US authorities ignore students’ right to hold different opinion — Indian expert
According to Robinder Sachdev, the pro-Palestinian student protests in the US are a natural reaction to the shocking scale of civilian killings and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Stripf
The US authorities’ reaction to the pro-Palestinian protests at US universities showed a complete lack of tolerance for differing opinions on some issues, said the president of the New Delhi-based analytical center Imagindia Institute Robinder Sachdev
“American authorities have acted with undue haste and ignored the right to protest of their students. There was almost no violence, and almost very little of anti-Semite slogans, yet they called in police to dismantle the camps and arrest students. <…> Overall, it shows that tolerance for diversity of opinion on some issues is low in the democracy of America,” the expert said.
Defining anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli
In addition, according to Sachdev, the reaction to the student protests in the US “demonstrates the power of the narrative that anything said against state of Israel is twisted to mean anti-Semitic.” Meanwhile, the expert believes that the difference between what it means to be “anti-Israeli” and “anti-Semitic” is becoming clearer. “Since long, any criticism of the Israeli government in America has been pushed away by supporters of Israeli-state by labelling such criticism as being ‘anti-Semite.’ These protests and the wide debate they have provoked in America signify that larger number of Americans are now clearly demarcating between the two – i.e. that criticizing Israel is not the same as being anti-Jew,” he explained. He pointed out that many Jewish student organizations and students also take part in the protests.
“Therefore, in future it will mean that Israeli government will not be able to take America’s support for granted on any and every issue,” Sachdev added.
According to the expert, the pro-Palestinian student protests in the US are a natural reaction to the shocking scale of civilian killings and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. “Historically, university campuses in America have seen large protests against the Vietnam War, and against apartheid in South Africa. Though the protests were often suppressed, the protests stood for was later proven true. The US withdrew from Vietnam, and also apartheid was dismantled. Thus, these protests of today may be suppressed by university authorities for now, but in the long term it shows that Israel is losing public opinion support in America, while support for the Palestinian cause and homeland is growing in America,” Sachdev concluded.
American universities are currently hosting mass demonstrations in support of Palestine, against the actions of Israel and its support by the US authorities. Since April 18, police have detained more than 2,000 people at pro-Palestinian demonstrations at more than 30 universities. The protesters demand to stop financial aid and arms supplies to Israel. The country is conducting a military operation in the Gaza Strip, which has killed 34,600 people and injured 77,800 in six months. In recent days, police have tried to force demonstrators out of tent camps on the grounds of educational institutions in a number of US cities.
