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Universities Aren’t Cracking Down on ‘Anti-Israel’ Views; They Are Cracking Down on Supporting Terrorism and Harassing Students
Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) members occupying an administrative building at Barnard College on Feb. 26, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
At universities like Columbia and Harvard, students are facing suspensions, arrests, and academic consequences following recent protests related to the war in Gaza. Some argue that this is an attack on free speech and student activism.
But the reality is different. Students are not being punished for supporting Palestinian rights. They are facing consequences because too many of these protests have crossed a critical line: openly supporting Hamas, a terrorist organization responsible for the October 7 massacre in Israel.
In America, free speech protects the right to criticize governments, advocate for Palestinian self-determination, and demand a ceasefire. These are legitimate and important political positions. They deserve protection.
However, there is a sharp distinction between peaceful advocacy and the glorification of violence. Many recent campus protests have included slogans like “Glory to the martyrs,” calls for “resistance by any means,” and imagery celebrating Hamas. That is not free speech in the traditional sense. It becomes a form of incitement — especially when Jewish students are threatened, harassed, or made to feel unsafe.
This is not a minor semantic issue. Words, symbols, and slogans matter. When demonstrators glorify violence, they create an environment that feels unsafe, particularly for students who belong to communities that have been targets of that violence. Universities have a responsibility to intervene when speech escalates into intimidation and fear.
There’s a reason why so many Jewish students report fearing for their safety. At Columbia, some were advised by university officials to evacuate dorms. Across several campuses, Jewish students have been harassed with slurs, physically blocked from buildings, and made to feel that they are personally responsible for an international conflict simply because of their identity.
Protesting is a right. Intimidating classmates and celebrating terror is not.
When universities respond to these actions — through arrests, suspensions, or disciplinary processes — they are not punishing a political viewpoint. They are enforcing long-standing rules about safety, campus operations, and harassment. Occupying academic buildings without permission, refusing lawful orders, and promoting violence violate university policies — no matter the cause.
This is about action, not opinion. Students are not facing discipline for holding unpopular views. They are facing discipline because of the way they have chosen to express those views: by violating campus rules, disrupting learning environments, and in some cases, advocating for violence against others.
No one is asking for the suppression of Palestinian voices. Students absolutely have the right to criticize Israeli policies, call for humanitarian aid, and advocate for a two-state solution. What they don’t have the right to do is glorify terrorist groups that target civilians.
It’s important to remember that Hamas is responsible for the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Elevating Hamas as a symbol of “resistance” erases the reality of the atrocities committed — including the mass murder of civilians, sexual violence, and hostage-taking. It sends a chilling message to Jewish students: your suffering doesn’t matter.
Moreover, supporting Hamas is not a matter of personal interpretation. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States government. Universities have a legal and moral obligation not to allow campus spaces to become platforms for the support of such groups.
Universities are obligated to protect all students, including Jewish students, from violence and intimidation. The moment political advocacy slips into supporting terrorism and hatred, consequences are not only appropriate — they are necessary.
If universities allow their campuses to become safe havens for the glorification of terror, they betray their core missions: to foster open inquiry, to safeguard every student, and to promote respectful dialogue — not to enable extremism. Support for Palestinian rights must not become a cover for glorifying terrorism. If we are serious about free speech, justice, and equality, then we must also be serious about drawing a clear moral line against violence.
Defending campuses as places of safety, dialogue, and learning for all students is not censorship. It’s a defense of the very democratic values these institutions are meant to uphold.
Dr. Daniel Beaudoin is a senior lecturer in political science and crisis management at Tel Aviv University, and the executive director of the European International Society for Military Ethics.
The post Universities Aren’t Cracking Down on ‘Anti-Israel’ Views; They Are Cracking Down on Supporting Terrorism and Harassing Students first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.