Biden Backs Free Speech: US Pro-Palestine Demonstrations on College Campuses

Washington: As more and more college students voice their opposition to Israel’s conflict in Gaza, the White House said on Wednesday that President Joe Biden supports free speech on US campuses.
Politicians and the media have been closely following the ongoing protests at Columbia University in New York, which have prompted similar actions around the nation.

According to the Ministry of Health under the Hamas administration, the number of deaths in Gaza has surpassed 34,200. Protesters claim to be showing solidarity with Palestinians there.

However, pro-Israel advocates and other individuals concerned about school safety have brought up instances of anti-Semitism and claimed that universities are promoting intimidation and hate speech.

“Free speech, debate, and nondiscrimination on college campuses are important, in the opinion of the president,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing.

“We think it’s important for individuals to be free to express themselves peacefully. However, we must speak up when we hear offensive language or discuss acts of violence.”

In a statement on Sunday, Biden said that “blatant anti-Semitism” had “no place on college campuses.”

Meanwhile, at Columbia, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson denounced “the virus of anti-Semitism” and demanded the resignation of the university’s president.

“If this is not contained quickly, and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard,” Johnson said.

Four students were killed in a high-profile shooting event in 1970 when Kent State University in Ohio’s National Guard opened fire on demonstrators opposing the Vietnam War.

Videos on social media show hundreds of protestors at the University of Texas engaged in a heated confrontation with mounted state troopers as pro-Palestinian demonstrations have grown in number. Elsewhere on campus, police wearing riot gear have been seen repressing activists.

Washington has had to tread carefully when it comes to backing Israel as Biden seeks reelection in November, given the mounting outrage over the number of deaths in Gaza, particularly among younger Americans.

Following the discovery of mass graves in Gaza, the White House requested “answers” from Israeli authorities on Wednesday. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden authorized billions of dollars in military assistance to its crucial Middle Eastern partner on the same day.

After an extraordinary Hamas onslaught on October 7 that claimed almost 1,170 lives, Israel started the war in Gaza, according to an AFP calculation of Israeli official data.