University student protests for an end to the Israeli offensive in Gaza are justified; antisemitism is not. We need to recognize the difference.

The Oct. 6 incursion and massacre carried out by Hamas was barbarous and despicable. The brutal murder of civilians, men, women and children was an indefensible act of terrorist thugs.

Israel had a right to counterattack Hamas after the massacre of 1,200 Israeli citizens and the taking of hostages. The Netanyahu government’s continuing offensive, however, has killed over 34,000 Palestinians and destroyed much of Gaza’s housing and critical infrastructure. Palestinian civilians continue to suffer in horrific conditions. The Israeli government’s military response to Gaza has been disproportionate and the United States’ unconditional and continuing military support for the Israeli offensive is a moral error.

Protests against the war by students at universities have been multiplying in recent days.

Incidents of university students chanting anti-Zionist and antisemitic slogans and incidents of antisemitic behavior are documented. Antisemitic behavior should be condemned, and perpetrators of violence discharged from their schools and criminally prosecuted. However, such behavior is not representative of most student protesters.

At the heart of the protests is an objection to Israel’s continued brutal execution of a war without regard to the civilian death toll and the suffering of the Palestinian people. And while some Jewish students are concerned for their safety on campus, others are participating in the protests and have spoken out against misrepresentation of their actions and behavior.

“It is unacceptable for school administration and politicians … to co-opt our shared identity to silence Palestinian, Muslim, Arab and Jewish students,” said MIT Jews for Ceasefire, Harvard Jews for Palestine and University of Pennsylvania Chavurah in a December 2023 statement to Congress.

Some writers suggest that students are surrounded by liberal or ultraliberal professors who see Zionism as an evil colonialist imposition and indoctrinate their students with the belief that the Jewish state should be eradicated. I don’t doubt that there is such an influence on some students.

At this point in the discussion, however, fact-checking and common sense need to be employed by those who want to understand what is happening at our universities The conduct of the Israeli military is unpopular worldwide and growing ever more so in the United States. The Palestinian death toll of over 34,000, approximately two-thirds of whom are women and children, the relentless push of the Israeli military and the abundant documentation of the extreme suffering of Gazan civilians speak for themselves.

To suggest that students across the country are suddenly erupting in a mass movement of antisemitism is absurd. Most of these students are idealistic young people, not neo-Nazis. The issue is the Israeli-Hamas war. The issue is Israel’s continued prosecution of a brutal offensive when a cease-fire is called for. And the issue is the United States’ unconditional military aide to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

J. Alan Gift is a political observer, commentator, and mental health therapist living in Harrisville.

Newsletter