Tipsheet

Here's What Kathy Hochul, Chuck Schumer Are Saying About Columbia University's Pro-Hamas Protests

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  April 22, 2024 10:00 PM

The pro-Hamas protests at Columbia University have gotten wildly out of control. Not only are Jewish students being subject to rampant antisemitism, but with a Jewish professor being denied access to campus and Jewish students being urged to go home and take classes online for their safety, it surely seems like the victims are the ones being blamed here. President Joe Biden and his administration have been as weak as expected on the matter, from delayed statements to Biden's own "very fine people on both sides" moment. New York's top Democrats, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the latter who is Jewish, haven't been much better. 

Becky Noble at our sister site of RedState covered a video that Hochul shared from her official X account. Also included were pictures she took at the university for the perfect photo op. 

"I took the time to meet with law enforcement, NYPD, the deputy mayor, president of the college and to talk about security here, because my number one job is to keep the people of this state safe. And right now, there are many students not feeling safe on campus," Hochul shared. She also spoke about strategies to "protect public safety and security, enforce state human rights laws, and also protect people's rights to peacefully assemble and to have freedom of speech."

When speaking about the students she met with, she shared how "students are scared, they're afraid to walk on campus," adding, "they don't deserve that. They deserve to be in an environment that is free from discrimination, as required by state human rights laws."

Hochul also shared a message for the pro-Hamas agitators on campus, as she looked to appeal to them, specifically "their humanity."

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"So I leave here today. I also have a message for everybody. I was once a student protester. I protested institutions, I protested government, I protested against apartheid. But I've never seen a level of protest that is so person to person, it is so visceral. And I'm calling on everyone, people need to find their humanity. Have the conversations, talk to each other, understand different points of view, because that's what college students should be doing. So we, as the adults, need to foster the right environment for that. I hope there's a resolution that comes out of this where people have a deeper sense of understanding," Hochul went on to offer.

After mentioning religious persecution and after she claimed she herself is aware of "the sense of anxiety" students have since she herself is a parent who dropped her children off at college, Hochul sought to reassure New Yorkers that her main priority is to keep the  people of the state safe. 

Given the kind of protests we've seen from these terrorist sympathizers, it looks like we are way past the point of calling on people to "have the conversations." This is specially when they'll likely never "understand the different points of view," as they support Hamas terrorists who butchered 1,200 people last October in the worst way possible, including babies and Holocaust survivors, and also engaged in rape, torture, and kidnapping. 

Further, that Hochul acknowledges there already is anxiety for college students and their families to face, even without them being subject to such abuse, make such pro-Hamas demonstrations and inaction even more unacceptable. 

Other than such a mention at the beginning of her video message, Hochul made no mention of embattled Columbia University President Dr. Minouche Shafik. Some of Hochul's fellow New Yorkers in government, namely the Republican congressional delegation, have called on Shafik to resign.

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who challenged Hochul for the governorship in November 2022 and who came close to winning, also posted how "Kathy Hochul needs to stop cowering from her own shadow and STEP UP!"

Then there's Schumer. Last November, Schumer stood on the Senate floor to give a speech that was well-received from both sides of the aisle as he called out the rampant antisemitism on the left. Mere months later, he took to the Senate floor for a very different kind of speech that was received quite differently, as this time he called for Israel to hold new elections to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  

Now, he's continuing to sing a much different tune from that November speech when it comes to calling out antisemitic and pro-Hamas agitators who are causing mayhem in his state. On Sunday, he released a three-sentence statement, which was not shared to his X account until Monday afternoon. It was even shared after his self-congratulatory Earth Day post. 

"College campuses must be places of learning and discussion. Every American has a right to protest, but when protests shift to antisemitism, verbal abuse, intimidation, or glorification of Oct. 7 violence against Jewish people, that crosses the line. Campuses must remain safe for all students," the statement merely read. 

Other New York colleges and universities, once supposedly elite institutions, are facing a barrage of antisemitism as well as pro-Hamas behavior on campuses. An arrest was made of a student at Cornell late last October for making threats against Jewish students. And, Jewish students also announced last week that they're suing Cooper Union after they were trapped in the school library while a pro-Hamas demonstration carried on through campus last October.