By Ryan Fink, Israel Editor
As war is slowly raging in Gaza between Israel and the remaining regiments of Hamas militant forces, the fight abroad coincides with a battle at home. College campuses have been transformed from havens of academia to battlefields and warzones. Student encampments are being propped up among some of America’s most prestigious universities, including Columbia, USC, and UT Austin, to name a few. This new fight raises questions that many American Jews ask themselves: What can we do to help? How can we fight for Israel on American college campuses and nationwide?
Some Americans can answer this question by simply standing up for Israel in a time when many fear for their support of The Jewish state. Others try to understand and answer the question in a much more complex manner by stating that the only way to support Israel is by protesting and, in the case of Columbia’s encampment, counter-protesting. The only problem with this argument is that it can draw attention away from the genuine issues and blur what is right and wrong. When somebody turns on the TV and sees two sides, it may be hard to tell who is right and wrong, and if one were not to take sides, they may assume that one side is the wrong side.
For many Jewish students, it is sad to see fellow classmates and professors calling for the destruction of their ancestral homeland. The truth is, many students are scared to attend classes next year where many will be interacting with students who recently attended these protests. For many American Jews in The U.S., it is a reminder that not only are their brothers and sisters being brutally murdered by vicious terrorist groups, but that there are people who are attending the same academic institutions as them who blame Israel for The October 7th terrorist attacks.
The only positive of these protests is the fact that many people are waking up to the fact that not all, but some of these protests and protestors state that they want to kill Zionists and that The Jewish people do not have a right to statehood in their ancestral homeland.
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