Representative Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat from Florida, has warned his party against remaining silent in the face of left-wing student activism that involves antisemitic protests on college campuses across America. He made this statement during an appearance on ‘Your World’ and emphasized that antisemitism must be condemned regardless of whether it comes from right or left wings, referencing incidents like the one in Charlottesville in 2017 where neo-Nazi protesters were widely criticised for their behaviour. However, during anti-Israel protests at various college campuses Moskowitz claims there has been less condemnation as a result of more diverse participants which range from different ages and backgrounds who chant slogans such as “kill all the Zionists” or tell Jews to ‘go back to Poland’. In contrast, when similar events occurred in Charlottesville two years ago, people on both sides were widely condemned. Moskowitz also criticised some Democrats for playing a tribal game and remaining silent about antisemitism that occurs within their own party as opposed to calling it out immediately.
Moskowitz has previously warned Columbia University President Minouche Shafik over what he feels was indecision surrounding how exactly student actions contravened university policies regarding hate speech, especially in the light of anti-Jewish sentiment on campus. Moskowitz highlighted that Harvard and UPenn couldn’t provide clear definitions as to whether such activities were considered violations against their respective codes of conduct, leading to them no longer occupying leadership roles within these universities because of it. At Columbia University itself, when Shafik asked protesters to disperse previously this did not happen; Moskowitz now believes that university policies should be enforced more strictly in order to combat the vitriolic demonstrations and tent-filled sit-ins which have plagued such colleges. In particular, he contended antisemitic protest sentiment was becoming an increasing issue a decade ago during discussions on BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions).
Moskowitz also argued that universities could avoid allowing “colourable activities”, using an event titled “Gaza’s Great Return March” as an example. He claimed this protest devolved into chants such as ‘bomb Tel Aviv’, at which point the protesters were no longer participating in a legitimate demonstration but instead engaging in antisemitic activity that should be dealt with by university authorities, who he believes must enforce their codes of conduct regardless or how loud anti-Jewish protests are on campus. Furthermore, Moskowitz claimed those individuals occupying college premises engaged in these activities ought to face removal from the campuses themselves if administrators fail to act against them; alternatively they should consider resigning.
In an unrelated matter during a previous exchange between himself and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Moskowitz had criticised Senator Bernie Sanders’ stance on “Netanyahu’s war machine”, after which she claimed he was mistaken to believe that the Jewish values of her colleague stemmed from his commitment ‘to protecting innocents in Gaza’, due largely because this approach comes about as a direct result of both Senators being Jewish and having family members who were killed during Nazi genocide. Moskowitz responded by stating that, like Ocasio-Cortez, he also lost relatives to the Holocaust; however, they should avoid engaging in such behaviour going forward since ‘we are better than doing this here’.
Moskowitz began his Passover festivities at Columbia University rather than with family members back home due to a desire to stand alongside Jewish students there.
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