Anti-Israel Campus Protesters Demand Special Privileges Then Play Victim
“They don’t want to have to live by the rules that everybody else lives by, whether it’s disrupting the library, whether it’s blocking campus flow of pedestrians, whether it’s blocking entrances. And as soon as you enforce the rules that everybody else needs to live by, they start playing victim.”
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I was interviewed by Fox News Digital about campus discipline against anti-Israel protesters, in the context of over a dozen NYU students being suspended.
The good news is that I got a chance to talk about the special privileges anti-Israel protesters demand. The bad news is that I looked horrible for the video interview, the hair, the lighting – it was all off. I was thinking of only posting the audio.
Here are excerpts from the article, Elite university attended by Trump’s son cracks down on left-wing student agitators;
Almost a dozen students have been suspended for a year from New York University (NYU) for demanding divestment from Israel as President Donald Trump’s no-nonsense approach to higher education takes hold.
“I think the key thing, and it seems to be going on at NYU, is not that schools come down hard on particular students, is that they enforce the rules evenly,” Cornell University professor William Jacobson told Fox News Digital. “The problem with the anti-Israel protesters on campuses is they don’t want to obey the existing rules. They don’t want to have to live by the rules that everybody else lives by. Whether it’s disrupting the library, whether it’s blocking the campus flow of pedestrians.
“And as soon as you enforce the rules that everybody else needs to live by, they start playing victim,” he said….
Jacobson said that he believes that the Trump administration will require universities to “insist that the rules be adhered to.”
“And those rules mean you cannot create hostile environments for certain religious groups or certain ethnic groups. And what we’ve seen on many campuses is that, particularly pro-Israel students, Jewish students are being targeted by these groups. They create so-called Zionist-free zones on campus. Well, it’s not your right to do that,” he said.
“I’m hoping that the Trump administration’s Department of Education, to a greater extent than the Biden administration’s Department of Education, will look at these things and will treat these students according to the rules and not give them special privileges like they’ve been used to so far,” he said.
Transcript auto-generated, may contain transcription errors (video previously edited)
I think the key thing, and it seems to be going on at NYU, is not that schools come down hard on particular students, is that they enforce the rules evenly.
The problem with the anti-Israel protesters on campuses is they don’t want to obey the existing rules. They don’t want to have to live by the rules that everybody else lives by, whether it’s disrupting the library, whether it’s blocking campus flow of pedestrians, whether it’s blocking entrances.
And as soon as you enforce the rules that everybody else needs to live by, they start playing victim. And that’s really the problem.
So I’m not in favor or not in favor of, quote unquote cracking down on these anti-Israel protestors. I would like schools though, to evenly apply the rules to them that get applied to everybody else.
And they say, well, where are the pro-Israel protestors getting written up on charges like we are?
Well, pro-Israel protestors aren’t blocking entrances to buildings. They’re not taking over administrative offices. They’re not marching through the library with bullhorns when students are trying to study. So the reason it might seem like it’s an unfair application is that it’s being applied fairly, but you are the only ones who are violating the rules.
And that’s what I think we need to hope for. And I, that’s something that I’ve always focused on is that I’m a firm believer in campus free speech, but campus free speech does not mean disrupting other people. There are limits to what you’re able to do. And we’ve seen it at Cornell, we’ve seen it at many other campuses, that they want special rules for them.
But not giving you special privileges that other people don’t have is not prejudicial to you. It’s not treating you unfairly, it’s not silencing your speech. It’s simply treating you fairly.
And people who are used to getting privileges. And frankly, I blame a lot of the faculty for this at NYU at Cornell and elsewhere, the faculty are very frequently the instigators of this conduct. The faculty are the ones telling the students, you can do whatever you want, and if you get punished, you’re the victim. Well, that’s not the case.
And so I think that the new administration is going to insist that the rules be adhered to. And those rules mean you cannot create hostile environments for certain religious groups or certain ethnic groups. And what we’ve seen on many campuses is that particularly pro-Israel students, Jewish students are being targeted by these groups.
They create so-called Zionist free zones on campus. Well, it’s not your right to do that, okay? Not your right to do that. Particularly when when you do that, you know exactly what you’re doing. You’re excluding Jewish students.
Now, not all Zionists are Jewish. There are many Christian Zionists. Vut the fact of the matter is, as a percentage, if you target Zionists on a college campus in the U.S. you are targeting mostly Jewish students. Everybody knows that don’t play dumb. We are not dumb. We know exactly what you’reDoing doing.
So I’m hoping that the Trump administration to a greater extent than the Biden Administration Department of Education, will look at these things and recognize the reality of it, and not buy into the notion, oh, well, we’re just targeting Zionists, we’re not targeting Jews.
So I hope the Trump administration will treat these students according to the rules and not give them special privileges like they’ve been used to so far.
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Comments
Well-stated, as per usual, Professor Jacobson.
Demanding special privileges and then playing victim isn’t restricted to one side.
Current multiple examples across the university landscape please? Anything?
This is the start to Hardin’s usual anti-Jew screed. I don’t get why he’s tolerated among civilized people.
The whole idea of colleges is to go there to learn and exchange ideas. I never got this chance, for many reasons, tough I was pretty smart in everything but math. Really wanted to go but simply never got the opportunity. Now I see these idiots wasting the chance they have on nothing but un-reasoned hate, and am astounded by it.
They don’t deserve the opportunity they have, if they are going to waste it like this. If you are not going to spend your time trying to learn something, then make room for someone that will. The people that are running these places should remove these trouble makers as fast as possible with no tolerance, and make an example of them with a quickness, and allow others the chance to make something of themselves, that will actually use it to study and be useful members of this country.
They don’t deserve the opportunity they have, if they are going to waste it like this. SPOT ON
Whenever I see footage of the ‘protesters’ I see almost a uniquely homogenous group of bitter, unhappy and physically unattractive folks. Just my observation.
I’m all for deporting any of them who are here on student visas. We have enough to deal with without this nonsense. Either come here to study, and abide by the rules that apply to all, or go home–it’s really that simple
In most other countries your visa is revoked if you get involved in violence. Supporting terrorists is violence.