Anti-Israel Radicalism Rages at College Campuses

What’s happening: Recent stories show that hostility toward Israel at American universities has not subsided since its war with Hamas began; campuses are becoming hotbeds of radicalism.

Why it matters: What happens on campus does not stay there. College political activists bring their world view into the workplace and into electoral politics to steer society to the left.

Pro-terrorist sympathies: Columbia University hosted an event titled “Resistance 101” featuring a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — a Marxist Palestinian terrorist group. The speaker mentioned that his “friends at Hamas and Islamic Jihad” appreciate the work of anti-Israel students in America.

• Rhetoric: George Washington University hosted “Black Intifada,” presenting the “black and Palestinian struggle.” The term “intifada” historically refers to violent resistance and is used by student groups across the country.

Violent sentiment: A pro-Hamas teaching assistant at Stanford University was recently exposed for calling for the assassination of President Joe Biden. He said Hamas should replace the U.S. government. A fellow student said that Hamas supporters have become vocal, making the campus climate hostile.

• Outbursts: Students at Vanderbilt University pushed their way through security into a campus building to conduct a 21-hour sit-in against Israel. Four students were charged with assault for pushing a community service officer, another was charged with vandalism for breaking a window, and over a dozen were suspended.

Zoom out: Data show that a majority of young people believe Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack was justified and Israel should be “ended.” Large majorities believe Jews and white people “are oppressors.”