war.” He added that “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
Israel is yet to officially comment on the result of the strike, which has incurred widespread international criticism.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.