White House says it will combat antisemitism at colleges

FULL DISCLOSURE: My father's mother was a Polish Jew. She married a Catholic Italian in Yonkers.

A few days ago at Cooper Union college in New York City, a group of Jewish students huddled inside a locked library as pro-Palestine protesters banged on the window. "For approximately 10 minutes, they were banging on the door of the library," one NYPD official said. "When Cooper Union staff anticipated the protesting students' departure, they closed the library doors for approximately 20 minutes so that the protesting students would not bring the protest into the library," a Cooper Union official told CBS News. "The library doors were never locked."

Jewish students at Cornell were advised to avoid the kosher dining hall out of an "abundance of caution" due to online threats, Cornell Hillel's mission wrote online over the weekend.

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But Jewish students at Columbia University said on Monday that they are afraid in a way they weren't before.

"We know now that there are students in our class that simply hate us because we're Jewish," Eli Shmidman, a law student at Columbia, told CBS News.

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The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security are also working with campus police departments to track hate-related rhetoric, which includes rising Islamophobia as well.

Earlier this month, President Biden said he'd directed the departments "to prioritize the prevention and disruption of any emerging threats that could harm Jewish, Muslim, Arab American, or any other communities during this time."

"My Administration will continue to fight Antisemitism and Islamophobia," Mr. Biden added.

Comments

[antigon]

Curious, if I may, TF, & if you know: was your paternal grandmother baptized?

And is the assumption your father was, a valid one?

Also, in passing, don't see how you reconcile your past (& current?) association with Pax Christi, & forever & everywhere war hungry Haley.

Et: granting Trump's many failures - Fauci, the vax poison, failing to pardon Assange & Snowden, etc. - do you think his promise, if elected, to pardon your friend Joan Bell the very day he assumes office is a bogus one?

If not, do you know of any other candidate who has made that promise?

[tom faranda]

Ricardo all interesting questions. My Dad's mother attended Mass, went to communion and was actually quite devout. A convert. I wasn't around to see her baptized but presumably she was, nor would I be around when my father would have been baptized.

I was never a card carrying member of Pax Christi - Brigid and I have attended their annual Good Friday Stations of the Cross going back at least 30 years. Very few misses on that. I am sympathetic and supportive of many of the goals of Pax Christi.

I think describing Haley as "war hungry" is more than a little over the top.

I'm not sure, but possible DeSantis re:the pardons? No idea otherwise.

I am supportive of most of the Republican candidates, especially Tim Scott and Nikki Haley (think a Haley/Scott, Scott/Haley ticket would win easily), but really do not follow the minutia of republican candidate's policy statements.

[antigon]

Was rather moved to read about your papa & his mama, & offered a prayer for both. Suppose you know Heather Adoni of the Garland9 is also a baptized ethnic ebreo.

Meantime, since you won't find a war Mrs. Haley isn't keen on (for other people's children to fight of course, not hers), must hold me characterization precise rather than exaggerated.

And am confident Lifesite & others would've noticed had any other candidate besides Trump promised to pardon Joan.

Thus inasmuch as your friend will almost certainly get a 10-year sentence, have to propose that's not quite minutia.

So let's hypothesize that she does, & that only Trump promises to pardon her. And if elected that Scott, Haley, etc., not wanting to appear extremist, would not. All realistic possibilities.

Thus provoking another query: Despite your presumably favoring a pardon & so opposing these others failure to do so, do you think their other policies, all things considered, are worth leaving Joan in jail for a decade (& given her age not impossibly to die there)?

[tom faranda]

I think the ten year "conspiracy" charge will eventually be reversed. It's absurd. So your hypothetical is just that - hypothetical.

As far as Haley goes, her husband was adopted and he served in Afghanistan after they were married. I expect they'd have no problem having their children in the military.

On Monday I had a routine (every 6 month) visit with my Sloan Kettering oncologist. He is Jewish and I asked him if any of his family or colleagues had been directly affected bythe Middle East catastrophe. He siad family no, but colleagues yes, and his son's best friend had been recalled to Israel (presumably to the military). He said "there's no right answer" to which Brigid and I both agreed.

[antigon]

'I think the ten year "conspiracy" charge will eventually be reversed. It's absurd.' - TF

Agreed, as to the absurdity, which save possibly for a brief time after the Civil War, has never been applied until now, & that solely against the Garland9 & other rescuers.

Yet since a reversal is far from guaranteed, TF, must suggest your dodging me chief question is imperfectly admirable; not least as hypotheticals are fair to posit, especially when, as in this case, they are at least plausible.

So while suppose you'll keep dodging, hope otherwise. And if otherwise, I ask again:

Should all other hopes fail, & only Trump will release Joan from a decade & not impossibly death in prison, do you think the policies of other candidates, all things considered, are worth leaving Joan to that fate?

[tom faranda]

Joan will not be left to that fate. Yes and I think all of the politically inspired imprisonments will be exonerated/reprieved/released regardless of which republican is elected.

Your question is in the class of "If you had to commit one serious/mortal sin to save the planet from being smashed by an asteroid, would you?"