Israel’s Diaspora Minister Slams Antisemitic Campus Protests
Apr 26, 2024 1:55:28 GMT -5
Post by ExquisiteGerbil on Apr 26, 2024 1:55:28 GMT -5
Israel’s Diaspora Minister Slams Antisemitic U.S. Campus Protests as ‘Nightmare of America’
JOSHUA KLEIN
25 Apr 2024
Current antisemitic protests on U.S. campuses are “horrifying” and “the worst that we’ve seen since the 30s,” according to Israel’s Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, who described the “orchestrated, organized, [and] funded” demonstrations as the “nightmare” of America and Western civilization, arguing that supporters of Hamas are enemies of both.
He also lamented the Biden administration’s continuous pressure against Israel while insisting the president’s appeasement of Tehran and removal of sanctions was a “tragic mistake” that allowed for Hamas and other Iranian proxy groups to obtain more weapons and destabilize the Middle East.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News on Thursday, Chikli described the “delicate” state of the current relationship between the Jewish state and the Biden administration, noting that while it appeared strong following the October 7 massacre, it seems to have dwindled since.
“We were all moved by President Biden’s speech that was made at the beginning of the war [describing the] ‘sheer evil’ [of Hamas]. We saw America standing with us. But as time went by, it became more and more complicated,” he told Breitbart News on the sidelines of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Hungary 2024.
“Horrifying” Antisemitic Campus Protests
Chikli, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, called out Biden’s recent moral confusion whereby his condemnation of antisemitic protests on college campuses — which Chikli described as both “horrifying” and “the worst that we’ve seen since the 30s” — was coupled with a criticism of “those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
“To me, that was very, very disappointing because I think that this antisemitism, the harassment against Jewish students, the support of Hamas, the calling for global intifada — which is calling for bloodshed and violence — is something that you need to be against, period,” he said.
Highlighting a series of decisive moves taken by the Biden administration against supposedly rampant Israeli settler violence in recent weeks, he noted that, unfortunately, the “clear voice” from the U.S. administration that was first heard after October 7 is no longer heard.
“We want a clear voice and [not] ‘we are against Hamas, but also against some settlers or a farmer in the middle of Samaria [the West Bank]’ – as if [Hamas’ murderous brutality] was the equivalent to ‘settler violence,’” he said, mocking the sanctioning of a handful of Israelis because a “leftist organization who made a video [attempting to] parallel [minor Israeli actions] to the atrocities of Hamas.”
“This is insane!” he added.
In November, President Joe Biden directed top aides to craft visa bans and sanctions specifically targeting “extremist” Israeli settlers. However, critics argue that reports of Israeli settler violence are exaggerated or misconstrued, often relying on unsubstantiated reports, biased NGOs, and minimal evidence to portray a distorted narrative.
“Shift” in the Democrat Party
However, he stated, the current issues should stand beyond any conflict between conservatives and liberals, who actually share some basic values, such as the “cherishing” of life and freedom.
“There is a common ground between liberals and conservatives, and we are losing this mutual ground, and I think it is far deeper and more dangerous than their relationship with Israel,” he said, calling it a “threat to the future of America [and] Western civilization.
“This is bigger than us,” he added. “This is bigger than this moment.”
Noting that Israel also has “true friends” in the Democratic Party, including Rep. Ritchie Torres, who has taken “bold leadership” in standing with Israel, he explained that when it comes to a “true policy on the ground,” there has been a “shift” in the Biden administration and the Democrat Party, specifically on the issue of Rafah — Hamas’s last remaining stronghold — where the Biden administration “put so much pressure” on Israel, instead of on Hamas and Qatar.
TOPSHOT - US President Joe Biden joins Israel's Prime Minister for the start of the Israeli war cabinet meeting, in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. US President Joe Biden landed in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023 as Middle East anger flared after hundreds were killed when a rocket struck a hospital in war-torn Gaza, with Israel and the Palestinians quick to trade blame. (Photo by Miriam Alster / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MIRIAM ALSTER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. President Joe Biden joins Israel’s Prime Minister for the start of the Israeli war cabinet meeting, in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (MIRIAM ALSTER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
He then explained that there is no “middle path” between supporting western, Judeo-Christian values and the State of Israel on one hand, and the radical ideology of Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib on the other.
“If you support Hamas, you’re not [just] an enemy of the state of Israel, you’re an enemy of America … [and] of Western civilization as a whole,” he said
Expressing his belief that most people understand Israel and the existential threats it faces, he argued that “there will be a backlash” to the threats to Jewish students and professors taking place on campuses in the U.S. due to radical pro-Palestinian activists:
There will be a backlash to this violence, this hatred, this disgusting treatment of Jewish students who have done nothing wrong. And also the fact that people cannot go to the university. Forget about the Jews, Israel, Palestine — forget about all of it. Just ordinary students who want to learn science, they’ve done nothing wrong. And the campuses were conquered by this Muslim Brotherhood organization. We are seeing similar tent [encampments], similar slogans. It’s all orchestrated, organized, funded, and we know the organizations. We know CAIR, we know Linda Sarsour, we know SJP, we know [American] Muslims for Palestine. We know all of the organizations. And I hope the Americans will also learn the nature of these organizations who are trying to play themselves as friendly but are the nightmare of America and the nightmare of Western civilization. Obviously, they are enemies of Israel and enemies of Jewish people, but this is far far beyond the State of Israel and the Jews.
He also criticized Ilhan Omar for stating she was “enormously proud” of her daughter, Isra Hirsi, who was suspended last week from Barnard for being involved with the unauthorized “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” that was later dismantled by officers with the NYPD.
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JOSHUA KLEIN
25 Apr 2024
Current antisemitic protests on U.S. campuses are “horrifying” and “the worst that we’ve seen since the 30s,” according to Israel’s Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, who described the “orchestrated, organized, [and] funded” demonstrations as the “nightmare” of America and Western civilization, arguing that supporters of Hamas are enemies of both.
He also lamented the Biden administration’s continuous pressure against Israel while insisting the president’s appeasement of Tehran and removal of sanctions was a “tragic mistake” that allowed for Hamas and other Iranian proxy groups to obtain more weapons and destabilize the Middle East.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News on Thursday, Chikli described the “delicate” state of the current relationship between the Jewish state and the Biden administration, noting that while it appeared strong following the October 7 massacre, it seems to have dwindled since.
“We were all moved by President Biden’s speech that was made at the beginning of the war [describing the] ‘sheer evil’ [of Hamas]. We saw America standing with us. But as time went by, it became more and more complicated,” he told Breitbart News on the sidelines of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Hungary 2024.
“Horrifying” Antisemitic Campus Protests
Chikli, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, called out Biden’s recent moral confusion whereby his condemnation of antisemitic protests on college campuses — which Chikli described as both “horrifying” and “the worst that we’ve seen since the 30s” — was coupled with a criticism of “those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
“To me, that was very, very disappointing because I think that this antisemitism, the harassment against Jewish students, the support of Hamas, the calling for global intifada — which is calling for bloodshed and violence — is something that you need to be against, period,” he said.
Highlighting a series of decisive moves taken by the Biden administration against supposedly rampant Israeli settler violence in recent weeks, he noted that, unfortunately, the “clear voice” from the U.S. administration that was first heard after October 7 is no longer heard.
“We want a clear voice and [not] ‘we are against Hamas, but also against some settlers or a farmer in the middle of Samaria [the West Bank]’ – as if [Hamas’ murderous brutality] was the equivalent to ‘settler violence,’” he said, mocking the sanctioning of a handful of Israelis because a “leftist organization who made a video [attempting to] parallel [minor Israeli actions] to the atrocities of Hamas.”
“This is insane!” he added.
In November, President Joe Biden directed top aides to craft visa bans and sanctions specifically targeting “extremist” Israeli settlers. However, critics argue that reports of Israeli settler violence are exaggerated or misconstrued, often relying on unsubstantiated reports, biased NGOs, and minimal evidence to portray a distorted narrative.
“Shift” in the Democrat Party
However, he stated, the current issues should stand beyond any conflict between conservatives and liberals, who actually share some basic values, such as the “cherishing” of life and freedom.
“There is a common ground between liberals and conservatives, and we are losing this mutual ground, and I think it is far deeper and more dangerous than their relationship with Israel,” he said, calling it a “threat to the future of America [and] Western civilization.
“This is bigger than us,” he added. “This is bigger than this moment.”
Noting that Israel also has “true friends” in the Democratic Party, including Rep. Ritchie Torres, who has taken “bold leadership” in standing with Israel, he explained that when it comes to a “true policy on the ground,” there has been a “shift” in the Biden administration and the Democrat Party, specifically on the issue of Rafah — Hamas’s last remaining stronghold — where the Biden administration “put so much pressure” on Israel, instead of on Hamas and Qatar.
TOPSHOT - US President Joe Biden joins Israel's Prime Minister for the start of the Israeli war cabinet meeting, in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. US President Joe Biden landed in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023 as Middle East anger flared after hundreds were killed when a rocket struck a hospital in war-torn Gaza, with Israel and the Palestinians quick to trade blame. (Photo by Miriam Alster / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MIRIAM ALSTER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. President Joe Biden joins Israel’s Prime Minister for the start of the Israeli war cabinet meeting, in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (MIRIAM ALSTER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
He then explained that there is no “middle path” between supporting western, Judeo-Christian values and the State of Israel on one hand, and the radical ideology of Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib on the other.
“If you support Hamas, you’re not [just] an enemy of the state of Israel, you’re an enemy of America … [and] of Western civilization as a whole,” he said
Expressing his belief that most people understand Israel and the existential threats it faces, he argued that “there will be a backlash” to the threats to Jewish students and professors taking place on campuses in the U.S. due to radical pro-Palestinian activists:
There will be a backlash to this violence, this hatred, this disgusting treatment of Jewish students who have done nothing wrong. And also the fact that people cannot go to the university. Forget about the Jews, Israel, Palestine — forget about all of it. Just ordinary students who want to learn science, they’ve done nothing wrong. And the campuses were conquered by this Muslim Brotherhood organization. We are seeing similar tent [encampments], similar slogans. It’s all orchestrated, organized, funded, and we know the organizations. We know CAIR, we know Linda Sarsour, we know SJP, we know [American] Muslims for Palestine. We know all of the organizations. And I hope the Americans will also learn the nature of these organizations who are trying to play themselves as friendly but are the nightmare of America and the nightmare of Western civilization. Obviously, they are enemies of Israel and enemies of Jewish people, but this is far far beyond the State of Israel and the Jews.
He also criticized Ilhan Omar for stating she was “enormously proud” of her daughter, Isra Hirsi, who was suspended last week from Barnard for being involved with the unauthorized “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” that was later dismantled by officers with the NYPD.
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