U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) attends a press conference at Columbia University in response to demonstrators supporting Palestinians as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues in New York City, U.S. did. , April 24, 2024.
David Dee Delgado | Reuters
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) used edgy words while battling a chorus of boos from the crowd during a speech at Columbia University on Wednesday condemning the ongoing student protests against Israel’s bombing of Gaza. I had a hard time getting it.
“Enjoy free speech” johnson He paused his prepared remarks to wait for the jeers to subside, and said curtly.
Columbia University’s campus has been frozen in controversy since student protesters protesting the war in Gaza set up a tent encampment on April 17.
The demonstrations drew national attention amid reports of anti-Semitic speech targeting Jewish students and following comments from Colombian President Nemat Minouche. Shafik On Thursday, he authorized the New York Police Department to clear tent encampments.
Colombian Justice Students in PalestineGroups that helped organize the protests said any hate speech did not come from protesters, but from “incendiary individuals who do not represent us.”
In a speech on Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on Shafiq to resign if the protests cannot be brought under control.
Johnson added that he plans to urge President Joe Biden to take executive action against the protests if necessary, adding, “If this isn’t contained quickly and these threats and intimidation aren’t stopped, the National Guard The right time will come.”
As he told reporters on Monday, Biden has so far condemned both reported anti-Semitism and “people who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.” .
Mr Johnson’s speech on Wednesday came hours after Mr Biden formally signed the long-awaited foreign aid bill for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, which had been effectively shelved in the House of Commons for weeks due to political deadlock.
The measure was reinstated largely because Johnson said the foreign aid bill would be put to a vote in the House on Saturday, despite threats of exclusion from hard-line members of his party, including Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. This is based on the decision of the Prime Minister. The foreign aid bill passed the House of Representatives on Saturday and received formal approval in the Senate late Tuesday night.
After more than a week of bipartisan cooperation with Democrats to pass the aid bill, Johnson’s Columbia speech appeared to be an attempt to shore up his conservative bona fides against his hard-line Republican colleagues. Ta.
Speakers included Representative Virginia Foxx (RN.C.), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Representative Mike Lawler (RN.Y.).
“My message to students in the garrison is, ‘Get back to class,'” Johnson said. “Please stop wasting your parents’ money.”
