A Staples High School graduate was among 9 people arrested, after more than 200 protestors took over Barnard College’s main library on Wednesday.
Gabrielle Wimer was part of the pro-Palestinian group. According to the New York Times, they demanded “the reversal of the expulsions of two Barnard students who were punished for interrupting a ‘History of Modern Israel’ class on Jan. 21 and distributing fliers, including one that showed a jackboot squashing a Jewish star.
“They also called for the reinstatement of a student expelled for participating in the takeover of Hamilton Hall on the Columbia campus last spring.”
The New York Post said that “the protesters smashed glass, barricaded the building from the inside and draped a large flag calling for ‘intifada.'”
Pro-Palestinian protestors at Barnard College. Many wore masks and keffiyehs. (Photo/Michael Nagle for New York Post)
It added, “the disruptors taken into custody included several from privileged backgrounds, including one whose family founded the popular Hampton Jitney bus service in the 1970s — and one rabble rouser who had been busted at two other protests and has called for the ‘overthrow’ of America.”
The Washington Free Beacon said, “Wimer is a medical student at Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. According to screenshots of her LinkedIn that has since been deleted, she is ‘passionate about global health and human rights’ and has ‘experience in research, program management, and community outreach in multicultural settings.’
“Wimer is the Class of 2025 president, the programming coordinator for Columbia’s Human Rights and Asylum Clinic, and an active member of Columbia’s chapters of White Coats for Black Lives and Students for a National Health Program, according to an online bio.”
Gabrielle Wimer’s LinkedIn profile. It has since been deleted.
A 2016 “06880” story focused on Wimer’s work with mealworms. The larval form of a beetle — once thought of as a pest — can be baked or fried, for human consumption as a healthful snack food. They help improve nutrition in areas that desperately need it.
She was part of a group that won $20,000 in seed funding, from 3 organizations, including the Clinton Global Initiative University Resolution Project, for work that could help solve pressing health issues.
“This is perfect for me,” she said. “It combines science, sustainable agriculture and public health.”
Part of her mealworm research took place at Wakeman Town Farm.
Gabby Wimer
The story noted that in Wimer was a 4-year varsity swimmer and water polo player at Staples, where she also played violin, and sang in the choir.
She spent 8 years swimming with the Y’s Water Rats, and helped out with Amnesty International.
She majored in history, philosophy, and social study of science and medicine, as well as human rights. at the University of Chicago, and did volunteer work in Rwanda.
Before medical school at Columbia, Gabrielle worked in global health and education in Guatemala and Jordan.
“I always wanted to do global health work. But I never knew about mealworms,” Gabby told “06880.”
Westporters reacted strongly to the news.
“God help us all if Columbia allows her to remain in medical school,” one woman wrote to “06880.”
A post on social media said: “This young individual did great things in the past … what happened to make her lose her moral compass?
Protests continued Thursday, at Columbia University.
Wimer and the others were released with desk appearance tickets.
So we now have a look at one of the new faces of Hamas terror.
Israel forever.
There is nothing more disingenuous than portraying anyone who speaks up for the Palestinians or speaks against the behavior of the Netanyahu regime as being anti-Semitic.
One can easily condemn the horrific October 7 attacks while recognizing the atrocities committed by the IDF in the aftermath.
The complaints about protests are simply a distraction in order to further a political aim that has nothing to do with fighting anti-Semitism.
Student protests are seen as some existential threat, but when the richest man on earth and right-hand of Trump offers a Nazi salute, these same people who claim to be concerned about anti-Semitism are oddly quiet.
This ^^^
Thank you for this comment.
Pretty funny they all wear masks to hide their image, wonder if they arent proud of what they are doing.
Rahm Emanuel said it best with Bill Maher, too much of this insanity has taken the US to a major drop in education vs other countries. We are spending all this time focusing on the bathrooms, locker rooms and ideologies and not enough time on science and math and curriculum. We are spiraling in the wrong direction. Many of these top schools allowing this mayhem are hurting the majority of students seeking jobs post graduation.
The sad irony is that this very accomplished young woman probably spent more time on the “science and math and curriculum” than an average American student, but it was a very specific ideology that ended up detailing her.
“derailing” her
She derailed herself by committing a criminal act on behalf of a terrorist group, Hamas. She chose to adhere to an “ideology” of those who murder and rape of innocent civilians.
This was exactly my sentiment, Liz
is Russia I terrorist government??
Tragic decision with life changing unintended consequences. It is very sad. 🙏
is there any similarity to the 20000 kidnappings that Putin did to Ukrainian children ?
Hate to what would happen to her if she took such anti-establishment positions in Iran, hamas controlled Gaza, or most of the countries that are sympathetic to her positions against the US and Israel.
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
WB Yeats ‘the Second Coming”
They cover their faces, but what about the women who HAVE to cover their faces? They destroy more than they protest. And, btw, who paid for those professional looking signs? What have they gone to school to learn? Where is their ability to exchange reasoned arguments? Rather, they seek not to persuade, or even to be heard, but instead to coerce. They seek to act without consequence. Barnard and Columbia are prominent, along with many of the “esteemed” Ivies, in betraying their mission of critical education, and learning that our actions result in consequences — and in some cases, penalties that they refuse to bear. And, alas, they are both my alma maters, and oh, how they have changed.
She’s obviously confused because she was raised to believe that “Hate has no home here.” So with that as her basic rationale plus two perfectly good index fingers (to point at others) she is perfectly equipped to go to Barnard and launch her professional career as an anti-Semite.
(A) Sorry, Werner. The Yeats quote fails at “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” The second clause perfectly describes rank & file Maga/GOP voters, the willing self-propagandizing consumers of Fox News.
But this is a case of “the best” “full of passionate intensity.” You don’t want that? You & I think its directed wrongly, absolutely. But you don’t want passionate intensity? How do you think this country won its independence?
(B) Sorry, woman-writer-to-06880 & elina & Tom but “derailing” won’t happen. It is a “DESK APPEARENCE TICKET.” Maybe there’ll be a fine but more likely there will be an admonition & dismissal. That’s the way our judicial system works AND she IS a white woman of privilege. Slow down her career advancement? Not likely to Nope. Just ask all the white males who occupied the Columbia president’s office in April 1968: lawyers, doctors, financiers, teachers, social workers, etc., parents & grandparents now, donors to Columbia, too. You remember April, May, June of 1968, dontcha?
NOTE: the “Sainted DonOld” has ordered $400M in grants CUT to Columbia and that was BEFORE this event [Scripps News]. Totally politically motivated: The Right is AGAINST all Education — keep people poor, dumb, ignorant & women back in the kitchen with babies. Why? Docile worker bees for the 5%. Striking against anti-semitism (a scourge) is just the EXCUSE.
(C) I’m disappointed in her for (1) even thinking she should be associated with Hamas after Oct23–a horror (and she must agree because she “deleted” her Linked-in account it seems, which never “cuts it”– the Web archives everything), and for (2) wearing a mask and for the account deletion. If you are that intensely passionate about global health issues (and we should ALL be so) and human rights (which we can all agree with Adam that HR is a “Value” Iran, the Tump administration, etc. don’t give two figs about –but, again, WE should as it is the basis of our Declaration of indepence), show your face and keep flying your flag
We must ALL support the Right to Protest or we shall have no Rights at all.
I follow your interpretation but I think Yeats was after the far larger picture… do you think I ought have cited Ginsburg’s Howl:
“ I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked…” this young woman has certainly faced a maddening world where people who know what is right and just have been cowed into silence.
Though the poets know the truth they offer little solace.
The NY Compost and Washington Free Stupidy are bird cage liners. Maybe if she was a Palestinian child the IOF could shoot her.
Ahh, you must be a Hamas supporter as well.
So what does “Dr. Gabby” do if she’s offered a job as medical director of a group practice that employs Jewish doctors or treats Jewish patients? I know!!! Pull out your copy of Mein Kampf and do what Adolf, Hermann and Josef did. “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be free!!! Sieg Heil!!!” Enough to make any child of a WWII veteran vomit.
I am not one to comment, but I must say that I am disgusted by this comment. Gabrielle is a very close friend of mine and is quite literally the smartest person I have ever met. I am also proudly Jewish. Gabrielle sat with my family as I was becoming a bat mitzvah back. I have had long, fruitful conversations with Gabrielle about Israel and Palestine, Jewish identity, and antisemitism in America over the past two years. Pro-Palestinian rights does not equal pro-Hamas. Your assumptions about what she believes illustrate a profound lack of nuance or, frankly, critical thinking skills – let alone your misinformed jump to compare a right to protest with carrying around a copy of Mein Kampf. (Must I remind everyone reading this of who did throw a Nazi salute recently?) Ultimately, if you want to believe every exaggerated detail published in the godforsaken New York Post, go right ahead. But what I know to be true is that I can ONLY hope to have a doctor caring for me, a Jew, who is as passionate, empathetic, and committed to human rights as Gabrielle is.
Disgust is an emotion we have in common. Your classmate should have known better than to interfere with enrolled students freedom to study without having to endure her harassment. Perhaps when/if she appears in court she will receive guidance on what forms of protest are acceptable and what is unacceptable.
Ah, yes, because positive change for human rights has always happened when folks follow the “acceptable” forms of protest. I forgot how the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement were so peaceful, how they accomplished their goals through nothing more than polite conversation. I forgot how those activists, advocating for causes we thankfully now widely accept as just and necessary, were immediately met with cheer from all because their protests were never ever viewed as unacceptable. (Need I also point out that historically, the police are almost always the escalating force leading to violence, property damage, and death?)
If you read the NYT article, you’d see that this particular incident was a sit-in. It says, “As the police became more aggressive, there appeared to be resistance from some protesters.” Eventually those who did not leave upon being asked to were arrested. That’s that. What I am saying is — the POINT of a protest is disruption and interference. The POINT of a protest is to force a pause in ordinary routine and draw attention to a cause people feel passionate about. That is what happened here.
Regardless of my opinion about what constitutes “appropriate” protest or how policing contributes to violence, which I am sure you are rolling your eyes at as just another “indoctrinated” person who studied the liberal arts, I am confident about one thing. Though we may share disgust, your disgust is with the fact that people staged a sit-in about a cause you vehemently disagree with. Fine. My disgust is due to your incredibly short-sighted and reprehensible suggestion that this person’s choices to protest via a sit-in makes them an acolyte of the Third Reich, unfit to treat Jewish patients like me or my parent in the future. If you do not see the differences there I do not know what to say.
I am not going to change your mind, nor anybody’s mind who has already commented on this thread. I know that, and I am not trying to. I do not know you and genuinely wish you peace. Ultimately, I am sending these thoughts into the void for no reason other than in the hopes that perhaps someone, someday reading this post will be able to approach this situation with the empathy and open-minded engagement that many chiming in here lack.
Yeah, I guess law enforcement should “play the long game” and not bother themselves with silly things like doing their jobs and upholding the rights of others on Columbia’s campus because “30 years from now, people will look back and agree that the Palestine cause was just.”
There are other causes that people are protesting too – and I guess as long as the cause is blessed by people like you, violence is all good right? So if a bunch of people went down to central Virginia chanting “Jews will not replace us” and things got a little out of hand, that’s cool right? Oh no? Well, what if it was a different group of people chanting “Intifada Revolution”? Now THAT’S the good stuff.
The mental gymnastics to come up with that is impressive. Godwins Law is alive and well.
We know you’re an antisemite. You’ve made that clear here.
Any evidence of your claim? You dont know me or the people in my circle but you know I’m antisemetic somehow , is it because I’m Irish?
Whether you were born in Ireland of America has no bearing. Your comments tell us all we need to know.
Dan, you didn’t mention any other accomplishments from this Westport born and bred pro terrorist criminal-such as possible soccer trophies, Girl Scout awards, spelling bee contests etc. The reader is left unaware of her favorite ice cream flavor. How about highlighting her destruction of school property, illegal seizure of a building, exhibiting blatant anti-semitism with her depiction of a boot trampling on a Jewish star. Dan, had Gabby’s hatred been towards the Black or LBGT community instead of Jews/Israel would you have been so dismissive of her egregious, criminal act?
This was a straight news story, Liz. Please direct your anger at her, not me. And to answer your last question: This is exactly the same way I’ve reported on (for example) incidents of racism in the schools, and the vandalism of the rainbow crosswalk: as news stories. Any opinions are marked that way.
Real news story you got here Dan. Didn’t know the news involved posting someone’s LinkedIn for them to be harassed by right wing fanatics. You and your blog will be forgotten and this woman’s heroics to stand up for what’s right – along with her comrades across the world – will be rightly remembered as a just battle against fascism, hate, and genocide.
her linkedin profile is/was public…
Watch your top knot Mr. Hunter you’re in Westport where the G word is not permitted.
What “genocide” is there? There are very specific criteria for what constitutes genocide, and this was against terror does not meet any of those criteria. More than 25,000 people died in one night when Allied forces bombed Dresden in 1945, but that was not a “genocide”. Casualties of war are unfortunate, but when a terrorist entity goes on a murderous rampage knowing full well what would happen, you cannot call that a “genocide”. Hamas does not care what happens to their own people. They want to eliminate Israel and Jews, no matter what the cost may be.
*war against terror
“comrades”?
Always the victims never the perpetrators eh?meuch2
You are confused. The Palestinians are always the victims never the perpetrators despite the fact that they have always rejected peace and have always been the initiators of violence. Just bc they always lose people mistakenly see them as victims.
What are you talking about?
As you correctly noted Dermot has already proven to this forum that he is an antisemite. No point in trying to challenge what he thinks are intelligent arguments. The Jewish people have dealt with people like him for thousands of years. He is not original. He is a weak minded individual.
It is painful to see the indoctrination of a bright woman. She feels so passionate that she gives herself the right to destroy property and torment fellow students. She is glorifying terrorist organizations (Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood) that even the Arab world is wary of. She wants to eradicate a sovereign country. How did this happen?
This phenomenon at Columbia and Barnard is reminiscent of accomplished professionals in Nazi Germany. Education and professional achievement do not inherently safeguard against the allure of radical ideologies that lead to hate and violence.
how bout Natzis waking in charlosville VA and Trump saying there is good and bad in both sides. what is that reminiscent of ?
I agree 100%. The problem is on both sides.
And yet, when Elon Musk through up a Nazi salute at the inauguration party, the ADL stance was “let’s not be to quick to judge.” Curious.
*threw, of course.
Avi. you know it and everyone on 06880 knows the frequent examples of trumps anti sentían out of his mouth and out of the people he pardons and a trumps staff. Have you ever criticized Trump on 06880 ? Proud Boys ? Oath Keepers.? Charlottesville ?? falsehoods on George Soros ? My point is you can’t only criticize when the hatred is inside your political spectrum.
Richard – you obviously don’t know me. I call out hate wherever I see it, including your comment insulting me above. Goodbye.
Ye of the mighty Ben and Jerry’s boycott!
I don’t think you call out hate against the Gazan citizens, Avi.
You know nothing about me. I have spent the last six years fighting for Middle East peace. Goodbye.
You’re a bum and an embarrassment to our town and state.
Harassment is not welcome here.
Thankfully, the First Amendment safeguards American’s right to protest. It’s so fundamental to our Nation that it’s legitimately the first amendment.
I’m not a fan of doxing and canceling kids in their 20’s. Thankfully there was no electronic recording of our college years.
She is obviously a very smart, focused, and passionate person, who I suspect will continue on to great things.
I blame lack of institutional control for allowing these protests to continue in ways that threaten their fellow students. NYPD should have immediately cleared the space, instead this was allowed to continue for hours.
Actions do have consequences though. This week, Columbia had $400M of funding, most of which goes to their medical complex, rescinded by the Federal Government. Interesting that Trump did it and not Biden….That funding matters, effects 100’s of jobs, and as a medical student perhaps not a great career move.
Finally someone with some sense. Thank you for your nuanced take. Westporters should never try to take down other Westporters. We should educate eachother. Why Dan has chosen to do further damage to a Staples grad I will never know. Very bitter. He’ll say it’s news, but it’s already been reported elsewhere. This adds nothing other than fuel to a fire on a young person’s life and career.
https://nypost.com/2025/03/09/us-news/ice-arrests-palestinian-leader-of-columbias-anti-israel-protests-lawyer/?utm_campaign=iphone_nyp&utm_source=pasteboard_app
Antisemitism was allowed to spread under the prior administration. No more. Check your receipts.
David, she is not in her 20’s. She is 30 or 31. Old enough to understand what she was doing.
You don’t think a $400 million funding loss to a university, in response to students protesting, will have a chilling effect on free speech?
The irony of Trump cracking down on “illegal” protesters (presumably defined as “those with who he disagrees”) while he pardoned the seditionists is pretty rich.
This seems primarily aimed at cracking down on dissent.
The fact that Dan is getting criticism from both sides of this issue seems to me a pretty good indicator that the post should be considered fair game. Plus, remember the tag line “Where Westport Meets the World” – this story clearly fits within that realm.
I do question whether some of the same commentors criticizing Dan for “doing further damage to a Staples grad” would still be piping up if you replaced “History of Modern Israel” with “Middle Eastern Studies” or the Israeli flag with the LGBTQ+ flag.
Finally: “Westporters should never try to take down other Westporters” – give me a break. Where Westporters are doing wrong it should absolutely be called out, even if different people have different perspectives on the definition of “wrong.”
She’s protesting. It’s a right of each American to protest.
She’s done nothing “wrong”.
Is taking over a school library, smashing glass and barricading the building from the inside really doing nothing wrong? I’m no legal scholar, but pretty sure that’s “wrong.”
maybe Trunp will pardon them. How bout Jan 6 ? idk if those misguided kids beat cops ? did they urinate or deficate in the school library ? Did they obstruct a federal ekection ? maybe they should be pardoned. ? I don’t support those misguided kids at all. I’m no big liberal
The property destruction you are referring to occurred at different protest incidents. If you read the articles, you will see that at this particular incident, the protestors staged a sit-in, a fake bomb threat was called in, and those who refused to leave after being told to were arrested. The amount of misinformation this post is clearly contributing to in the comments about the arrest or activity of this person is disappointing yet not surprising. All three articles do make this clear. That said, while including reporting from the New York Times is fine, quoting anything from the Washington Free Beacon or New York Post, and thus suggesting either publish neutral or reputable reporting, is laughable. While the former did not opt to dox those arrested and clearly delineated what occurred at this incident versus former incidents, the latter two published sensationalized, intentionally inflammatory stories designed to get you to click on some of the many cheap ads plastered across the page and popping up with every scroll.
You are truly laughable if you think the NYT is an unbiased reporting source.
Time for college institutions to become neutral, practice personal dialogue, and focus on academics, free of hate!
“Jackboot stomping on a Jewish star”?
Time to buy more ammo ….
The purpose of a University is to provide an education based on a panoply of ideas and facts . It is not to allow the breaking of laws to support a cause even when a student is passionate and there maybe some cause for anger.
Her brilliance needs to be redirected at how to find solutions for non violent conflict resolution rather than showing up with masks and unlawful actions.
We still live in the best country in the world and students should be active participants in making us stronger and more equitable. Mario Cuomo said it years ago when he talked about the death penalty to paraphrase- violence begets violence.
Even smart people can be ignorant. How about some more required courses for graduation from college – such as the history of the Middle East, perhaps a two thousand year history of antisemitism, the Shoah, a year abroad in an Islamic dictatorship? What about a required lecture on the contributions of Jews to science, music, literature, art, medicine, etcetera?
Fliers with a Jackboot squashing a Jewish star. I would not want her to be my doctor. Interrupting classes on Israeli history, smashing glass windows, destroying the school and calling for an infitada is not a peaceful, free speech protest. She should be arrested and she should have to take classes on more than medical topics. She should have to study the history of the Middle East and recite the 20 something times that a two state solution was tried for by Israel.
Too bad she wasn’t in Israel during an infitada. She might have a different point of view.
It’s very sad to see an obviously very bright young woman completely misguided and fall for the agenda supported by money coming into her university from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
And you have to ask where she learned this antisemitism from? You can feel bad for the plight of the Palestinians, of course. War and violence is unthinkable all around the world, but to be handing out fliers that they are handing out against Jews, makes their protest, not one of pro the Palestinian people. It is not neutral on antisemitism but promoting it.
She studied in Jordan. Likely exposed to anti Israel propaganda.
The endless pillorying of pro-Palestinian students (many of whom are Jewish) is a distraction from a.) discussing international law and human rights re Gaza and the West Bank; and b.) this antisemitic administration using antisemitism as a Trojan horse to suppress dissent and free speech in higher education.
It is also impossible to reason with people who would claim that opposing the actions of the Netanyahu administration equates to antisemitism or support of Hamas. People who do this are simply trying to tar those with whom they disagree with a frightening label in order to avoid facing some harsh truths about what has happened in Gaza since the horrific attacks of October 7.
If someone supports Netanyahu’s agenda in Israel, s/he is free to own that position, rather than falsely claiming that every person who supports a two-state solution and opposes the slaughter and destruction in Gaza is antisemitic. It is offensive and, more importantly, it is unserious.
You had me until “this antisemetic Administration”. Have you not seen what’s happened on college campuses since 10/7/23? Name one person the Biden Administration arrested and deported, since with Mahmoud Khalil I’m pretty sure the current Administration has already done more in their first six weeks.
Of course an Obama appointed judge just blocked it, shocker.
You NAILED it!!!
For someone who says, “it’s a right of each American to protest,” you sure do object to those protests when you don’t like what they are saying.
From J.D. Vance pushing the far right party in Germany, to Elon Musk urging Germans to not be ashamed of their country’s history (we’ll pretend his Nazi salute was an accident).
To Trump saying “there are good people on both sides” when white nationalists commit murder.
If you want to turn a blind eye because this makes you feel politically uncomfortable, that’s on you.
The arrest of Mahmoud Khalil was disgraceful. Purely based on his political beliefs. You seem to want to suppress dissent.
When Jewish students attending Ivy League colleges do not feel safe on the campus to which they pay $80,000/year to attend they are not experiencing “peaceful protests” their right to exist in peace, indeed their right to “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness” is being threatened.
As we have seen in this thread, there are people who existentially object to protests that go against their personal beliefs.
There are many Jewish students participating in these protests. To claim that protests over the behavior of the Netanyahu government is a threat against students on an American campus is dubious, at best. And you would seem to be trying to stifle dissent, with such a claim. Claiming that ones right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is being threatened doesn’t make it so.
On the other hand, Trump’s administration is, effectively, trying to disappear Mahmoud Khalil, which is a Putin-esque move. Fortunately, we have judges that still respect the First Amendment.
You are downplaying the protests. They would not let you pass on school grounds if you were a Zionist, demanding to know if you were. They took over private school buildings not allowing other students in. They damaged property and held security guards in the building with them not letting them leave, some were hurt. They promoted violence (intifada) against Zionists and Israel. They walked into and disrupted students trying to study in libraries and classes aimed at Israel and Jewish students. If the kkk student group did all of this to another group such as lgbtq I would bet people would not be as supportive. If other groups experienced this and claimed to feel threatened and scared they would be believed. The non peaceful protesters actions clearly violated school policy and nothing was done. There are so many other instances of Jewish people feeling threatened at Columbia and other schools. And most of the schools did not support them.
And most of these protesters are not merely criticizing the Israeli govt, they are calling for the violent destruction of Israel. They are not interested in peace. Clearly something you can understand the Jewish people would feel threatened and upset about.
Correct, and instead of protesting against Hamas (as they should be doing), they are chanting, “We ARE Hamas”. It’s disgusting and disgraceful..
I believe there is a difference between peaceful protests and… interrupting a ‘History of Modern Israel’ class, distributing fliers, including one that showed a jackboot squashing a Jewish star, smashing glass, barricaded the building from the inside and draped a large flag calling for ‘intifada.’”
I think you meant, “everyone who supports a one-state solution”. A two-state solution makes the most sense, as a one-state solution would mean the end of Israel as a Jewish state, and would likely mean the end of Jews there as well.
Agree except that a 2 state solution has been offered to the Palestinians several times and they have always rejected it. And responded with war and violence. And to this day they do not say they will accept it. They instead continue this cycle of violence.
Pardon the length.
No, I meant precisely that. But the Trump-Netanyahu plan to empty Gaza of Palestinians is an elimination of the possibility of a two-state solution. Your statement doesn’t make sense to me, given the overwhelming military power that Netanyahu has unleashed on Gaza. There is no end of Israel in this scenario. Only a forced relocation of Gazans. Presumably the West Bank would be next.
I think people are protesting against 40,000 Gazan citizens being killed by the IDF. The October 7 attacks were horrific, but Netanyahu has used them as an excuse for his full scale attack on Gaza. Neither act is defensible. But there is disproportionate strength. As Israel benefits from U.S. military aid, of course there are protests here. Protesters see that Netanyahu’s actions have reflected little concern for hostages and more concern for advancing other agendas.
(This is SO reminiscent of 9/11. The world was sympathetic to Israel after the attacks, but their response has been so unrestrained that they have squandered most good will. They can’t, on one hand, pull out the “we wouldn’t exist if they had their way” card, while blowing ‘them’ into oblivion. They can’t criticize rhetoric while treating the killing of reporters, aid works, and many civilians as oopsies or the cost of doing business. Remember the outrage when the IDF killed the three hostages that were trying to escape? Was the outrage because it was three Israelis that were killed? Because that was a terrible thing. But shouldn’t we also be questioning why three shirtless, unarmed men, with their hands in the air, yelling for help, would be shot, no matter their ethnic background?)
Israel has long faced something of an existential crisis. They can be a “pure” democracy and then have demographic shifts ultimately create a Jewish minority. Or make hard right turns into assuring (democratic shifts or no) that they remain, first and foremost, a Jewish state. I don’t envy those that have to balance the concerns. But if defense of the latter depends on the suppression and, maybe now, relocation of the current minority citizens, there will be inevitable consequences. The very least of those consequences is that they can’t keep playing the “only democracy in the region” card when they don’t act like it – an apartheid state can’t claim democratic virtue. The worst of those consequences will be more terrorism. Since he was first elected, Netanyahu has operated with a “the beatings will continue until morale improves” approach to the Palestinians. Who doesn’t expect that approach to ultimately result in violent response? That is in NO way a defense of terror attacks. But the attacks are predictable when Netanyahu makes no effort to work toward a sustainable solution. “Why did they do this NOW?” (not that it is yours) is kind of an obtuse take on simmering tensions. Pots boil over. It’s like when people were surprised by the Iranian hostage crisis – it’s like they woke up from a three-decade nap.
To Stephanie’s remark, Likud won the 1977 elections based on a, “between the sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty.” A take that is echoed by Netanyahu to this day. While there have been slight openings to a two-state solution, there has been nothing especially close since the Camp David and Taba summits. There is plenty of blame to go around, but in the here and now, the combination of Netanyahu’s opposition and the expansion of settlements (when borders have always been a sticking point) are unproductive, IMHO.
All that said, NONE of this should matter when it comes to protecting free expression and protecting dissent. Someone with a Green Card, married to an American, was arrested purely for the expression of particular political views. We should all object to that. Clearly, many do not.
Goes both ways Chris – here’s my version of part of your 4th paragraph:
Since Hamas first took over the Gaza strip, they have operated with “terror first” approach to Israel. Who doesn’t expect that approach to ultimately result in violent escalation? That is in NO way a defense of the killing of innocent people if and when it was avoidable. But Israel’s response to October 7 was predictable, given Palestinian leadership prioritizing the indiscriminate killing of Israeli civilians and making no effort to work toward a sustainable solution.
Much more where that came from, but going to refrain from writing a novel since this thread is several days old now.
I appreciate the brevity and will respond in kind!
Certainly the response was predictable – which made the October 7 attacks, which were horrible by any measure, unwise.
Nonetheless, indiscriminate slaughter of civilians and the flattening of Gaza can’t be defended. Obviously there is a huge power imbalance and Netanyahu has shown little restraint. “They knew what would happen” doesn’t absolve him for his own actions.
And (to the point of the side-thread) there is no reason for someone in the U.S. to be detained because they are protesting the actions of Israeli (or any other) government. The dismissive take on First Amendment rights that many have shown here is, well, un-American.
The fact that you put no blame on Hamas who hid behind its civilians in neighborhoods, hospitals and UN facilities knowing they were putting their peoples lives at risk is revealing. Hamas said it would committ Oct 7 again and again and its sole purpose is to destroy Israel and you expect Israel to just let them remain in power with their tunnels and weapons and do nothing? If Mexican gangs were in power and did that to us we would flatten Mexico to destroy their gangs in a minute. And the person being detained did not merely protest, but he committed damage to buildings which he illegally took over and called for violence and support of terrorism yet you continue to ignore that as well.
And if this person with the green card was a white supremecist who belonged to the kkk and was organizing this level of protests and calls for violence against black people would you be defending him?