At a House Judiciary hearing on Wednesday, several pro-Palestinian protestors interrupted the statements of conservative and Jewish college students who were speaking out about how their right to free speech is suppressed on college campuses.
At the start of the hearing, a protester screamed that some of the lawmakers present “tried to silence Rashida Tlaib” and that “Israel apartheid has existed longer than what has happened on October 7.”
“You will not silence us,” the protestor yelled. “Ceasefire now!”
After Connor Ogrydziak, a recent graduate from the University of Buffalo, began speaking, a protestor interrupted his statement.
“How does speaking up against genocide become antisemitism? How is that the same f***ing thing?” the protestor screamed.
Others chimed in, claiming that being pro-Palestine is not antisemitic.
“Palestinians deserve to speak on the genocide of their families,” one said, as police approached and said “sit down or you’ll be arrested.”
“Palestinian students deserve to speak on the fam– genocide of their families! Stop silencing Palestinian students!” she screamed multiple times.
Today’s House hearing on anti-Semitism on college campuses got off to a slow start as “Free-Palestine” protestors repeatedly interrupted opening statements: pic.twitter.com/Srpg1MiWyC
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 8, 2023
During the opening statements, a student at the University of Iowa named Jasmyn Jordan shared that she was doxxed at her campus for being conservative and helping her organization, Iowa Young Americans for Freedom, host conservative speakers.
“The playing field for freedom of speech on college campuses was not equalized,” Jordan stated. “The first time I noticed this was when Iowa YAF hosted Kellyanne Conway as a speaker.”
“I was doxxed in a group of over eight hundred students and was falsely labeled as a Nazi, a token, a white supremacist, and a bigot...simply because I'm black and hold conservative principles,” Jordan said as she became emotional. “These students believe that if you are conservative, you are hateful, support oppression, and only want to benefit straight white men, even though such beliefs are untrue.”
Student testifying on Capitol Hill breaks down explaining what it’s like to be a conservative on college campuses these days:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 8, 2023
“I was doxxed in a group of over a hundred students and was falsely labeled as a Nazi, a token, a white supremacist, and a bigot...simply because I'm… pic.twitter.com/bdzgp6Q05I
Afterwards, Amanda Silberstein, a Jewish student at Cornell University, was interrupted by a “Free Palestine” protestor as she was in the middle of explaining how she has experienced threats from other students on campus.
"Imagine scrolling on your phone one day only to discover that a fellow student wants to shoot up the Kosher dinning hall and, I quote, 'gang rape all Jew pig women on campus.,” she explained. “That is what my peers and I experienced last week when reading the multiple online threats made by a fellow student instructing other Cornell students to assault Jews on campus. To, ‘follow them home and slit their throats.’”
“This was not just hate speech. It was a call to action and immediate threat. This sentiment did not begin with that student. Professors and student organizations have been fueling Jew hatred and spreading it across campus with disregard—” Silberstein continued, until she was cut off by a protestor.
“Free Palestine. Anti-Zionism is not anti-semitism,” she screamed.
"Imagine scrolling on your phone one day only to discover that a fellow student wants to shoot up the Kosher dinning hall and, I quote, 'gang rape all Jew pig women on campus.'"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 8, 2023
Amanda Silberstein, a student at Cornell, was interrupted by a “Free Palestine” protestor while… pic.twitter.com/5jZkx1y9Lu