Where Is Our Justice Department?

 The pro-Hamas protests are spreading like wildfire across American university campuses. The Jew-hatred that these protests routinely feature is beyond sickening. Columbia, Yale, NYU, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley. One university president after another loses control of his or her campus to radical mobs, made up of extremist Muslims, Antifa types, and just plain old indoctrinated zombies, who have been led to believe that Israel is some sort of genocidal state. And it's not just the despicable groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), and others; there are also many  university professors egging the students on. Just recently, in the face of the October atrocities carried out by Hamas, professors around the nation are forming Faculty for Justice in Palestine chapters to support SJP.

The mobs occupying places like Columbia, USC, and UCLA are made up partly of students and professors, as well as outside activists. Like moths to flame, the far left of America is joining together to back the terrorists of Hamas and trash not only Israel, but our country as well.

As a veteran of these campus conflicts, I respect the principle of free speech. I have engaged in some spirited discussions with certain people I consider anti-Semites, but I have never engaged in disruption or intimidation. There are legitimate protocols to be followed, and the orders of police have to be followed. If they are in error, that can be hashed out later. Unfortunately, the spirit of free speech and civil dialogue does not mean anything to the pro-Hamas crowd. They do not respect free speech as it applies to those they disagree with. For years, they have been disrupting Jewish events on campus and bullying Jewish students. Now it has reached new heights. 

Disrupting speaking events of others is not free speech. Implicitly or explicitly calling for the murder of Jews is not free speech. Engaging in bullying and intimidation is not free speech. Occupying public space and closing it off to others (like Jewish students) is not free speech. Obstructing and disrupting the operations of the university is not free speech. Those students who engage in such activities should be suspended or expelled. If any crime whatsoever has been committed, there should be criminal charges. Any foreign students here on student visas engaged in disruptive behavior on our campuses should be expelled and deported.

This week, the University of Texas at Austin called in police to remove protesters from the campus. That should be the template. But it is not just the campus police and local police who should be involved. The federal law enforcement agencies should be involved. Make no mistake: There is subversive activity involved in all this. I do not believe for a minute that this is just grassroots students and faculty responding to what is happening in Gaza. As stated, it is clear that many of these protesters are not students. There is an organization to all this, and you would have be naive not to believe that this organization reaches across state lines. That's where the federal government comes in. News reports are now emerging claiming that good old George Soros is pumping his dirty money into this. I have no independent knowledge or proof, but if I were a betting man, I know where I would place my bets.

If, indeed, there is an organized movement afoot to sow violence and hate on our campuses, to encourage people to attack Jews or break laws, then the appropriate federal law enforcement agencies should get involved. Yes, that means our trusty Justice Department under Merrick Garland, if he can pull himself away from tracking down everybody that was in Washington DC on January 6, 2021 and parents protesting at school board meetings. That means the FBI, if they can pull themselves away from investigating Trump. Where appropriate, the immigration authorities and Homeland Security have a role to play if any foreign students are involved. (I am not suggesting that foreign students are the main problem.)

I am not calling for a Gestapo-type roundup of the usual suspects. Those protesting within the boundaries of the law and the rules of the university can enjoy their right to protest peacefully and without disruption to the operations of the university. 

Nor am I advocating necessarily for new laws to crack down on protesters. Just enforce the laws we already have on the books. If people are coming together to conspire to break federal laws, we have a federal conspiracy statute to deal with that (under Title 18 of the US Code, section 371). 

Imagine, if you will, that black students on our university campuses were being subjected to what our Jewish students are being subjected to. Is there any doubt that the Justice Department would have rightly launched civil rights investigations? We would have already seen indictments and prosecutions by now.

To reiterate: People have the right to peacefully protest Israel's war in Gaza and demand a cease-fire. They do not have the right to break laws and take over university campuses interfering with the operations of the universities. Some will argue that arresting people and using force will just lead to more protests and more disorder. That is likely true. But doing nothing is just resulting in the same increase in disruptions. We cannot allow mobs to rule our campuses. It is time to enforce our laws, and it is time for our university administrators to enforce the rules of civilized conduct on their campuses.