Columbia University and New York University’s anti-Israel protests have been difficult to quell. In addition to Mayor Adams of New York City pointing out the intervention of external individuals in fueling the fire, experts also analyze that multiple signs indicate the likelihood of “foreign aid” being involved.
According to a report by Fox News Digital, Dr. Jay Greene, a senior researcher at The Heritage Foundation’s Education Policy Center, believes that although there is no conclusive evidence, there are sufficient reasons and signs that show foreign aid and collaboration have fueled campus protest activities.
Signs of foreign intervention include: the majority of the protest “camps” using similar tents, which were already purchased and prepared in advance; the protests erupting on the eve of Passover, making it difficult for Jewish students preparing for the holiday or vacation to counteract; and the language used by protesters being highly similar to that of foreign agitators such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Dr. Greene also mentioned that Palestinian groups have organized “training courses” at Columbia University and other universities to train students to grasp the arguments calling for “global uprisings and support from foreign allies” advocated by Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. Weeks before the anti-Israel protest activities erupted at Columbia University, several students were suspended for organizing these banned “training courses” in on-campus dormitories.
According to videos circulating on YouTube, the banned “training courses” at Columbia University were arranged by the “Columbia University Apartheid Divest” organization and featured a virtual seminar titled “Resistance 101.” The seminar was led by international collaborators from the “Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network,” Charlotte Kates and her husband Khaled Barakat, who are associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department.
These speakers at the seminar used extreme rhetoric to incite students, such as: there is nothing wrong with being a warrior for Hamas, the demonstrations in New York are more important than ever for the resistance movement in Gaza, Columbia’s anti-Israel protesters are at the forefront fighting to defend Palestine and its liberation, and so on.
Dr. Greene points out that foreign intervention in student protest activities cannot be taken lightly, and President Biden and the federal government should prioritize intervention, as waiting for a tragedy to occur would be too late.