What pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian campus extremists, fueled by dark money and outside agitators, are demanding is not co-existence of Palestine and Israel. Instead, they are advocating the total obliteration of America’s closest ally, to establish a Palestinian state that stretches from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. This is a dog whistle, an insidious call to any fanatical radical or fringe groups, whose sole pursuit is destruction, fear, and hate to join the fight against the West, American values, and the Jewish people. The faculty and administration at world-renowned institutions of higher learning all over our country and abroad are not only supporting but lifting these voices as great purveyors of free speech and modern-day advocates for the First Amendment, instead of what they are: antisemites, antizionist, anti-American, radical extremists.

Campus protests, disguised as activism and free speech, are nothing more than a coordinated effort to propagate hate towards all Jewish people in the U.S and abroad. We have seen rampant antisemitism, violence, and threatening tropes used on college campuses. A student protest leader at Columbia said on camera, “Zionists don’t deserve to live.” University of Michigan protestors chanted “Intifada, Intifada! Long live the Intifada,” a call to violently overthrow the Jewish state. At other pro-Hamas rallies across the country, protesters are blatant in their calls for violence chanting “Death to Israel.” And at The Cooper Union in New York City, Jewish students were locked in the library for their own safety as anti-Israel protestors banged on the door yelling, “Long live the Intifada.” Protestors have also been heard chanting “Death to America,” and statues celebrating American patriots like George Washington have been defaced. This behavior is reminiscent of the early propaganda used by the Nazi’s in the 1930’s to create animosity towards the Jewish people, blaming them for the loss of World War I, and dehumanizing them to make their extermination palatable.

How do we know this is a coordinated effort? The adage endures, follow the money. The same pro-Biden supporters have put their money behind his reelection efforts have made financial contributions to the extremist factions backing these protests. Soros (Open Society Foundation), Pritzker (Libra Foundation, heir to the Hyatt Hotel empire), Rockefeller Jr. (Jewish Voice for Peace donor), the list goes on. Their support of organizations that might sound admirable by name, are nothing more than radical, Marxist, anarchist bent on destroying the Jewish state and its people, and perpetuating the ultimate demise of America and its standing in the world. What is also very concerning is the donors, such as the Soros family, who fund these protests are as well major donors to many leading Democrats, including Members of Congress and sanctuary city District Attorneys.

In case we need to be reminded, October 7th, 2023, was the deadliest day in Jewish history since 1945. Over eleven-hundred people were murdered, women were brutally raped, babies slaughtered, people were burned alive. Thirty-two Americans were killed and at least ten taken hostage. Hamas abducted nearly two hundred and fifty people, and are still holding nearly one hundred hostages, including eight Americans, and the remains of more than thirty others (APnews.com).

On April 17th of this year, while being questioned by Rep. Elise Stefanik, a senior member of the Education and Workforce Committee in Washington DC, the President of Columbia University, Dr. Minouche Shafik was asked about the remarks made by Professor Joseph Massad. Massad stated that the massacre of Israeli citizens was ‘awesome.’ When asked about the response of Columbia to this, she remarked that he was talked to by the head of his department and the dean. His admonishment? He was told that the language was unacceptable. Another Columbia University professor, Mohamed Abdou, who was hired after the October 7th attacks had posted on a social media platform October 11th “Yes, I’m with Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad.” Columbia University, and many other U.S. institutions of higher learning, are providing cover to faculty and fringe extremist groups to indoctrinate students into what New York Mayor Eric Adams called “a movement to radicalize young people.” NYPD Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism said that there is concern around radicalization in the city.

We cannot sit by idle, allowing these protests and actions to be misconstrued as an expression of First Amendment rights and social activism. Every American is accountable to call this movement what it is, outward antisemitism, intimidation based on religious beliefs, and the perpetuation of hate and violence. Regardless of what is said in the briefing room in the Biden White House, FBI data shows that hate crimes are perpetrated against Jewish people more than any other group. In 2022 (last year aggregate data available from FBI), there were 1,305 hate crimes reported against Jewish individuals/businesses, compared to 205 towards Islamic individuals/businesses. NYPD reports show that hate crimes are overwhelmingly directed at members of the Jewish community. The Anti-Defamation League states that “Hamas supporters and other antisemitic actors have threatened and targeted Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions worldwide.”

The principles, ideals and values that serve as the underpinnings of Western civilization stand in stark contrast to the murderous extremists that committed the atrocities on October 7th against at least thirty-two Americans and innocent Israeli men, women, and children. As a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I proudly supported H.R. 6090, known as the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act. This bill passed 320-91 in the House. This resolution supports the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism for the enforcement of federal anti-discrimination laws regarding education programs.

I have also introduced H.R. 7959, the Safeguarding Homes from Illegal Entry, Living, and Dwelling (SHIELD) Act. This legislation would make trespassing a deportable offense for non-American citizens and deem an individual convicted of such an offense as permanently inadmissible for entry into the United States. While the bill was originally introduced to combat squatting by illegal immigrants, the language would also apply to those here on a VISA. Meaning anti-Israel protestors who are in our country on a student VISA, who have been arrested for trespassing, of which there are many, would face deportation under my bill. It is a privilege to receive a VISA to study in the United States, and there must be consequences for those who disregard that privilege and commit criminal acts while spewing anti-American and antisemitic rhetoric.

Every elected official in our country is duty-bound to halt this concerning trajectory of radicalization and the permissive allowance of hate and intimidation on our campuses and in our communities. Vigilance at every level of education to address the devolvement of discourse into hate-speech is the solemn responsibility of every person sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. Allowing hate speech and the occupation of open space on campuses is a failure of leadership from the White House and the leadership at institutions to fulfill their obligation to students. Those who allowed such antisemitic hate to be openly preached on college campuses must be held accountable for their failures of leadership.

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, represents part of Lycoming County and surrounding counties.