Yesterday, Nick Wilson, a second-year undergraduate student at the School of Industrial & Labor Relations at Cornell University, was temporarily suspended from the university for participating in a pro-Palenstine nonviolent encampment. Wilson was among four students suspended, two of whom were international.
We wrote an editorial on these pages stating that campus protests, spreading rapidly across America from coast to coast, are bound to fizzle out in a few weeks when the spring semester ends. We noted that the demonstrations lacked seriousness and staying power. There is no student leader that the media can turn to for clarification about the protests’ mission. Protests without leaders don’t have staying power and will likely result in anarchy, like the BLM-inspired summer riots of 2020.
We were also critical that if there is any organization at all that drives these campus demonstrations, it is weak and ineffective. At Columbia, three groups – Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), and Within Our Lifetime – pitched tents. The Cornell student says he is an organizer with the Young Democratic Socialists of America and Cornell’s Coalition for Mutual Liberation.
Socialism is a fringe movement in America that dates back to the 19th century. It has encompassed various ideals, but the central vision, as Wilson says, is that different groups are structurally oppressed – and a better world is possible only if the working class collectively acts. Various terms have been used to describe socialists, including anarchists, communists, democratic socialists, social democrats, Marxists, Marxist–Leninists, Trotskyists, and utopian socialists.
The most famous socialist in America today, independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, ran for the Democratic nomination twice in 2016 and 2020. He became a media star and drew massive crowds, but he failed to win more than a few New England and coastal states. In the Senate, Sanders has been a critic of Israel because of the Palestinian cause. He tabled a motion to make US military support conditional on whether Israel is violating human rights in Gaza. It failed by 72 votes to 11. He was also the only senator in the Democratic caucus to vote against advancing a bill in February that would send $14.1 billion in military aid to Israel. (Sanders also voted against the recent $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan because of funds included for Israel.)
The Squad, an informal group of nine Democratic House members that owes its very existence to Bernie, includes some of the most left-wing politicians in America: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan (a daughter of Palestinian immigrants), Jamaal Bowman of New York, and Cori Bush of Missouri. While Pramila Jayapal of Washington doesn’t count herself as a Squad member, she frequently votes with the Squad on every liberal cause and was one of Sanders’s campaign chairpersons.
The Squad supports the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign, a Palestinian-led movement that began in 2005 to “promote freedom, justice, and equality.” BDS maintains that Israel occupies and colonizes Palestinian land, discriminating against Palestinian citizens of Israel and denying Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes. Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, BDS urges action to pressure companies from doing business in Israel. Over time, BDS hopes that Israel will become isolated as more companies, universities, and organizations boycott the Jewish state.
In a non-binding vote in the House in 2019, Congress voted on whether or not to support BDS ideals as a way to pressure Israel. By an overwhelming margin of 398-17, the House showed its bipartisan support for Israel and defeated the proposal. But all the Squad members were part of the 17 legislators who voted to support BDS.
A common theme across the current campus protests is that students repeat verbatim the talking points of the BDS movement. BDS is notably silent about the Oct 7 Hamas attacks that killed nearly 1,200 people, including 764 civilians and 373 Israeli security personnel. A further 248 persons were kidnapped, many of whom have since died. Dozens of hostages remain in Hamas custody. Student protesters either omit to mention the Hamas attacks or justify them by saying that more than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel’s disproportionate response in Gaza.
Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Squad member Ilhan Omar, was one of a hundred students cuffed and arrested by the New York Police Department at Barnard College and Columbia University. After Hirsi had her living privileges revoked, she told reporters that she was homeless, hungry, and had nowhere to live. Following Hirsi’s arrest, Congresswoman Omar, who was removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee for past controversial comments that invoked antisemitic tropes, said that she was “enormously proud” of her daughter. A week later, Omar visited the pro-Gaza encampment to take selfies with activists, smiles all around.
We have consistently maintained that boycotts do not work because they often impact those who can least afford such activism. The BDS-inspired campus protests will suffer the same outcome. It is unlikely that American companies that have long-standing businesses in Israel will withdraw because of a few thousand students. These students must first understand if they have sufficient influence in Jerusalem to help change policy. A powerful force such as America, on whom Israel depends for weapons, military aid, and diplomatic support, has had zero impact in its efforts to change Israel’s policy in Gaza. What meaningful chance do these students have to convince Netanyahu to change his approach to Gaza?
Everything that is happening on college campuses today is drama and a made-for-TV show designed to test university administrations’ ability to balance free speech rights against the disruption of university missions of teaching and learning. The protests will not move the needle in Gaza one tiny bit.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Hamas Says No ‘Major Issues’ After Reviewing Israel Truce, Hostage Deal Proposal – AFP
A Hamas delegation will arrive in Egypt on Monday to deliver the group’s response to Israel’s counterproposal, a senior Hamas official told AFP.
“The atmosphere is positive unless there are new Israeli obstacles,” the official anonymously said. The official added, “There are no major issues in the observations and inquiries submitted by Hamas regarding the contents” of the proposal.
2. Situation On Frontline Has Worsened, Ukraine Army Chief Says – BBC
Oleksandr Syrskyi said the situation on the frontline has worsened in the face of multiple Russian attacks.
He confirmed that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from some of their positions in an area of Donetsk that had formed part of a defensive line established after Russia captured Avdiivka in February.
Russia is trying to take advantage of its superiority in manpower and artillery before Ukrainian forces get much-needed supplies of new U.S. weapons.
3. Cheap Russian Drones Overwhelm U.S.-Made Abrams Tanks, Taken Out Of Action – Intellinews
Ukrainian forces are withdrawing U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 main battle tanks from the front lines after at least five have been destroyed by cheap Russian drones, according to the AP.
When the U.S. announced in January 2023 that it would deliver a battalion of Abrams tanks to Ukraine; the hope was that 31 U.S.-made tanks, far superior to the Russian T-72 tank in wide use by Russia’s forces, would be a game changer.
However, the evolving dynamics of warfare, particularly the proliferation of Russian surveillance and hunter-killer drones, have dramatically altered the operational landscape. It turned out that the Abrams were more vulnerable to Russian attacks than previously believed.
4. Ukraine Spy Agency Says Telegram Messaging App Blocks Its Key Bots – Reuters
“Today, the management of the Telegram platform unreasonably blocked several official bots that opposed Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, including the main Intelligence bot,” Ukraine’s military spy agency GUR said in a statement posted on the Telegram.
The Dubai-based Telegram messaging app, one of the most popular social media platforms, was founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on another social media platform he had sold.
Almost all major media, government entities, and public figures in both Russia and Ukraine operate content channels on Telegram.
5. U.S. Finds Putin Probably Did Not Order Navalny’s Death In February: Report – Al Jazeera
The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that U.S. intelligence agencies did not dispute Putin’s culpability in the jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s death but concluded that the Russian President probably did not order Navalny’s death at the time it took place.
The Associated Press news agency, citing a U.S. official, reported separately that the intelligence community had found “no smoking gun” and that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny’s death or directly ordered it.
6. Russia Threatens West With ‘Severe’ Response If Its Assets Are Touched – Reuters
Russian officials threatened the West with a “severe” response if frozen Russian assets were confiscated, promising “endless” legal challenges and tit-for-tat measures.
In response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Washington and its allies prohibited transactions with Russia’s central bank and Finance Ministry and blocked about $300 billion of sovereign Russian assets in the West, most of which are in European financial institutions.
7. 2 More Russian Journalists Arrested As Crackdown On Independent Media Heightens – RFE/RL
Russian courts on April 27-28 ordered the detention of Konstantin Gabov in Moscow and Sergei Karelin in Murmansk on charges that they worked with the Navalny Live YouTube channel. Both men denied the allegations against them.
Navalny Live is run by supporters of the late Aleksei Navalny, a vocal Kremlin critic who died in an Arctic prison in February under mysterious circumstances.
Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which broadcasts on YouTube from outside Russia, has been designated a “foreign agent” and an extremist group by Russian authorities.
8. China Firms Go ‘Underground’ On Russia Payments As Banks Pull Back – Reuters
As China’s big banks pull back from financing Russia-related transactions, some Chinese companies are turning to small banks on the border and underground financing channels such as money brokers – even banned cryptocurrency – sources said.
The U.S. has imposed an array of sanctions on Russia and Russian entities since the country invaded Ukraine in 2022. Now, the threat of extending these to banks in China – a country Washington blames for “powering” Moscow’s war effort – is chilling the finances that lubricate even non-military trade from China to Russia.
9. China’s Communists Once Used Hong Kong To Subvert A Mainland Government – RFA
Beijing insisted Hong Kong pass stringent security legislation known as Article 23 due to fears that the city would be used as a base from which to bring down the government – because that’s exactly what the Chinese Communist Party used the city for.
Secret documents recently declassified by the Chinese government reveal how the Chinese Communist Party used Hong Kong as a base from which to subvert the 1911 Republic of China regime founded by Sun Yat-sen after the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
10. Musk Leaves China After Tesla Wins Key Security Clearance – AFP
Tech billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk departed Beijing, an AFP journalist said, after a whistlestop visit that saw his firm win a key data security clearance from Chinese authorities.
Bloomberg reported that the U.S. electric car giant also appeared to inch closer to government approval to use its assisted driving technology in China by teaming up with tech titan Baidu for maps and navigation features.
Musk arrived in Beijing on Sunday for his second trip to China in less than a year. He met with top officials, including Premier Li Qiang.
11. Ireland Looking To Send Asylum Seekers Back To UK: Report
According to broadcaster RTE, the Republic of Ireland is considering amending the law to allow asylum seekers to return to the United Kingdom after an influx over the border with Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it was evidence that London’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is acting as a deterrent. The UK’s Rwanda bill cleared its final parliamentary hurdle last week after a marathon tussle between the upper and lower chambers of parliament.
12. North Korea Installs Mines On Inter-Korean Road Within DMZ – Yonhap
The South Korean military detected the North laying mines on the unpaved road inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas late last year, according to a South Korean military official.
The move came after the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, called for scrapping a decades-long policy of seeking unification with South Korea and defining their relations as those between “two states hostile to each other.”
13. Report: Global Wine Production Worst In 62 Years Due To ‘Extreme Climate Events’ – UPI
Industry officials have reported that fires, droughts, and other conditions commonly associated with a changing global climate greatly contributed to making the world’s 2023 wine production the worst in 62 years.
A “State of the World Vine and Wine Sector in 2023” report by the France-based International Organization of Vine and Wine cites “extreme environmental conditions” as a primary cause of a 10% drop in global wine production in 2023. The grape harvest was the worst reported since 1961.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
