Pro-Palestinian or Anti-American?

What is motivating college students' protests?

Over the past week, college students across the nation have been protesting Israel in support of Palestine. 47 of the top 50 universities have held protests and many others have occurred on campuses across the country, including at Texas State University where I teach. Unlike the peaceful sit-in at Texas State, many of these protests have turned violent or become criminal by damaging public property, taking over school buildings, preventing Jewish students from attending class, and physical violence.

On the surface, these protests are motivated by the Israeli Defense Force’s destruction of Gaza resulting in the death of thousands of innocent civilians. Protestors call for a cease-fire and they are asking for their colleges to divest from companies that support or do business with Israel. Looking deeper, the motivations behind these protests are much more nefarious.

In addition to reports from NYC Mayor Eric Adams and others that many of the protestors are non-student agitators, these mobs have replaced American flags with Palestinian flags, defaced statues of George Washington and other noted American leaders, called for Intifada against Jews, shouted support for the terrorist organization Hamas, and even called for the Death of America.

Fox and Friends reporter Lawrence Jones interviewed one protestor in NYC who claimed that Jewish students feeling threatened was a “false narrative” and even went as far as claiming the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Jewish people was a “false narrative.” This outright denial of facts can only be attributed to a sense of Jewish and Western hatred that prevents rational thought about events that are well documented.

In a telling video, Ami Horowitz went onto the campus of City College of New York carrying an American Flag. He was immediately accosted, his flag stolen, and despite saying, “I’m an American” over and over along with holding up his hands, he was repeatedly pushed, punched, kicked, and at least one protestor attempted to strangle him before police intervened.

As a college instructor, this behavior is not that shocking. Many college instructors, especially those at “elite” universities, hold anti-American views and espouse critical theory, a skewed version of American (and Israeli) history, and rail against settler colonialism as if Western societies are the only ones ever guilty of violence or oppression.

While the police have been arresting the protestors and breaking up the encampments, we must understand that the anti-American and anti-Western rhetoric will continue to foment hatred against our institutions among college students. Those who recognize the exceptionalism of the philosophy of the American way of life need to stand up and push back against this narrative or we risk greater uprisings and more violence as tens of thousands of young people are exposed to these destructive ideas each year. The future of our country depends on it.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” — Ronald Reagan