Jonathan S. Tobin
JNS, Mar. 10, 2025
“,,, the side in this dispute that seeks to violate free speech and academic freedom were those in the pro-Hamas mobs, egged on by administrations that coddled and enabled them, who were violating the rights of Jewish students and faculty.”
At a time when partisanship influences virtually every aspect of American life, we shouldn’t be surprised when even the most anodyne governmental actions are not merely opposed but labeled as authoritarian tyranny. That’s especially true when it comes to anything done by President Donald Trump.
In a saner political era, the administration’s decision to pull funding from Columbia University over its tolerance of Jew-hatred could be understood in its proper context and easily seen as both constitutional and entirely necessary. The same is true of the arrest last week of Mahmoud Khalil, a foreign national who was one of the organizers of the harassment of Jews on Columbia’s campus, by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In 2025, seeking to roll back the damage the far left’s grip on the education system has done to the country and the way it has fueled antisemitism is not merely controversial but depicted by leading liberal news outlets as outright tyranny. These actions are being challenged by many in politics and the media, as well as cited as the latest examples of what they falsely claim is Trump’s push to end democracy and replace it with authoritarian rule…..SOURCE