newYou can listen to the Fox News article!
Freshmen at Columbia University arrived for move-in day this week, but instead of the usual excitement of college life, they found chaos orchestrated by radical student groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Columbia University Abolish Apartheid (CUAD).
The groups distributed a pamphlet titled “Lessons for Occupying a School,” which explained how to occupy a university building.
Special editions of the Columbia Spectator were also distributed to all first-year students. These editions contained propaganda and misinformation, including an article written by CUAD entitled “Welcome to the People’s University of Palestine,” which called on all first-year students to join in protesting Israel on Columbia’s campus this academic year.
A pro-Hamas demonstrator burns an American flag during a protest during the Democratic National Convention, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (Fox News Digital)
They even destroyed balloons and decorations meant to welcome the new students. This aggressive behavior made it clear that the extremism that had plagued the Columbia campus throughout my senior year would continue.
Campus protests reveal support for terrorists, and jihadists cheer them on
The events of this week reflect the extremism I witnessed on April 30, 2024, when the student rioters in my courtyard chanted “Burn down Tel Aviv” and called on Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades to target my friends holding the Israeli flag.
They broke into Hamilton Hall, took cleaning workers hostage, and defaced the building. The left-wing media called them “pro-Palestinian protesters” and the right-wing media called them “anti-Israel protesters,” but no one mentioned the broader issues.
These students were not only anti-Israel, they were also anti-Western: not only did they burn the Israeli flag, they also burned the American flag.
These students are not just pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel, they are anti-American: they hate America as much as they hate Israel, and they want to see Western values destroyed as much as they want Israel to disappear.
Campus occupation guide instructs how to harness agitators’ ‘anger’ and ‘escalate’ unrest
The same extremism was on display outside the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, where an American flag was once again burned. The so-called “pro-Palestinian” movement has become a haven for hatred and extremism.
This week, I had the opportunity to visit Fort Liberty with children’s furniture company Delta Child, where the military base distributed cribs and mattresses donated by Delta to soldiers with young children and those expecting babies.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much to keep our nation safe. They put themselves at risk so that America can remain a beacon of hope and democracy. In return, we believe the least we can do is ensure their babies have a safe place to sleep.
All of this was brought home to me more vividly by a soldier who recently retired after 26 years of service, a man who served in many places during his long career, including Iraq and Afghanistan, where he saw firsthand how deeply anti-American sentiment runs.
What American universities should teach instead of activism
He spoke about his time serving in the Middle East, particularly witnessing American flags being burned during protests in Iraq, and the anger and hatred directed at the United States was palpable.
These were not merely symbolic gestures, but an expression of deep-rooted extremism that sees America and its values as the enemy.
These soldiers have spent years fighting this kind of extremism overseas, risking their lives to keep it from reaching our nation, and now they are witnessing that same flag-burning protest at home, this time on the campus of our most elite university.
The very extremism he fought overseas is now being echoed by protesters at home in our own country.
For more FOX News, click here.
We cannot allow the extremism our troops fight overseas to take root and fester at home. Our troops fight to protect the freedoms we cherish, and we must honor their sacrifice by ensuring that those freedoms are not eroded from within.
There is no place for burning American flags or waving Hamas or Hezbollah flags on American college campuses or in the streets of our cities. Now is the time for us to stand up and fight extremism here with the same force and commitment that our military does overseas.
Click here to get the FOX News app
