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Editorial
Hate has no place in our society. It is not welcome in our communities nor on our college campuses. Those who protest the war in Gaza should absolutely refrain from engaging in any forms of speech or actions that can be construed as being anti-Semitic. And, those who are decrying the protests should avoid painting with a broad brush all pro-Palestinian demonstrators as being necessarily anti-Semitic.
One can be critical of the policies of the present Israeli government and its military’s conduct in the war in Gaza without disparaging the Jewish people or the country of Israel. In fact, many Jewish people who are strong supporters of the Israeli state are horrified about what is currently transpiring in Gaza. That doesn’t mean they aren’t equally horrified by Hamas’s slaughter of 1,160 Israelis on Oct. 7. One horror doesn’t justify another horror.
To date, 34,000 civilians have been killed in Gaza over the past seven months. That’s equal to about two-thirds of the death toll of American soldiers in the decade-long war in Vietnam. Is it any wonder that there is growing unrest on American college campuses among young people who want to see the killing stopped?
Even so, there seems to be little tolerance on the part of college administrators for students engaging in what thus far have been largely peaceful protests. Fledgling protests at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech this past week were broken up and dozens arrested. The New York Times reported over the weekend that a pro-Palestinian protest at UCLA was peaceful until counter protesters showed up and provoked a violent confrontation.
We suppose there is a fine line between allowing initially peaceful protests to grow in size and intensity before determining at what point a protest poses a danger to people and property. The wisest among us would have a difficult time engaging in this balancing act.
Questions are being raised by the strong show of law enforcement for what appeared to be peaceful protests. State Sen. Creigh Deeds of Charlottesville, who formerly represented the Rockbridge area, posted on social his bewilderment over the strong response to the protests at UVa. “People have a right to protest,” posted Deeds. “The protests at UVa have been peaceful. I’m not sure what change provoked this sort of response by the police. Violence is unnecessary. I will be interested in knowing whether the change in tactics was decided in Charlottesville or Richmond.”
Another state lawmaker, Del. Sam Rasoul of Roanoke, posted on social media what he thought was a more appropriate response to peaceful protests that occurred at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Rasoul, a son of Palestinian immigrants, noted that Wesleyan has allowed an encampment of demonstrators to remain on campus as long as it didn’t turn violent. “Exactly how it [should be] done. … This moment is larger than some arbitrary policy used to arrest students,” Rasoul posted. “Bravo Wesleyan.”
Our country has a long history of permitting non-violent protests as constitutionally protected free speech. An overreaction to such protests can also carry risks. This week we are observing the 54th anniversary of the violence that erupted at Kent State University in Ohio when National Guardsmen opened fire on student protesters, leading to the deaths of four demonstrators. We certainly don’t want a repeat of “Four Dead In Ohio.”
