Sorry Steve, I respectfully disagree. This is a distraction and a deflection of the issue. All three university presidents have said that they won’t tolerate anti-semitism.
And these same universities in the past, were accused by conservatives of squashing free-speech by conservatives, so which is it; free speech or edited speech? And any threats need to be addressed by the police, which I believe has happened.
And is there some sort of loyalty test going on? If you don’t denounce terror, anti-semitism to some people’s expectations, then any statement issues will never be sufficiently enough.
That said, I agree, many colleges failed to protect Jewish students, but these congressional hearings and media attention is occurring because of Israeli businessmen and Jewish organizations throwing a tantrum. Not because the universities have acted in a detrimental fashion. It’s just another spectacle to stifle the anti-Israeli speech. Isn’t that the unconstitutional?
The rapes and murders of Israeli’ women and girls were horrendous; but how many innocent Palestinian women and children’s deaths need to occur before Israel gets its revenge or evens the score?
So far 5,000 Hamas fighters were killed according to Israeli figures; with more than 15,000 innocent civilians. Do Palestinian civilian lives count as well? At this rate, you’ll need 90,000 Palestinian deaths to eradicate Hamas. And this doesn’t include the wounded which is currently close to 50,000 and would increase to at least 500k before Hamas was annihilated.
And let’s not forget that Israel knew about an attack for over a year, yet ignored all the evidence. Egypt warned of an imminent attack two weeks before the attack, and Bibi did nothing. He’s actually denying that any warning took place. For eight hours, not one Israeli military or counter terrorist unit was dispatched to the south. Israel has many units on standby for such occasions .
And of all occasions; Israel’s 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, the last time Israel ignored all evidence of an imminent attack. Yet, Bibi ignores this and doesn’t care enough to at least dispatch any troops or special forces for eight hours. Why?????
Has it occurred to anyone that perhaps this is exactly the outcome Israel wants? Bibi’s own government spokesperson said that the goal is to force a mass exodus of Palestinians from Gaza and force other Arab states to accept them as refugees.
I find these endless wars and countless attempts by both sides to reframe the narrative and re-write history appalling. That said, blaming universities isn’t the solution; it’s a distraction from focusing on what’s actually happening now, not a month ago.
Ultimately, the only winner by these kangaroo hearings is Trump, and his right-wing cabal of corrupt sycophants. They are dividing the Democratic Party when the election will come down to two or three swing states with large Palestinian and Muslim populations. Not to mention, large college populations that need to vote for democrats to even have a chance.
Odd, not a peep from Little Missy Stefanik when orange Jesus spews his hate speech and calls for violence, murder and insurrection. Nope, she'd rather distort the speech of top university presidents ...a favorite tactic of the GOP house. Just seeing that it was Stefanik questioning those women was a tip off that smoke blowing was about to begin. There is rot in elite academia, but not what this article indicates. Rather, it began in earnest when the GOP bought seats for their cohorts and began vendettas against liberal prof.'s.
As for Bibi and his henchman, he set up those poor people to be slaughtered by Hamas as an excuse to annihilate the Gazan's. Who's annihilating who? Bloodthirsty leaders, whether they be of Israeli, Palestinian or Usian persuasion will kill anything that moves.
I see this as typical hypocrisy on the part of the mango mafia or MAGA and the republicans in congress. Bibi and his right-wing cohorts have been waiting for this opportunity. Their goal is to disperse and reduce the population of Gaza so they can install more illegal settlements and eventually remove all Palestinians from Gaza.
They moved troops a month before the attack away from the south to secure the West Bank so they can continue building illegal settlements.
The world is once again being hoodwinked by neocons in America and Israel. Now it’s academia on the menu.
That said, if the people who are truly anti-Semitic continue to rant against Jews then law enforcement needs to be involved. Why are these people any worse than the white supremacists that marched in Charlottesville in 2017?
How many congressional hearings were held by republicans who even refused to denounce them for fear of enraging Trump? Zero hearings, and only a few republicans had spoken out and those people and were eventually run out of Congress by their own party.
The winners of these hearings are Bibi!and his right-wing cohorts, who would much rather have Trump as president and Trump himself, who will win because of the chaos. And the media is doing their bidding as usual.
I agree with your comment wholeheartedly. I just find these hearings ridiculous since the same people who are outraged were silent when Trump has been accused of rape or we had white nationalists marching in Charlottesville in 2017 chanting “Jews will not replace us”; eventually leading to the death of a college student and wounding 17 others.
Yet, it’s the Democratic Party that will suffer by these spectacles...:)
All the wrong people are getting killed..When the right people start getting killed the conversation will change.. and that will change the narrative..
War is a terrible thing. Innocent people die, usually more than the combatants. In this case, the people of Gaza were asked to move to the south, not once, but twice. Some did not pay attention. Then a road was opened to allow more people to leave, some did, some did not. Hamas has said that they don't care how many innocent people die. Robert, you disappoint me.
Sorry to disappoint you Jerry, but you’re missing the point. How did the war in Iraq work out for America? We overreacted and more Americans died fighting the manufactured war, than all the innocents in 9/11. Not to mention, spending over $2 trillion which could have been better used at home and more than 50k casualties (wounded) that continue to cost us tens of billions a year in healthcare services.
Secondly, the Palestinians did move, but not all could, and even the safe zones were bombed.
Additionally, Bibi has had an agenda which would benefit by this war. Yes, people die in war, but show me any winners of this war, or in Iraq other than the perpetrators of the attack and the governments with an extreme agenda. Bibi has been dividing the Palestinians for decades. He’s purposely kept the PA weak and supported Hama’s rein in Gaza; even allowing Bahrain and Qatar to give billions a year in aid to Hamas that was apparently used to build bombs and tunnels.
I love Israel and have lots of family that immigrated from South Africa and Western Europe in the 1950’s. I lived there for several years when I was younger and visited as recently as 2016. Bibi and the right-wing government are a plague. Their goal is to control all of Judea and Samaria by slowly forcing all Palestinians from both Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They are no better, even worse than the religious fanatics that are slowly taking over the Republican Party and local governments.
Just listen to Ben Gvir (Internal Security) and Bezalel Smotrich (Finance Minister) speak. They don’t believe in a two state solution, equal rights for Palestinians in the disputed territories, and want to drive all Palestinians from all of Judea and Samaria. They do not even try to hide this fact. Bibi only pays lip service to a two state solution, but under Trump, increased illegal settlements in the West Bank by 30% (9,200 settlements) than when Obama was president.
Bottom line: I support Israel but won’t be hoodwinked to believe that Bibi has America’s or Israel’s interests in mind, or cares about achieving peace. Bibi and his government are the problem, not the solution. And our support should come with stipulations, not impunity. We’re doing Israel no virtue or benefit by supporting them without caveats.
Maybe you can tell me why Bibi and his government ignored the intelligence for more than a year and moved the bulk of Israeli forces from Gaza to the West Bank months before the attack took place, even though the last time Israel ignored a legitimate threat of war just happened to be 50 years before (anniversary); the Yom Kippur War? Or why no soldiers or emergency services were deployed for over eight hours?
When you can answer that question, maybe we can have another conversation.
Very clear eyed response and information. I agree with your assessment. I’d like to say apart from that, the accusations that the IDF are rapists and treating the Palestinians as Hamas does, does not ring true.
I totally agree with your statement. I would never even consider it valid. It’s not to say that some of their soldiers aren’t animals, no different than some of the US war crimes committed by some US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
That said, the IDF is a military organization with rules for warfare; Hamas is a terrorist organization that operates without any rules, just their hatred of Jews....:)
Do you really think the massive destruction and slaughter of civilians is ok? So how about you have a couple of days to move south with what you can carry, your children in tow, so your home can be have your home because some who could be viewed as ‘same as you’ did something horrific. I call that genocide or patriacide or something like that. Netanyahu wants all the Palestinians gone dead or otherwise from ‘the river to the sea’. Two states seems to be the only answer.
I only learned that phrase in this uprising. I've never uttered it, nor supported it. Truly, it's horrific in its intent.
However, I cannot ignore that some powerful "others" of the world determined that this land be given to Jews, at the expense of all who lived there at that time. Furthermore, these same peoples have been pushed further out over time. I can understand the resentment engendered over that same time. It does not "justify" the intent of the phrase, for sure. Obliteration of Jews is must never be a goal of anyone. Neither should the obliteration of Palestinians be that.
What comes out of this conflict, I cannot guess. The fear, hatred and "isms" it has engendered will be with us for more time than most of us have left on this earth. It's beyond sad.
The entire affair has blindsided maybe everyone. I can only speak with authority on my position. As a Jewish girl actually, a Jewish child raided by her natural mother, a first generation Ukrainian decent, she never gave up her Russian Orthodox church but she brought me to temple and I got a Jewish education of reading Hebrew and knowing history and customs. My Jewish grandmother loved me fiercely. She held me so tightly I could hardly breathe when she greeted me. Every time I went to the temple, I was told at one point, to never forget. Not belabored in any moment, just not to forget and so I didn’t and I’m sure it was a similar education across the us for reformed Jews in the 1950’s so typical of American life. A brother born in 47. A sister in 49 and me later.
My father a doctor and served in wwii. My grandmother. In old age visiting Israel in a wheelchair to see cousins in 1960.
How the land was gotten? It’s never a happy story for someone no matter who the people or time.
Am I responsible for all this. How can I be? Do I want a good life for Palestinians? I want life, a good one for all. I feel also terrible sadness about the slaves in China. The mistreatment of so many in Africa. How can we, Jews of The US determine the course of Israel and more specifically Netanyahu. When Trump was president, if he is again, are we, every person responsible for his course for our country? No and yes. It’s complex.
I’m hopeful that some truth and responsibility will come out. I hope Netanyahu is relieved of his post. I hope Hamas will be defunded and made to disappear. I’d like to see the people of Palestine find a way to rise up in solutions for themselves. They are horribly oppressed by Hamas. They have escalated things to create the “open air prison”. Hamas attacks Jews, so the walls get higher on and on.
In any bad situation there is never one to blame so moving on from blame any solutions are difficult. It’s human nature to stay embroiled in these difficulties so so hope and faith are needed in letting the pattern go.
Thanks for the opportunity to share some thoughts.
Robert Jaffee it looks like you are a lot smarter than Steve. But then again that isn't too difficult to conclude considering his support of Dean Phillips.
Thank you, Robert. As I watched this video, I could only think of the harassment put forth by the Republican members of congress and their leader as they scream free speech. I thought about the MAGA calls against women, against the LGBT peoples, immigrants, Muslims on and on.
Dehumanization. That statement really got me. A member of the GOP talking about dehumanization. Almost laughable.
Steve we either have free speech or we don’t. Do I think certain allowances for statements/speech are wrong, yes. Do I think we have gone off the rails on what we allow to be free speech, yes. However, until we decide as a country that stopping harassment and bullying by members of our government and those running for office must stop, will no longer be tolerated, this was just another show of bad faith.
Steve, love ya but you blew it on this one. Your girlfriend with her attempt at outrage and anger over the situation, was setting a trap for these three women.
They answered a difficult question and I think I would have answered the same way. Be careful, think before speaking and try to take control of the situation. They should resign? Why? The Congresswoman is in no position to judge anyone, instead she should be apologising for her unAmerican behavior.
How is the parsing of words by three women leading higher institutions of learning any different than the silence of male national and international corporate/political leaders?
I also respectfully disagree. If one watched the entire hearing I think you might agree. Stefanik repeatedly asserted that the phrase ‘from the river to the sea’ and ‘intifada’ to call for slaughtering genocide of all Jews. ‘Intifada’ means uprising. For many Palestinians, the phrase from the river to the sea now has a dual meaning, representing their desire for a right of return to the towns and villages from which their families were expelled in 1948, as well as their hope for an independent Palestinian state, incorporating the West Bank, which abuts the Jordan River, and the Gaza Strip, which hugs the coastline of the Mediterranean.
As the discussion went back and forth, the university presidents were addressing general free speech and did a poor job, got caught up, unaccustomed to aggressive toxic political traps. I think they just learned. Firing is a terrible idea IMHO.
I appreciate this version of Stefanik; she used to be like this more often and maybe it’s her true self. But, like everyone in DC, she has a price and still comes off as hypocritical given her support for tearing down the rights of so many during the age of MAGA. With that said, our universities should be safe places to speak out in forums that will expose all opinions in peaceful discussion. Calling for violence is not an opinion. There are not two sides here. Never Again.
Sorry Steve, but too many people are playing semantic games, including Rep. Stefanik. That is why the university presidents lawyered up. As someone who has marched chanting “All Cops are Bastards,” during the Brionna Taylor protests, I do not support cancelling student visas for chanting “from the river to the sea,” but that’s what the idea right-wing Jewish Nationalists and Christian Nationals are trying to mainstream. “From the river to the sea, means removing “the other” from Palestine. It’s the policy of Hamas, and it’s the policy of Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s Minister of Finance. Both are wrong and have evil intent, and people who support liberal democracy need to work very hard to oppose both sides.
I am both a proud Jew and MIT graduate. Forty years ago, a friend of mine, who has matured a bit since then, tore down some posters for GAMIT (Gays at MIT). He was disciplined, but suspension or expulsion was never on the table. I believe President Kornbluth is doing her best to protect everyone in her community from both those who do threaten Jewish students and those who would weaponize the disciplinary process to attack peaceful protesters. Creating sound bites in a Congressional hearing is just another line of attack by the illiberal forces that fight for power in both Israel and the US.
Steve, thank you for your excellent work here! In particular today, I appreciated JFK's acknowledgement of art and artists in society. This seems to be hugely over-looked and underestimated. His entire speech is a gift to humanity. Again, Thank you! Lisa
Some of the comments below have already touched upon this - but I think you are wrong in this case Steve ( as is David Frum in his recent Atlantic piece )
Yes anti semitism is on the rise on college and universities campuses, and yes it needs to be addressed. But those congressional hearings were a performative inquiry rather than a very real approach to addressing the rising Antisemitism and Islamophobia on campuses. Once again Fox news drives the narrative - picked up by the likes of Stephaic a Harvard grad and a rabid trump supporter.
Many of these so called protectors of jewish Students were silent during the Charlotville " Jews will Not Replace Us " marches - because the 'very good people on both sides' mango man - gave his blessings. Where was Elise and the others then?
Now we have Allan Greenblat and Bill Ackman attacking the schools but excusing Musk.
I would argue that the biggest thread to jewish students is not the anti semitic rhetoric - abhorrent as it is - but Musks amplification of hate speech both by retweeting them and allowing them on the largest platform of social media
There is an attack on public education and higher education in America - driven by the GOP - calling for the heads of these Universities ( interestingly all women ) because they were inept in their testimony is a facile way to address the real issues of hate.
This Isreal / Palestinian war is fraught with complexity - firing three university heads will not solve anything save for giving the Murdoch Machine and the GOP fodder for clicks.
This reminds me of 9/11 and when we had Freedom Fries, pouring first growth wines in sewers and firing Bill Maher ( who I really don't like ) and Ward Churchill for saying the wrong things
I write this as Jew, whose mother fled Poland with her family - I do not write these things lightly.
"There is an attack on public education and higher education in America - driven by the GOP - ..." Absolutely! And it began decades ago, whether it's the voucher plan, home schooling, censorship in grade school or the right wingers infiltrating and infesting universities. When grade school teachers become the scapegoats for badly behaved brats, are expected to teach huge classes of non-homogeneous students and their pay is less than a high school drop out in some cases, it's an indication of the value parents place on their children and a clear sign of the future of the country. At universities adjuncts have all the value of an aging mutt in a high kill shelter while the tenured professor isn't so tenured any more. When administrators' and coaches' salaries rival that of top CEO's, education is indeed under attack. Playing "Gotcha" with those 3 women was exactly as you said...click bait
Back in the 80's, I was a Ph.D. student at Berkeley when Michel Foucault was a guest lecturer there. I was studying comparative literature at the time, and the fashion in literary theory was deconstruction, which basically holds that all meaning is relational. The fashion has trickled down from academia into prismatic diffusion of meaning in general, so that everything gets filtered into finer and finer definitions to the point that it becomes impossible to answer simple binary right/wrong questions. So when a university president is asked whether a call for genocide should be allowed on campus, the university president, steeped in academic deconstruction, immediately filters her answer through the deconstructionist sieve. They just don't think in right/wrong terms.
The main reason I read and listen to Steve everyday is because his sense of decency is my sense of decency.
I believe deeply in the rule of law as a baseline of conduct and as a last resort to punish bad actors. But the law is never enough.
There are behavioral norms. Every society has to decide what it will stand for and what it will not tolerate. In other words, what it considers decent and indecent. Put enough like-minded people together you get a community.
When a friend of mine was lost in addiction and marauding all over town, family and friends planned and conducted an intervention.
He sat there and listened while each person gave him an example of his inappropriate behavior. Each demanded he get help. If he did not, he was told "my door is closed to you." He got help. He hasn't used in decades.
It is not against the law to be an alcoholic but his behavior violated the norms of his family and friends, that is, his community.
And now here we are as a nation. What I consider indecent many others do not, but I still hope there are enough members left of my community to save and reform our country.
And I realize life is complex, that issues are seldom black and white. That is what conversation is for. That is what studying history is for. But sooner or later we've got to reach a decision about what kind of world we want to live in.
I'm in the camp/community that believes anti-Semitism is indecent. Trump's behavior is indecent. Ramaswamey's behavior is indecent. Tyranny, indecent.
I don't want these things for my country, for my community.
When I worked in the corporate world decades ago I was tasked with developing a dress code policy. There were a few guidelines of dress that were clearly reasonable and accepted by all.
But every day someone would come to my office and ask me if what they were wearing was ok. I grew to hate the words, "is this ok?"
What am I, the fashion police?
Eventually I added this line to the policy:
If you question whether or not what you have chosen to wear is okay, it probably isn't. Wear something else.
This cut way down on the questioning.
I think these college folks got caught up in the legal mumbo jumbo of our society. One must be so careful not to say something illegal, controversial, offensive, inconsistent, or not politically correct, etc. Who wants to be sued?
Anti-Semitism is wrong, evil, indecent. So is Trump.
The fact we get spun up in knots shows the rot of our country. The fact Trump got enough traction to be the nominee in 2016 let alone president, shows the rot.
I can't believe our society hasn't passed the basics of gun control. I guess it's better to have our children gunned down.
I'm waiting for the day when someone hesitates to clearly state whether or not it's wrong to rape children.
I believe in free speech. I also believe there has to be limits. You should not be able to stand in a public area and call for the murder of an entire ethnic group. Why? Because you could be the reason for the death of one or more people due to your exercise of free speech. We can't stand up and exercise our free speech by screaming "FIRE" in a crowded movie theater. Hate speech comes with responsibility, but your hate speech which was the trigger for murder leaves you totally free. That has to change. Today, we are in big trouble. My question beyond this comment is Who is teaching our kids this hate? Who is teaching them anti-Semitism? Who is teaching them to hate Palestinians? Universities have to be open to all ideas, except hate can't be one of them.
Sorry Steve, I respectfully disagree. This is a distraction and a deflection of the issue. All three university presidents have said that they won’t tolerate anti-semitism.
And these same universities in the past, were accused by conservatives of squashing free-speech by conservatives, so which is it; free speech or edited speech? And any threats need to be addressed by the police, which I believe has happened.
And is there some sort of loyalty test going on? If you don’t denounce terror, anti-semitism to some people’s expectations, then any statement issues will never be sufficiently enough.
That said, I agree, many colleges failed to protect Jewish students, but these congressional hearings and media attention is occurring because of Israeli businessmen and Jewish organizations throwing a tantrum. Not because the universities have acted in a detrimental fashion. It’s just another spectacle to stifle the anti-Israeli speech. Isn’t that the unconstitutional?
The rapes and murders of Israeli’ women and girls were horrendous; but how many innocent Palestinian women and children’s deaths need to occur before Israel gets its revenge or evens the score?
So far 5,000 Hamas fighters were killed according to Israeli figures; with more than 15,000 innocent civilians. Do Palestinian civilian lives count as well? At this rate, you’ll need 90,000 Palestinian deaths to eradicate Hamas. And this doesn’t include the wounded which is currently close to 50,000 and would increase to at least 500k before Hamas was annihilated.
And let’s not forget that Israel knew about an attack for over a year, yet ignored all the evidence. Egypt warned of an imminent attack two weeks before the attack, and Bibi did nothing. He’s actually denying that any warning took place. For eight hours, not one Israeli military or counter terrorist unit was dispatched to the south. Israel has many units on standby for such occasions .
And of all occasions; Israel’s 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, the last time Israel ignored all evidence of an imminent attack. Yet, Bibi ignores this and doesn’t care enough to at least dispatch any troops or special forces for eight hours. Why?????
Has it occurred to anyone that perhaps this is exactly the outcome Israel wants? Bibi’s own government spokesperson said that the goal is to force a mass exodus of Palestinians from Gaza and force other Arab states to accept them as refugees.
I find these endless wars and countless attempts by both sides to reframe the narrative and re-write history appalling. That said, blaming universities isn’t the solution; it’s a distraction from focusing on what’s actually happening now, not a month ago.
Ultimately, the only winner by these kangaroo hearings is Trump, and his right-wing cabal of corrupt sycophants. They are dividing the Democratic Party when the election will come down to two or three swing states with large Palestinian and Muslim populations. Not to mention, large college populations that need to vote for democrats to even have a chance.
Let that sink in!
Odd, not a peep from Little Missy Stefanik when orange Jesus spews his hate speech and calls for violence, murder and insurrection. Nope, she'd rather distort the speech of top university presidents ...a favorite tactic of the GOP house. Just seeing that it was Stefanik questioning those women was a tip off that smoke blowing was about to begin. There is rot in elite academia, but not what this article indicates. Rather, it began in earnest when the GOP bought seats for their cohorts and began vendettas against liberal prof.'s.
As for Bibi and his henchman, he set up those poor people to be slaughtered by Hamas as an excuse to annihilate the Gazan's. Who's annihilating who? Bloodthirsty leaders, whether they be of Israeli, Palestinian or Usian persuasion will kill anything that moves.
BTW I apologize for @#$$# spell check
I see this as typical hypocrisy on the part of the mango mafia or MAGA and the republicans in congress. Bibi and his right-wing cohorts have been waiting for this opportunity. Their goal is to disperse and reduce the population of Gaza so they can install more illegal settlements and eventually remove all Palestinians from Gaza.
They moved troops a month before the attack away from the south to secure the West Bank so they can continue building illegal settlements.
The world is once again being hoodwinked by neocons in America and Israel. Now it’s academia on the menu.
That said, if the people who are truly anti-Semitic continue to rant against Jews then law enforcement needs to be involved. Why are these people any worse than the white supremacists that marched in Charlottesville in 2017?
How many congressional hearings were held by republicans who even refused to denounce them for fear of enraging Trump? Zero hearings, and only a few republicans had spoken out and those people and were eventually run out of Congress by their own party.
The winners of these hearings are Bibi!and his right-wing cohorts, who would much rather have Trump as president and Trump himself, who will win because of the chaos. And the media is doing their bidding as usual.
And, yet those whose voices are the most cruel come from those who enjoy privilege and power.
The clarion call to "what aboutism" is dividing Americans.
Rape is rape. Murder is murder. Torture is torture. Terrorism is terrorism.
Full stop. No equivocation. No what about. No "if only they had complied". No "they were asking for/deserved it".
No more excuses for those who advocate, support and engage in genocide of any culture, religion, nation state or human being for any reason.
I agree with your comment wholeheartedly. I just find these hearings ridiculous since the same people who are outraged were silent when Trump has been accused of rape or we had white nationalists marching in Charlottesville in 2017 chanting “Jews will not replace us”; eventually leading to the death of a college student and wounding 17 others.
Yet, it’s the Democratic Party that will suffer by these spectacles...:)
It is humanity, which includes democrats, who suffer the intentional spectacles of cruelty.
All the wrong people are getting killed..When the right people start getting killed the conversation will change.. and that will change the narrative..
War is a terrible thing. Innocent people die, usually more than the combatants. In this case, the people of Gaza were asked to move to the south, not once, but twice. Some did not pay attention. Then a road was opened to allow more people to leave, some did, some did not. Hamas has said that they don't care how many innocent people die. Robert, you disappoint me.
Sorry to disappoint you Jerry, but you’re missing the point. How did the war in Iraq work out for America? We overreacted and more Americans died fighting the manufactured war, than all the innocents in 9/11. Not to mention, spending over $2 trillion which could have been better used at home and more than 50k casualties (wounded) that continue to cost us tens of billions a year in healthcare services.
Secondly, the Palestinians did move, but not all could, and even the safe zones were bombed.
Additionally, Bibi has had an agenda which would benefit by this war. Yes, people die in war, but show me any winners of this war, or in Iraq other than the perpetrators of the attack and the governments with an extreme agenda. Bibi has been dividing the Palestinians for decades. He’s purposely kept the PA weak and supported Hama’s rein in Gaza; even allowing Bahrain and Qatar to give billions a year in aid to Hamas that was apparently used to build bombs and tunnels.
I love Israel and have lots of family that immigrated from South Africa and Western Europe in the 1950’s. I lived there for several years when I was younger and visited as recently as 2016. Bibi and the right-wing government are a plague. Their goal is to control all of Judea and Samaria by slowly forcing all Palestinians from both Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They are no better, even worse than the religious fanatics that are slowly taking over the Republican Party and local governments.
Just listen to Ben Gvir (Internal Security) and Bezalel Smotrich (Finance Minister) speak. They don’t believe in a two state solution, equal rights for Palestinians in the disputed territories, and want to drive all Palestinians from all of Judea and Samaria. They do not even try to hide this fact. Bibi only pays lip service to a two state solution, but under Trump, increased illegal settlements in the West Bank by 30% (9,200 settlements) than when Obama was president.
Bottom line: I support Israel but won’t be hoodwinked to believe that Bibi has America’s or Israel’s interests in mind, or cares about achieving peace. Bibi and his government are the problem, not the solution. And our support should come with stipulations, not impunity. We’re doing Israel no virtue or benefit by supporting them without caveats.
Maybe you can tell me why Bibi and his government ignored the intelligence for more than a year and moved the bulk of Israeli forces from Gaza to the West Bank months before the attack took place, even though the last time Israel ignored a legitimate threat of war just happened to be 50 years before (anniversary); the Yom Kippur War? Or why no soldiers or emergency services were deployed for over eight hours?
When you can answer that question, maybe we can have another conversation.
Very clear eyed response and information. I agree with your assessment. I’d like to say apart from that, the accusations that the IDF are rapists and treating the Palestinians as Hamas does, does not ring true.
I totally agree with your statement. I would never even consider it valid. It’s not to say that some of their soldiers aren’t animals, no different than some of the US war crimes committed by some US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
That said, the IDF is a military organization with rules for warfare; Hamas is a terrorist organization that operates without any rules, just their hatred of Jews....:)
Thank you for the response and support of my fundamental idea the IDF does war by the rules. Hamas says whatever they want.
Agreed. I support Israel wholeheartedly, just not the Netanyahu government. The same way I would never support any Trump administration.
And I can’t argue against the truth. You are 100% right, so no need to thank me. Thank you!....:)
An astute and clear view Robert.
Thank you...:)
Well done.
Right on Mr Jaffe
Yes Jerry they were asked to move south and well over a million did.Now the Israelis are bombing in the south…
Yes, I know. Also disappointing.
Somewhat beyond disappointing. It's craven.
Do you really think the massive destruction and slaughter of civilians is ok? So how about you have a couple of days to move south with what you can carry, your children in tow, so your home can be have your home because some who could be viewed as ‘same as you’ did something horrific. I call that genocide or patriacide or something like that. Netanyahu wants all the Palestinians gone dead or otherwise from ‘the river to the sea’. Two states seems to be the only answer.
Please understand the hurtful phrase from the river to the sea. It’s the cry to extinguish the Jewish people.
https://www.ajc.org/translatehate/From-the-River-to-the-Sea
I only learned that phrase in this uprising. I've never uttered it, nor supported it. Truly, it's horrific in its intent.
However, I cannot ignore that some powerful "others" of the world determined that this land be given to Jews, at the expense of all who lived there at that time. Furthermore, these same peoples have been pushed further out over time. I can understand the resentment engendered over that same time. It does not "justify" the intent of the phrase, for sure. Obliteration of Jews is must never be a goal of anyone. Neither should the obliteration of Palestinians be that.
What comes out of this conflict, I cannot guess. The fear, hatred and "isms" it has engendered will be with us for more time than most of us have left on this earth. It's beyond sad.
The entire affair has blindsided maybe everyone. I can only speak with authority on my position. As a Jewish girl actually, a Jewish child raided by her natural mother, a first generation Ukrainian decent, she never gave up her Russian Orthodox church but she brought me to temple and I got a Jewish education of reading Hebrew and knowing history and customs. My Jewish grandmother loved me fiercely. She held me so tightly I could hardly breathe when she greeted me. Every time I went to the temple, I was told at one point, to never forget. Not belabored in any moment, just not to forget and so I didn’t and I’m sure it was a similar education across the us for reformed Jews in the 1950’s so typical of American life. A brother born in 47. A sister in 49 and me later.
My father a doctor and served in wwii. My grandmother. In old age visiting Israel in a wheelchair to see cousins in 1960.
How the land was gotten? It’s never a happy story for someone no matter who the people or time.
Am I responsible for all this. How can I be? Do I want a good life for Palestinians? I want life, a good one for all. I feel also terrible sadness about the slaves in China. The mistreatment of so many in Africa. How can we, Jews of The US determine the course of Israel and more specifically Netanyahu. When Trump was president, if he is again, are we, every person responsible for his course for our country? No and yes. It’s complex.
I’m hopeful that some truth and responsibility will come out. I hope Netanyahu is relieved of his post. I hope Hamas will be defunded and made to disappear. I’d like to see the people of Palestine find a way to rise up in solutions for themselves. They are horribly oppressed by Hamas. They have escalated things to create the “open air prison”. Hamas attacks Jews, so the walls get higher on and on.
In any bad situation there is never one to blame so moving on from blame any solutions are difficult. It’s human nature to stay embroiled in these difficulties so so hope and faith are needed in letting the pattern go.
Thanks for the opportunity to share some thoughts.
Robert Jaffee it looks like you are a lot smarter than Steve. But then again that isn't too difficult to conclude considering his support of Dean Phillips.
Thank you, Robert. As I watched this video, I could only think of the harassment put forth by the Republican members of congress and their leader as they scream free speech. I thought about the MAGA calls against women, against the LGBT peoples, immigrants, Muslims on and on.
Dehumanization. That statement really got me. A member of the GOP talking about dehumanization. Almost laughable.
Steve we either have free speech or we don’t. Do I think certain allowances for statements/speech are wrong, yes. Do I think we have gone off the rails on what we allow to be free speech, yes. However, until we decide as a country that stopping harassment and bullying by members of our government and those running for office must stop, will no longer be tolerated, this was just another show of bad faith.
And people trash Joe Biden, a decent man. I guess decency is not valued when everyone is busy pursuing his or her grievances.
Steve, love ya but you blew it on this one. Your girlfriend with her attempt at outrage and anger over the situation, was setting a trap for these three women.
They answered a difficult question and I think I would have answered the same way. Be careful, think before speaking and try to take control of the situation. They should resign? Why? The Congresswoman is in no position to judge anyone, instead she should be apologising for her unAmerican behavior.
How is the parsing of words by three women leading higher institutions of learning any different than the silence of male national and international corporate/political leaders?
Thank you
I also respectfully disagree. If one watched the entire hearing I think you might agree. Stefanik repeatedly asserted that the phrase ‘from the river to the sea’ and ‘intifada’ to call for slaughtering genocide of all Jews. ‘Intifada’ means uprising. For many Palestinians, the phrase from the river to the sea now has a dual meaning, representing their desire for a right of return to the towns and villages from which their families were expelled in 1948, as well as their hope for an independent Palestinian state, incorporating the West Bank, which abuts the Jordan River, and the Gaza Strip, which hugs the coastline of the Mediterranean.
As the discussion went back and forth, the university presidents were addressing general free speech and did a poor job, got caught up, unaccustomed to aggressive toxic political traps. I think they just learned. Firing is a terrible idea IMHO.
I appreciate this version of Stefanik; she used to be like this more often and maybe it’s her true self. But, like everyone in DC, she has a price and still comes off as hypocritical given her support for tearing down the rights of so many during the age of MAGA. With that said, our universities should be safe places to speak out in forums that will expose all opinions in peaceful discussion. Calling for violence is not an opinion. There are not two sides here. Never Again.
Thomas Massie (R-KY), the congressman with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MIT, belongs with Cruz, Hawley, et.al.
Sorry Steve, but too many people are playing semantic games, including Rep. Stefanik. That is why the university presidents lawyered up. As someone who has marched chanting “All Cops are Bastards,” during the Brionna Taylor protests, I do not support cancelling student visas for chanting “from the river to the sea,” but that’s what the idea right-wing Jewish Nationalists and Christian Nationals are trying to mainstream. “From the river to the sea, means removing “the other” from Palestine. It’s the policy of Hamas, and it’s the policy of Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s Minister of Finance. Both are wrong and have evil intent, and people who support liberal democracy need to work very hard to oppose both sides.
I am both a proud Jew and MIT graduate. Forty years ago, a friend of mine, who has matured a bit since then, tore down some posters for GAMIT (Gays at MIT). He was disciplined, but suspension or expulsion was never on the table. I believe President Kornbluth is doing her best to protect everyone in her community from both those who do threaten Jewish students and those who would weaponize the disciplinary process to attack peaceful protesters. Creating sound bites in a Congressional hearing is just another line of attack by the illiberal forces that fight for power in both Israel and the US.
Steve: You left out Sen Vance from your list of morally vacant automatons!
Thanks for sharing these wise words of two great Americans. The moral insight of these two men is invaluable to a free democratic society.
Steve, thank you for your excellent work here! In particular today, I appreciated JFK's acknowledgement of art and artists in society. This seems to be hugely over-looked and underestimated. His entire speech is a gift to humanity. Again, Thank you! Lisa
Some of the comments below have already touched upon this - but I think you are wrong in this case Steve ( as is David Frum in his recent Atlantic piece )
Yes anti semitism is on the rise on college and universities campuses, and yes it needs to be addressed. But those congressional hearings were a performative inquiry rather than a very real approach to addressing the rising Antisemitism and Islamophobia on campuses. Once again Fox news drives the narrative - picked up by the likes of Stephaic a Harvard grad and a rabid trump supporter.
Many of these so called protectors of jewish Students were silent during the Charlotville " Jews will Not Replace Us " marches - because the 'very good people on both sides' mango man - gave his blessings. Where was Elise and the others then?
Now we have Allan Greenblat and Bill Ackman attacking the schools but excusing Musk.
I would argue that the biggest thread to jewish students is not the anti semitic rhetoric - abhorrent as it is - but Musks amplification of hate speech both by retweeting them and allowing them on the largest platform of social media
There is an attack on public education and higher education in America - driven by the GOP - calling for the heads of these Universities ( interestingly all women ) because they were inept in their testimony is a facile way to address the real issues of hate.
This Isreal / Palestinian war is fraught with complexity - firing three university heads will not solve anything save for giving the Murdoch Machine and the GOP fodder for clicks.
This reminds me of 9/11 and when we had Freedom Fries, pouring first growth wines in sewers and firing Bill Maher ( who I really don't like ) and Ward Churchill for saying the wrong things
I write this as Jew, whose mother fled Poland with her family - I do not write these things lightly.
"There is an attack on public education and higher education in America - driven by the GOP - ..." Absolutely! And it began decades ago, whether it's the voucher plan, home schooling, censorship in grade school or the right wingers infiltrating and infesting universities. When grade school teachers become the scapegoats for badly behaved brats, are expected to teach huge classes of non-homogeneous students and their pay is less than a high school drop out in some cases, it's an indication of the value parents place on their children and a clear sign of the future of the country. At universities adjuncts have all the value of an aging mutt in a high kill shelter while the tenured professor isn't so tenured any more. When administrators' and coaches' salaries rival that of top CEO's, education is indeed under attack. Playing "Gotcha" with those 3 women was exactly as you said...click bait
Back in the 80's, I was a Ph.D. student at Berkeley when Michel Foucault was a guest lecturer there. I was studying comparative literature at the time, and the fashion in literary theory was deconstruction, which basically holds that all meaning is relational. The fashion has trickled down from academia into prismatic diffusion of meaning in general, so that everything gets filtered into finer and finer definitions to the point that it becomes impossible to answer simple binary right/wrong questions. So when a university president is asked whether a call for genocide should be allowed on campus, the university president, steeped in academic deconstruction, immediately filters her answer through the deconstructionist sieve. They just don't think in right/wrong terms.
The main reason I read and listen to Steve everyday is because his sense of decency is my sense of decency.
I believe deeply in the rule of law as a baseline of conduct and as a last resort to punish bad actors. But the law is never enough.
There are behavioral norms. Every society has to decide what it will stand for and what it will not tolerate. In other words, what it considers decent and indecent. Put enough like-minded people together you get a community.
When a friend of mine was lost in addiction and marauding all over town, family and friends planned and conducted an intervention.
He sat there and listened while each person gave him an example of his inappropriate behavior. Each demanded he get help. If he did not, he was told "my door is closed to you." He got help. He hasn't used in decades.
It is not against the law to be an alcoholic but his behavior violated the norms of his family and friends, that is, his community.
And now here we are as a nation. What I consider indecent many others do not, but I still hope there are enough members left of my community to save and reform our country.
And I realize life is complex, that issues are seldom black and white. That is what conversation is for. That is what studying history is for. But sooner or later we've got to reach a decision about what kind of world we want to live in.
I'm in the camp/community that believes anti-Semitism is indecent. Trump's behavior is indecent. Ramaswamey's behavior is indecent. Tyranny, indecent.
I don't want these things for my country, for my community.
I think I'm following you here.
When I worked in the corporate world decades ago I was tasked with developing a dress code policy. There were a few guidelines of dress that were clearly reasonable and accepted by all.
But every day someone would come to my office and ask me if what they were wearing was ok. I grew to hate the words, "is this ok?"
What am I, the fashion police?
Eventually I added this line to the policy:
If you question whether or not what you have chosen to wear is okay, it probably isn't. Wear something else.
This cut way down on the questioning.
I think these college folks got caught up in the legal mumbo jumbo of our society. One must be so careful not to say something illegal, controversial, offensive, inconsistent, or not politically correct, etc. Who wants to be sued?
Anti-Semitism is wrong, evil, indecent. So is Trump.
The fact we get spun up in knots shows the rot of our country. The fact Trump got enough traction to be the nominee in 2016 let alone president, shows the rot.
I can't believe our society hasn't passed the basics of gun control. I guess it's better to have our children gunned down.
I'm waiting for the day when someone hesitates to clearly state whether or not it's wrong to rape children.
To go on record: it's wrong.
I believe in free speech. I also believe there has to be limits. You should not be able to stand in a public area and call for the murder of an entire ethnic group. Why? Because you could be the reason for the death of one or more people due to your exercise of free speech. We can't stand up and exercise our free speech by screaming "FIRE" in a crowded movie theater. Hate speech comes with responsibility, but your hate speech which was the trigger for murder leaves you totally free. That has to change. Today, we are in big trouble. My question beyond this comment is Who is teaching our kids this hate? Who is teaching them anti-Semitism? Who is teaching them to hate Palestinians? Universities have to be open to all ideas, except hate can't be one of them.