No, I don’t believe for a split second that, suddenly, college students all over America really care about the plight of the Palestinians.

I don’t believe this any more than I did when, a few years ago, people around the globe were suddenly concerned about the plight of black Americans when they marched for Black Lives Matter (BLM).

Not a chance.

Instead, this is just the latest manifestation of raging against the machine, of standing up to “the man.”

As expressed by Khymani James, one of the Columbia University anti-Israel protest leaders who is black and identifies as trans, non-binary and queer: Just as, in the past, Haitian revolutionaries had to “kill their masters in order to gain their independence,” it’s the same with Hamas and the Palestinian people today. They, too, must kill their white supremacist masters.

And, he adds, “What is a Zionist? A white supremacist.”

That about sums it up.

To be sure, there are Muslims worldwide who, on some level, stand with the Palestinians, although not when it comes to their home countries absorbing Palestinians into their own societies as equal citizens. And there are students in America who, no doubt, are moved by the images of suffering Palestinian families.

However, these same students were not equally moved by the incredibly graphic images of Israelis massacred by Hamas or by the documented reports of women raped and abused.

Nor have they been moved by the suffering of the more than 130 hostages, including babies, who have been in captivity for more than 200 days, in complete violation of every international or universal standard of ethics.

The protesters’ compassion is not just selective. It is hypocritical and skin deep. And without a doubt, these are not simply pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests. They are pro-Hamas, anti-Jewish protests.

That’s why Muslims demonstrating in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 10, just three days after the slaughter and before Israel had begun its retaliation, were already chanting, “Gas the Jews.”

That’s why, at Princeton University, a Hezbollah flag was found at the anti-Israel encampment.

That’s why protesters at Columbia chanted, “We are Hamas.”

So, on the one hand, as I and others have argued, these protests are just the latest manifestation of antisemitism and have little or nothing to do with compassion for suffering Palestinians.

But there is something else going on, and these protests represent something larger, as did the BLM protests of 2020.

Back in the ’60s and ’70s, it was wearing the Che Guevara t-shirts. He became an iconic, godlike figure, often pictured side by side with Jesus in hippie garb. He made rebellion chic, even violent rebellion. He stood up to the man!

After that, it was the latest iteration of LGBTQ+ Pride, with each wave surpassing the previous wave (accordingly, trans pride now takes precedence over gay pride, which in turn took precedence over black pride or feminist pride, etc.).

In 2020, it was the BLM logo.

Now it’s the keffiyeh or the colors of Hamas.

Terrorism is cool, as long as it’s against the machine—represented by the White European Jew in particular and the university establishment in general.

As Matt Walsh wrote: “Instead of race riots, right on cue, we have this insurgent movement to ‘Free Palestine.’ Which is really just a race riot, repackaged and draped in a green, black and white flag.”

He continued, “These students [at Columbia University], for the most part, don’t necessarily see this as a BLM reboot, but that’s what it is, and that’s what political forces much more powerful than the students are determined to turn it into. Those forces see an opportunity that really has very little to do with Israel or Gaza. And if they succeed, there will be a lot of violence and disruption this year that extends far beyond Columbia and Morningside Heights.”

Hatem Bazian, a lecturer at the University of California, is a prominent leader in a group called Students for Justice for Palestine. He has been quoted as saying: “How come we [Americans] don’t have an intifada in this country?”

Put another way, “On with the uprising! Bring the intifada home!”

This is what underlies the spirit of these protests, a spirit that claims to stand for the oppressed but instead stands for uprising, for the overthrowing of authority and, ultimately, for murderous, barbaric evil.

Scripture has strong words about situations like this: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20, ESV).

We should not be surprised when those who do not know Christ are deceived into thinking of evil as good. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV).

But we must point out the monstrous hatred behind the spirit of the student protests. It is a spirit encapsulated by the words of Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad, spoken last November: “We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do it again and again. The [Oct. 7 onslaught] is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth. Will we have to pay a price? Yes, and we are ready to pay it. We are called a nation of martyrs, and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs.”

Enough, then, with the pious platitudes of the protesters (putting aside those who sincerely care). They are standing with evil. They are playing with fire. Eventually, they will be burned.  ©2024 Michael Brown

This article is adapted from an article that first appeared at TheLineOfFire.org on April 29.

Michael Brown, Ph.D., is an international speaker and the author of more than 40 books. 

Above: Pro-Palestinian students at NYU walked out of school on April 23 and held a rally calling on the school to divest from companies that do business with Israel.

Photo: Steve Sanchez / Sipa USA via AP