The College Democrats of America, a Democratic student organization, on Tuesday supported pro-Palestinian protests on campus and called on President Biden to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
In a statement approved by the organization’s executive committee on an 8-2 vote, the University Democratic Party said the student protesters had the “moral clarity to see this war for what it is: destructive, genocidal, and unjust.” He praised the University for having “Satisfaction” and criticized the university’s administrators. Suspend him, call the police and arrest him.
The statement comes after a tumultuous two weeks in which pro-Palestinian protests spread to campuses across the country following a police crackdown at Columbia University. Since the October 7 Hamas attack, students opposed to Israel’s actions in Gaza have set up camps and, in many cases, continue to do so even after participants have been suspended or arrested.
Protesters at Columbia University occupied buildings on campus overnight from Monday to Tuesday. Protests similarly escalated at two other universities, Portland State University and California State Polytechnic State University, Humboldt.
The statement accused “MAGA Republicans and many other members of Congress of denigrating all protesters as hateful.” The group condemned the rise in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents, saying: “We believe all calls for violence, including against Jewish and Muslim students, are wrong. Those who spread hatred have no place in the peace movement,” he added, but added: “Seeking freedom for the Palestinian people is not anti-Semitism, nor is it opposing the genocidal acts of the far-right extremist Israeli government.” added.
And that Biden and many other elected Democrats have not united in calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire with the release of all hostages held by Hamas and moving rapidly toward a two-state solution. criticized. independent state of Palestine.
It was a shocking rebuke from an organization that has historically worked in concert with the Democratic Party and the men who lead it.
“As College Democrats, we are committed to re-electing President Biden and Democrats beyond down-ballot races across the country,” the statement said. “However, as representatives of young people across the country, we reserve the right to criticize our party when it fails to represent the voices of young people.”
He added: “As young voters, we are well aware that our votes in November will determine who wins the White House. The White House has adopted a bear-hug strategy against Prime Minister Netanyahu. “We chose the wrong path by treating our bases and all Americans who wanted an end to this war.”
Biden has called for a temporary ceasefire and said he ultimately supports a two-state solution. However, while he has become more critical of the Israeli government, he has not made any substantive changes to US policy and continues to provide arms to Israel without conditions.
The White House, Biden campaign and Democratic National Committee did not respond to requests for comment.
Sanjay Muralitharan, vice president of College Democrats and a student at the University of California, San Diego, said the decision to issue the statement stemmed from a change in the organization’s understanding of its own role.
“We are realizing that our duty as College Democrats is to represent college students in the party and not the other way around,” Muralitharan said. “As it stands, young people have very different views on the Palestine/Israel issue than the Democratic Party establishment. And across the country, we are seeing Democrat Joe Biden lose large numbers of young voters on this issue.” I am witnessing it.”
The statement was written primarily by the organization’s Muslim leaders. Caucus Chairman Hasan Pyarari, a senior at Wake Forest University, said his dissatisfaction with Biden’s Israel policy had been simmering for some time, but the immediate impetus for him to make a public statement was to convene his caucus. It was a decision made by the Colombian administrative authorities. Police quell campus protests and arrest participants.
Mr. Pyarari, 22, said he and his fellow senators are committed Democrats who have been enthusiastically invested in Mr. Biden’s victory, and that Mr. Pyarari has opposed Mr. Biden to former President Donald J. Trump, whom he called a “huge threat.” He said he was concerned about the possibility of losing.
But “we thought it would be a disservice not only to the Democratic Party but also to the country not to speak out against the president on this particular issue. We hope the president will listen to us.” He said the election “will not be won on the same path the president is currently on.”
The statement received overwhelming support from the College Democratic Party’s 10-member executive committee, with two members voting against it.
Joshua Martin, the organization’s political affairs director and a junior at the University of Houston, was among them. He is unhappy that the statement does not condemn Hamas, and that it compares the current protests, which he sees as largely anti-Semitic, to the civil rights movement. He said it was inappropriate.
“Issuing a statement effectively tells Jewish students within the University Democratic Party of America that we frankly don’t care what you say and will do whatever it takes to complete the story.” That means I am saying that I intend to do so.” Martin, 21, added that he does not support attaching conditions to aid to Israel and believes Hamas is “the complete root of the problem.”
In addition to calling for a permanent ceasefire and a two-state solution, the statement was written in consultation with members of the Columbia and Yale chapters of the College Democrats, student activists at New York University and Indiana University, and The participants expressed their support. They are calling on the university to withdraw from Israel.
