The anti-war wave exposed divisions in Mr. Biden's coalition

President Biden's hopes of rebuilding the coalition that brought him to the White House are threatened as the movement to protest the Gaza war spreads. Pro-Israel Democrats are pushing President Joe Biden to respond more forcefully to the anti-war protest movement at universities across the US.

Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, also believe that the increasingly widespread protest movement is a sign of the White House's poor ability to handle the crisis.

For many months, Democratic lawmakers and officials have expressed a relatively cautious stance on the conflict in Gaza, as President Biden has persistently supported Israel's military campaign in the strip of land, despite Casualties continued to increase. But when a wave of anti-war protests flares up strongly at American universities, Mr. Biden's efforts to maintain the alliance are threatened more than ever.


Under constantly increasing political pressure when students at dozens of schools continuously protested and clashed with police, Mr. Biden had to break his silence on May 3, declaring that Americans had the right to protest, but did not have the right to protest. permission to proceed with violence. "Destroying property is not a peaceful protest, it is a violation of the law. Vandalism, illegal trespassing, breaking windows, causing schools to close, canceling graduation ceremonies, none of that This is a peaceful protest," he said, emphasizing "order must be guaranteed"

According to observers, President Biden's tough message is unlikely to appease calls for him to take stronger measures against protesters. On the other hand, it also risks making him lose points in the eyes of young voters, who completely disapprove of the way the President is handling the conflict in Gaza.
However, the biggest concern for the White House owner right now seems to be that the coalition supporting him is shaking in the face of the protest movement. The College Democrats of America, a mainstream organization supporting President Biden, has sided with the protest movement.
They praised the "courage" of the students for being willing to face risks to "protect the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people". Although reaffirming their support for President Biden and other Democrats in the upcoming election, the group also issued a warning to his campaign.

"Every day that Democrats cannot unite to achieve a lasting ceasefire, a two-state solution and recognition of an independent Palestine, is a day that more young people become disillusioned with them," the group declared. dad.
Earlier this week, before protesters at Columbia University occupied a school building, nearly 20 Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives gave an ultimatum to university boards: Dissolve protest camps. resignation or resignation.

Republicans quickly took advantage of the chaos to attack Democrats. They strongly condemned the protests and President Biden's administration's failure to curb Israel's military campaign in Gaza. Former President Trump said that Jewish members of the Democratic Party "hate their own religion" and he is looking for ways to blame President Biden.



"No one knows what America's current stance is. I think Mr. Biden is not necessarily on Israel's side and he is making a serious mistake. You have to handle the crisis we have seen since yesterday." October 7, 2023," he said, referring to the Hamas raid on Israeli territory nearly 7 months ago.
The debate among Democrats heated up last week, when Senator Bernie Sanders criticized party leaders for not voting on his proposal to "end military aid to the Israeli Prime Minister's administration." Benjamin Netanyahu". Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who supports Israeli aid, then posted on social media, accusing Sanders of avoiding a more important issue.

"Bernie, who is anti-Semitic, why is he so silent?", he wrote, referring to Sanders' response to the student protest movement.
The next day, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been criticized by some left-wing activists for not taking a tough enough line against Israel, came to Sanders' defense.
"Senator Sanders' family was killed in the Holocaust," she wrote on social networks. "His commitment to protecting innocent people in Gaza is rooted in Jewish values. He and many other Jewish leaders deserve better treatment."

Moskowitz responded by citing his own family's ordeals during the Holocaust. "My family members were also murdered during the Holocaust in Germany and Poland," he said. "Those values ​​are also instilled in me. That's why I voted for aid to Israel and aid to Gaza."

In an interview on CNN last weekend, Senator Sanders strongly objected to the idea that the anti-war protests of American students were an anti-Semitic movement and repeatedly emphasized these protests. change the reality in Gaza to push President Biden's administration to more strictly control aid to Israel

When asked if he was comfortable with Jewish students who support Israel being called "pro-genocide," Sanders deflected by focusing on the actions of the Israeli government. "I think the word genocide is something that is being investigated by the International Court of Justice," he said. "But here's what I will say: I have no doubt that what Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing, displacing 80% of the population in Gaza, is ethnic cleansing." In the protesters' view, Israel is violating international law because of its "efforts to push the Palestinian people out of Gaza".



The Biden administration and his campaign paint a very different picture. According to them, the military campaign that Israel launched in Gaza was a reasonable response to the October 7 attack by Hamas and Tel Aviv has the right to self-defense.

In addressing the issue, President Biden sought to remove the controversial atmosphere about the protest movement on university campuses and Republican efforts to turn the crisis into election leverage.

When asked by reporters last week about the protests, Biden said he "condemns the anti-Semitic protests" but added that he "also condemns those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians ".

On April 28, Democratic senator Chris Murphy, who criticized Israel's military campaign for causing too many casualties among civilians and was open to the possibility of adjusting aid to Tel Aviv, sought to draw a line. draw a line between the two issues. "We should all speak up when the anti-war movement crosses the line, when it becomes violent or when there are expressions of hatred.
But 95% of the young people at these schools protest because they believe what What Israel is doing in Gaza is unjust," Murphy said, emphasizing that he did not feel there was anything wrong with defending peaceful protests.

But Republicans tend to pay little attention to such details. Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik a few days ago called on the Biden administration to launch an unprecedented crackdown on protesters, asserting "anarchy has engulfed Columbia University." "I ask the government to enforce existing laws to revoke visas and deport students who have been suspended by their schools for their anti-Semitic actions," she said.