University campus protests encapsulate a moment of febrile divisiveness where nuance is too often lost
In the fog of a time which feels deeply discombobulating for so many groups of people, it’s vital to see and hear what’s going on up close.
It’s a fearful time for many. Positions are entrenched, views are polarised and emotions are very high.
And in that environment, issues can be conflated, judgements can be rash and deeply complex issues can be condensed to their simplest, most digestible form.
There are a multitude of prisms through which people see things. Nuance is too often lost.
Columbia University on New York City’s upper west side is one of America’s most prestigious institutions.
It’s one of a number of Ivy League schools where protests against Israel’s war in Gaza have become a national issue confounding the police and splintering the politicians.
Those who look for nuance end up tied in knots as they seek balance.
“I condemn the antisemitic protests…” President Biden said in his latest comments on the growing movement, adding: “I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians, and their, how they’re being…”
He failed to finish his sentence. There is an election coming. Being unequivocal, either way, isn’t an option.
From a surface level, some have concluded that all the student protesters are antisemitic terrorist sympathisers and/or all the vocal counter-protesters are genocide-condoning colonialist monsters. Of course neither is true.
What I saw from my albeit limited, allotted time on the Columbia campus was a spectrum.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have created an encampment in the quadrangle of Columbia University
Hollywood star blasts ‘lowlife scumbags’
There was the young Lebanese-American woman who wouldn’t bring herself to condemn Hamas. There was the young American man who just wanted “the genocide to end”.
There was the British professor of Middle Eastern history who sought to provide the context of a conflict stretching back so many years. And there were Jewish students whose message for Israel was “not in my name”.
The thrust of their demands was for the university to cut all links with Israel and to divest financially.
At a time when definitions are condensed, their views would, by some but not all, be interpreted as antisemitic or, in the case of the Jewish students, self-hating.
One Jewish-American politician, Bruce Blakeman, speaking on the street outside the campus, declared angrily: “They are traitors.”
Alongside him was actor and comedian Michael Rapaport who described the campus encampment protesters as: “bullies, cowards, and pathetic lowlife scumbags”.
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Hollywood actor Michael Rapaport joined pro-Israel demonstrations outside the university
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It is a deeply depressing statement of fact that some Jewish students and professors do not feel safe on their own campuses.
Shai Davidai, an assistant professor at Columbia Business School, wrote on X: “Earlier today, Columbia University refused to let me onto campus. Why? Because they cannot protect my safety as a Jewish professor. This is 1938.”
We are at another moment of febrile divisiveness and division where extremes are amplified and fear is visceral.
Slogans are interpreted as genocidal and they are compounded by the violent threats of a minority.
What was my campus takeaway, as an observer with no alliances but also no visual identifier – a kippah or a keffiyeh – to attract the potential ire of one side or the other?
Well, the prevailing vibe within my snapshot of the campus spectrum, which by definition has its extremes, was one of tolerance, with a call for an end to all killing and to occupation.
It did not chime with the way the university president had framed the situation just days ago: “A clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the university.”
Pro-Israel demonstrators in New York
President Minouche Shafik, who is British-American-Egyptian and a member of the UK House of Lords, chose to call in the police last week to tackle the growing protest movement.
She had, the Associated Press reported, “focused her message on fighting antisemitism rather than protecting free speech”.
The thorny line between free speech and hate speech is a judgment so often left to the police.
It’s important to note that the police chief overseeing the Columbia arrests last week later said: “The students that were arrested were peaceful, offered no resistance whatsoever, and were saying what they wanted to say in a peaceful manner.”
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside Columbia University
Yet, in this febrile and condensed moment, they can be all of those things and, to the beholder, be antisemitic too.
At the heart of all this is the challenge of how to moderate the conversation; how to keep it moderate, when that now seems to be so open to interpretation.
As I write, news is emerging of more arrests, this time at another of the city’s universities, NYU. It is prompting angry reactions.
“NYU’s administration tonight joined the shameful list of US universities that called the police to arrest their own students and faculty for protesting against an ongoing genocide”, NYU professor Mohamad Bazzi posted on X.
Clara Weiss, the National Secretary of IYSSE, a student social equality movement wrote: “The Biden admin and the Democratic admin of NY and NYC have all backed a state crackdown but protests against the #Gazagenocide continue to grow and expand.”
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Michael Gerber has spoken of the challenges in policing such demonstrations
I asked NYPD Deputy Commissioner Michael Gerber to characterise the challenge.
“It’s a great and important question,” he said.
“Determining when something goes from protected speech to unprotected speech can be very context specific; can require a lot of nuance. And you’re right, you have to make calls on a daily basis, making judgment calls. We’re doing it to the very best of our ability. [The] stakes are high, there’s no question about that.”
It is, then, a balance between respecting free speech and restricting it.
It’s about finding the right tools to allow for a sober, objective deciphering of the red line which lies between free speech and hate speech.
The King has written to former US president Joe Biden after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, Buckingham Palace said
The monarch, who is undergoing his own treatment for an undisclosed cancer, hosted the 82-year-old for tea and talks at Windsor in July 2023.
Mr Biden was diagnosed on Friday, with tests revealing the cancer had spread to his bones.
The former president posted an image of himself and his wife Jill on X on Monday and wrote: “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
The King and Joe Biden at Windsor Castle in July 2023. Pic: Reuters
The King’s letter comes after British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “very sorry to hear President Biden has prostate cancer”.
“All the very best to Joe, his wife Jill and their family, and wishing the President swift and successful treatment,” he added.
Meanwhile US President Donald Trump said he was “saddened” by the news, adding: “We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
Former US president Barack Obama said: “Michelle and I are thinking of the entire Biden family.
“Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace. We pray for a fast and full recovery.”
Read more: Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive’ form of prostate cancer
Barack Obama (right) with Joe Biden at a campaign event in 2022. File pic: Reuters
After a poor debate performance against Mr Trump and amid escalating concerns around his age and fitness to serve, Mr Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election race and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
Ms Harris wrote on X after his diagnosis: “We are keeping him, Dr. Biden, and their entire family in our hearts and prayers during this time.
“Joe is a fighter – and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership. We are hopeful for a full and speedy recovery.”
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Mr Biden’s diagnosis: What we know
Former US president Bill Clinton wrote on social media: “My friend Joe Biden’s always been a fighter. Hillary and I are rooting for him and are keeping him, Jill, and the entire family in our thoughts.”
Hillary Clinton, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2016, said she was “thinking of the Bidens as they take on cancer, a disease they’ve done so much to try to spare other families from”.
Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson said it was “sad news” and his family “will be joining the countless others who are praying” for Mr Biden.
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Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi described Mr Biden as a “great American patriot” and said she was “praying for him to have strength and a swift recovery”.
Mr Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, wrote on social media that he and his wife were “united in prayer for the Biden Family during this difficult time”.
Politicians have sent messages of support to Joe Biden, who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The 82-year-old, who is the oldest person to ever serve as US president, was described as a “fighter” with people wishing him a “fast and full recovery”.
US President Donald Trump said he was “saddened” by the news, adding: “We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
Former US president Barack Obama said: “Michelle and I are thinking of the entire Biden family.
“Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace. We pray for a fast and full recovery.”
Read more: Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive’ form of prostate cancer
Barack Obama (right) with Joe Biden at a campaign event in 2022. File pic: Reuters
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “very sorry to hear President Biden has prostate cancer”.
“All the very best to Joe, his wife Jill and their family, and wishing the President swift and successful treatment,” he added.
After a poor debate performance against Mr Trump and amid escalating concerns for his health, Mr Biden withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
Ms Harris wrote on X: “We are keeping him, Dr. Biden, and their entire family in our hearts and prayers during this time.
“Joe is a fighter – and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership. We are hopeful for a full and speedy recovery.”
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Mr Biden’s diagnosis: What we know
Former US president Bill Clinton wrote on social media: “My friend Joe Biden’s always been a fighter. Hillary and I are rooting for him and are keeping him, Jill, and the entire family in our thoughts.”
Hillary Clinton, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2016, said she was “thinking of the Bidens as they take on cancer, a disease they’ve done so much to try to spare other families from”.
Speaker of the US House Of Representatives Mike Johnson said it was “sad news” and his family “will be joining the countless others who are praying” for Mr Biden.
Read more from Sky News:
UK and EU sign reset deal – live updates
Gary Lineker to leave BBC next week
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi described Mr Biden as a “great American patriot” and said she was “praying for him to have strength and a swift recovery”.
Mr Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, wrote on social media he and his wife were “united in prayer for the Biden Family during this difficult time”.
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