1.5% of the population<\/a> (the most recent data available). They are raising their voices against Israel and shouting, \u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\nThere is the \u201cprogressive\u201d left. Anti-Israeli sentiment has been brewing on that front for a long time. There is nothing new about the chants of \u201cIsrael, the colonialist and imperialist lackey!\u201d circulating through the crowds and their rallies and conferences. The invasion of Gaza and the concomitant killing of civilians has only ramped up the outrage.<\/p>\n
We all know who started this vicious war. The suffering of Oct. 7 is unacceptable. Yet, we cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of the innocent in Gaza. People want to see the horrendous killing stop. That would not seem so unreasonable, but in the Middle East, it is a tall order.<\/p>\n
Lastly, the Israelis who are marching in their own land in protest of their government\u2019s actions give credence to that case that we must bring this war to a halt and free the hostages.<\/p>\n
The campus protests are a barometer. The students\u2019 tent encampments are grabbing international headlines and bubbling up in a big way. That\u2019s a bad sign for Israel. Politicians of all stripes are struggling to come to grips with the moment.<\/p>\n
The students\u2019 demands for disinvestment and transparency are an effective and valid strategy. But the furor has generated deep divides and couldn\u2019t come at a worse time for the Democrats and President Joe Biden, ahead of the November election. Muslim voters have traditionally provided reliable support in swing states such as Michigan.<\/p>\n
American Jews have been the bedrock of the Democratic electorate, providing votes and financial support.<\/p>\n
Those protesters are crucial to fueling the turnout machine in states such as Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania. If young voters stay home in November because they are turned off by the war and heavy-handed handling of the issue, the Democratic Party will suffer mightily.<\/p>\n
Biden and Co. have a lot to lose in this drama. Play your cards carefully, Joe, and wrangle a cease-fire to get through this perilous period. If that fails, the unrest and anger over Gaza will simmer, steam and come to a boil just in time for nomination festivities at the Democratic National Convention in August \u2014 1968 redux.<\/p>\n
Antisemitism may not be the big political issue by the fall election, at least where Biden is concerned. No one can seriously accuse Biden of that shibboleth.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Republicans are gleeful \u2014 and wary. Gleeful, because the potential for Democratic fissures is impressive. This crisis is alienating three of the Democrats\u2019 important constituent groups \u2014 young people, Muslims and Jews. If they fall away or stay home in November, hello, President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Wary, as the GOP must decide how to play this new and different issue, a delicate task. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson recently visited Columbia University and met with Jewish students on the New York City campus.\u00a0He and Republican colleagues are denouncing the unrest. \u201cColumbia is out of control,\u201d he declared last week.<\/p>\n
A shrewd move.<\/p>\n
Trump, on the other hand, is a broken record. He hammers away on his well-worn mantras: immigration, crime and the \u201cextreme radical left.\u201d Managing this fiery issue requires finesse, hardly a Trump strong point. He\u2019s so busy whining on social media about his ongoing trial that he hardly has time to figure out what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n
It won\u2019t be easy, but Biden needs a cease-fire in Gaza, while Trump and the GOP will pour accelerant on the fire.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s about a lot more than tents.<\/p>\n
____<\/p>\n
Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
\u00a92024 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com<\/a>. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/p>\nKeyWords:: a3644fed-c4c7-412e-86db-ea0dbfb89371
\na3644fed c4c7 412e 86db ea0dbfb89371
\nBC-MIDEAST-DEMOCRATS-COMMENTARY:TB
\nBC MIDEAST DEMOCRATS COMMENTARY TB<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s complicated. Student protests are taking over college campuses across the nation. The turmoil over the Israel-Hamas war has inspired youthful fervor that is reminiscent of the anti-war protests of the 1960s. The Middle East saga has infected America\u2019s domestic political milieu in significant and new ways. Since 1948, when the state of Israel was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-171156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=171156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":171157,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171156\/revisions\/171157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=171156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=171156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=171156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}