The Most Disturbing Part of It

The Big Ten, the Pac-12, and the Ivy League are overrun with antisemitic students protesting in favor of Hamas. They claim they support Palestinians, but “Globalize the intifada” and “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea” are explicit genocidal slogans of Hamas. Democrats insist words mean things. These words mean the students are terrorist sympathizers. Some of the protestors are chanting “Death to America.” At least one Columbia University student screamed at Jewish students, “The seventh of October is going to be every day for you!” Jewish students have been pushed off campuses, harassed, attacked, and silenced. The protestors say it is about Israel and “Zionism” but attack any Jewish student without first asking the student’s views on Israel and Zionism. The protests are not organic. They are organized by several antisemitic groups, including Students for Justice in Palestine. That organization claims, “Resistance comes in all forms -- armed struggle, general strikes, and popular demonstrations. All of it is legitimate, and all of it is necessary.” Nationwide, these college kids did not all spontaneously run to their local REI and buy tents. There were organizers and organizations advancing the funds, coordinating and getting ready for action. It is no coincidence the protests really took on a life of their own on April 20. That is Hitler’s birthday. The kids who would otherwise be getting stoned instead decided to stone some Jews. But one aspect of this has been more disturbing than everything else we have seen. And what we have seen has been disturbing enough. The antisemites have harassed Jewish students. They have antagonized Jewish professors. They have assaulted Jews. They have stormed into events organized by Jews to chase out the speakers and harass the attendees. At Columbia, one blond-haired white girl with a keffiyeh covering her face stood in front of a group of Jewish students who were waving Israeli and American flags. The girl held a sign with an arrow pointing to the students that read “Al-Qasam’s Next Target.” Al-Qasam is the military wing of Hamas that orchestrated the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. Around Yale and Columbia, students have chanted for Al-Qasam to target Tel Aviv, kill more Jews and otherwise commit violence. But that was not the most disturbing thing to happen. The most disturbing thing was a video of a Jewish student approaching the protestors with a microphone and camera asking the white American kids if Hamas should release the remaining Israeli hostages. Many of the protestors refused to answer, but of those who did, every last one of them said, “No.” The video came out the day Hamas released a proof-of-life video of Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Goldberg-Polin had attended the music concert for peace on Oct. 7. He and others went into a bomb shelter to escape Hamas, which began throwing grenades in. Goldberg-Polin and a friend started throwing the grenades back. The friend died. Goldberg-Polin lost his hand. Hamas took him hostage. White, privileged American kids think Hamas can keep him. Now the protestors have trotted out Jewish students who are protesting to claim the protests are not really antisemitic. On social media, Black trans-conservative (a progressive who identifies as a conservative) Candace Owens has been on a tweet storm defending the Nazis. A Black defender of the Nazis no more absolves the Nazis of their racism than a few ethnically Jewish rubes absolve the protestors of their vile antisemitism. Every barbarous regime depends on useful idiots for cover. Queers for Palestine would be thrown off buildings in Palestine if they ever went there. The white, blond Americans chanting “Globalize the intifada” would be shot. Hamas killed Vivian Silver. The 74-year-old Canadian lived in Israel championing the Palestinian cause. What we are witnessing on American college campuses is evil. It has infected college campuses across America. Only the Southeastern Conference has seemingly remained untouched along with most of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Those concerned about the rise of antisemitism should look to those schools for future workers and the rest of us need to understand something -- too many academic institutions have become breeding grounds for evil.

Following Polls Is Not Leadership

In the mid-‘90s, President Bill Clinton hired famed pollster Dick Morris to triangulate Clinton’s path to victory in 1996. Morris told Clinton that polling is not designed to tell someone what to do. Rather, polling is designed to tell one how to sell what they want to do. President Joe Biden has forgotten that lesson and now, instead of leading, he is being led around by his polling. Eighteen percent of Michigan Democratic voters refused to vote for Biden on Feb. 27. Thirteen percent voted "uncommitted." The loudest of the uncommitted were Hamas supporters in Michigan who have demanded Democrats stop supporting Israel. Despite most Americans recognizing Israel’s right and need to eliminate Hamas and recover its citizens held by Hamas, a slim majority of Democrats and a large majority of progressive Democrats disagree. Over the past month, since the Michigan primary, Biden has slowly walked away from Israel and handed Hamas, a terrorist group that also wants to kill Americans, a victory in the press. Biden first allowed an anti-Israel resolution to pass the United Nations Security Council. Then he began more public criticisms of Israel. Now, the President demands Israel unilaterally stop fighting Hamas. Tragically and ironically, had Israel stormed into southern Gaza, destroyed Hamas and leveled Rafah quickly, the war would be over and public opinion would not have shifted so decisively against Israel. But the Israeli government attempted to humor Biden, move slow and minimize civilian casualties. That just bought Biden time to sell out Israel to placate American antisemites whose votes he needs. In Ukraine, Biden has been slow to deliver on every promise. He was slow to deliver planes. He was slow to deliver missiles. He was slow to deliver tanks. When he did deliver tanks, he supplied Ukraine with tanks so heavy they are getting stuck in the mud. Biden has conveniently blamed Republicans who have dragged their feet on funding Ukraine. But well before funding was an issue, Biden’s team never seemed in a hurry to do more than make unfulfilled promises. Now, to slow down the Russians, Ukraine has started blowing up Russian oil refineries and fuel storage facilities. The result has stymied Russian advances. Russian personnel carriers, tanks, planes, and other vehicles cannot get fuel. Instead of helping, American Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has asked Ukraine to stop. He publicly said he was concerned about what Ukraine’s attacks could do to global fuel prices. This has everything to do with Joe Biden’s reelection chances. High fuel prices will impact food prices, which will drive inflation, which will drive down Biden’s popularity. Far be it for Ukraine to stymie the Russians when doing so could cost Joe Biden an election. Now, in this country, just the other day Joe Biden went on Univision to announce he would attempt to unilaterally secure the southern border without Congress passing new legislation. The President who thinks he can unilaterally forgive student loans does not seem to think he has the power to secure the border unilaterally, despite prior presidents, including Donald Trump, doing so. Going to Univision to make his case is a telling sign that, again, Biden is being led by polls. A growing body of polling data shows Hispanic voters are seriously concerned and upset about illegal immigration. Biden needs them in his coalition to stop Trump. He must crack down on illegal immigration to get their votes. So he must now do what he has insisted he could not do. He will issue executive orders to secure the border, something he could have done all along, even before the polling turned against him. So desperate to keep a non-white coalition together to stop Trump, Biden is even pausing a ban on menthol cigarettes. The ban, proposed by the FDA, would have gone into effect before the election. Black Americans are the top consumers of menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco products, both of which would have been banned. Now, the products are safe, at least until Biden wins reelection. Leadership is doing what’s right, regardless of the consequences. Biden is not leading. He is being led and that makes him easily manipulated by progressive constituencies.

Christianity: Not Exactly Something Normal

Christianity is a weird religion. Other religions have a version of the "Golden Rule." Other religions have a watery creation. Other religions have sacrifice. Other religions have mercy. Other religions have a lot of what Christianity has. But they are all so much more the same, and Christianity itself is so divergent it is not exactly something normal or something we would make up. Most other religions would tell you not to do to others what you do not want them to do to you. But Christ insisted we actually actively do to others what we want done to us. More importantly, we are to do those positive things even if the other person does not reciprocate. We are to love our neighbor and surrender our right to retribution. Christians are to turn the other cheek and let God handle it. Other religions have sacrifices and have heroes who laid down their lives. The Romans persecuted the Christians in part because the Romans believed all gods must be dead. The Christians said their God conquered death and was alive. The other religions sacrifice people, babies, animals. God Himself, however, died in Christianity and rose again from that death. Some believe the Egyptians’ Osiris did the same. But no credibly Egyptologist claims that; it is a more modern, post-Christian invention. Other religions have paths to salvation. Those paths, in all those faiths, have you participate in your salvation. Weirdly, Christians believe there is literally nothing you can do to keep yourself from going to Hell. Only God Himself can spare you and all you must do is put your faith in Christ. You repent and be baptized and God starts working in you through a process of sanctification. There’s no reincarnation. There are no special pilgrimages to do. God’s got this. You let Him work. The religions are all pretty much the same except Christianity, which is so different and divergent. The ancient religions all had their gods coming up out of water -- a metaphor for the nothingness or chaos that existed before. The Jews, from whom Christians came, showed the Spirit of the Lord hovering over the water. All the other religions believed the gods came into existence. Jews and Christians say God was always there. The other ancient religions claimed the stars and planets were gods. Moses declared them objects in the sky not to be worshipped. The other religions all have concepts of mercy or the gods sparing you from what you deserve. Jesus Christ offered grace -- giving you something you do not deserve. It is a uniquely Christian concept. All other religions have been anchored to a geographic place. Christianity spread so easily around the world because the faith is anchored in the living God of all Creation. The faith convicts all of us of our sins, treats all of us equally and gives us all salvation through belief in Jesus. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ came into the world a baby and went out like a lamb to slaughter. An innocent man hailed as a king on Palm Sunday was rejected in favor of a murderous insurrectionist on Good Friday. All but one of Jesus’ friends was executed. His whole blood line was hunted down and exterminated. His followers were used as human torches to light the streets of Rome. And the faith kept growing. Christianity and its ethics freed slaves, liberated captives, provided a path to reconciliation between the aggrieved and ordered Western civilization. The post-Christian world abhors Christianity. The things of the world always hate the things of God. But, as the West rejects it, chaos, contempt, malice and hatred have filled its void. The West is back to child sacrifice and families are collapsing. Many would say we need to return to a cultural Christianity, but Christianity needs Christ. The good news is that the carpenter from Nazareth got up in His tomb on Sunday morning 2,000 years ago and walked out. By conquering death, He gives us life. And all we have to do is put our trust in Him. Easter is coming and with it comes joy in the morning.