The scourge of antisemitism as seen from pro-Hamas protests at Columbia University and other supposedly elite institutions in New York and around the country has reached a fever pitch. The Empire State has been particularly one to watch, though, especially given the state's high Jewish population, but also the failure of Democratic leaders in the state. Townhall spoke with New York State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt to discuss what he lambasted as a "lack of clarity and moral leadership" from Democrats, and at the very top.
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) earlier this week released a paltry video message to her X account. While she offered lip service to Jewish students who felt fearful for their safety, she also tried to appeal to the protesters, including their sense of "humanity."
When others tried to do more to offer their support to Jewish students on campus, Hochul balked, namely when it comes to Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) press conference he held on Wednesday. Many fellow Republicans were present, including those in the New York congressional delegation. Many of those members, as Ortt reminded, represent districts with large Jewish populations. Hochul, however, as POLITICO reported, said Johnson should stay away.
"I think politicizing this and bringing the entourage to put a spotlight on this is only adding to the division,” she was quoted as saying. "A speaker worth the title should really be trying to heal people and not divide them, so I don’t think it adds to anything."
Ortt emphasized how such a reaction showed "a complete lack of leadership," as he also pointed out Hochul's response has been "disappointing."
"When I look at the president of the university press the United States, the governor of New York, there's just a lack of moral clarity on how to deal with this," he pointed out, also highlighting how if it were any other group other than Jews being targeted, "there's no question it would be dealt with swiftly. It would be it would be very clear as to, you know, 'there's no place for this at the university. There's no place for this kind of hate at the university.' And yet in this moment, where we have very real antisemitic" behavior when it comes to students who, as Ortt aptly pointed out, are "finding common cause" with Hamas terrorists and the atrocities that they committed on October 7.
As the Republican leader reminded, "If it was any other group [being targeted], this would be called out for what it is. But in this situation where we want to be nuanced, we want to have a conversation we want to understand them."
Ortt also referenced his experiences after September 11, 2001, and how he himself has served in the New York Army National Guard as a result and was also a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Hamas terrorists, whom these students and other protesters sympathize with, have "a very similar philosophy" to al Qaeda terrorists, Ortt warned, as they "share many of the same goals," including for "a weakened America" and "an end to the nation of Israel."
"It's almost hard for me to fathom that one generation later, not far from Ground Zero, we could see what we're seeing on Columbia University and it's not being called out for what it is," Ortt continued, tying the similarities he sees together.
While Hochul might wish to criticize Johnson for "politicizing this," Ortt argued, "For the governor to criticize the speaker, really just misses the point." It also shows weakness on her part, especially as she could have commended Johnson for showing his support for Jewish students.
"It shows a weakness," Ortt argued. "When you're a strong leader," you should be able to handle meeting across the aisle, especially if "you're the governor of New York, and it's good for New York to have the speaker there, recognizing the importance of what's going on to our Jewish community, trying to show some leadership." It also shows something about Hochul's lack of leadership that Johnson had to come at all. "Quite frankly, I think if we had more leadership from the Democrats in New York, the speaker maybe wouldn't feel the need to come here. I think he felt the need to come here because there was a lack of clarity and moral leadership on this issue," Ortt offered.
Townhall has covered considerably how the Democrats are in disarray over members who dare to support Israel while others, including and especially, but not merely, members of the Squad would rather cater to an anti-Israel and antisemitic base. Ortt weighed in there as well. "I think it also highlights the challenges in the Democratic Party, where even for those who want to, there's a real risk to come out and side with Israel, to call outside antisemitism" and acknowledge "we don't side here and negotiate, last time I checked, with terrorists. We don't side with or find common cause or understanding" with such Hamas sympathizers, something he reminded America did not do after September 11.
Hochul has plenty of failings on the issue. Ortt and other Republican state senators had sent a letter to the governor, urging she take more action, which includes calling on Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik to resign, as so many have done.
The governor doesn't look to be willing to activate the National Guard to protect Jewish students, despite this also being a call many have made, another call that has been made, including when it comes to former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who came close to beating Hochul in the 2022 gubernatorial race. The Biden White House has given a similarly weak response, as has been the case throughout these pro-Hamas demonstrations.
Hamas is a known terror org with a similar worldview as Al Qaeda and ISIS. The situation calls for leadership.
— Rob Ortt (@SenatorOrtt) April 24, 2024
Instead, @Columbia feebly asked Jewish students, who have done nothing wrong, to stay home. They deserve to be able to attend class safely. Columbia has failed them.… pic.twitter.com/RQGC6ygx40
This situation calls for leadership. @GovKathyHochul needs to join us in demanding President Shafik’s immediate resignation and do her job as Governor, deploying the National Guard to restore safety and order where nobody else will.
— Rob Ortt (@SenatorOrtt) April 24, 2024
Read the letter⬇️ pic.twitter.com/rFWs9RL7jP
Hochul, as Ortt had reminded, justified bringing in the National Guard to address the rampant violent crime on the subway systems, by mentioning a "psychological" benefit as a benefit for subway riders. "Aren't they deserving of the same psychological benefit of having, you know, someone there," Ortt raised to Townhall about the idea of having the National Guard on campus for Jewish students.
Many Democrats also bring free speech into this. As Ortt assured Townhall, he is "always conscious" about free speech rights, including and especially when it comes to being a conservative in New York.
"They seem to like the First Amendment sometimes, and less so other times," especially when it comes to college campus, Ortt pointed out about Democrats. "You know, I think that that is used very often, in this case by Democrats, when it's convenient. And they very much ignore it when it's not [convenient]."
Again, it comes up again how if this were any other group, Ortt raised, we would not be hearing so much about the First Amendment from Democrats.
"As a conservative, I've never believed for a long time now for many years, that the First Amendment was really en vogue on college campuses," he shared. In this particular case, Ortt would argue that those protesting on college campuses are supporting what's the majority view there.
As Ortt also reminded, there have been "professional agitators" who have been causing disruptions when entering the private university to sympathize with terrorists. Further, these agitators do not have the right to threaten harm and violate the rights of these Jewish students and professors.
Many of these agitators have made their support for Hamas clear, which is where the similarities with Ortt's service in Afghanistan after September 11 comes up, as these protesters are "coming really close" to standing with enemy combatants of the United States, similarly to standing with Iran. These protesters are not merely calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas War or calling for the release of hostages. "They're showing solidarity and... aid and comfort to an enemy of the United States."
"That is a hard thing for me to stare at and go you know what, 'I'm going to just I'm just going to turn the other cheek here and let them let them do that.' I think that is a dangerous thing... especially at a university," he continued.
As for what's next, Ortt and other Senate Republicans are looking to move forward with a legislative package, released along with a report on the issue. Ortt called the package dealing with antisemitism on college campuses "very thoughtful."