The anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian protests that started at Columbia University weeks ago came to an end this week when NYPD were called to remove protestors who had barricaded themselves in a building on campus. Regardless of whether the violent and anti-semitic parts of the protests involved students or not, it's disturbing to see a minority group like Jewish students being attacked for something they have zero control over. Are these protests doing anything to change minds? What's the point of demanding American colleges end a war half-way across the world in Gaza? (I'm possibly ignorant of the duties of college administrators, but admittedly I'd be very surprised if negotiating ceasefires was in their job descriptions). Perhaps it boils down to that there is a significant portion of the left, especially in higher education, who place higher importance and virtue on public protests than they deserve.
