WASHINGTON – Rep. Tom Emmer is helping to unleash a new attack on Democrats, especially President Biden and progressives like Rep. Ilhan Omar, blaming the political rivals for the unrest at the nation’s college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Emmer, R-6th, compared student protesters to Nazis and said “movements for hate” at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus and other schools across the nation are being encouraged by Omar, D-5th.
“Let me be clear, by embracing pro-terrorist extremists, Ilhan Omar is encouraging violence against Jewish students,” said Emmer, whose House Majority Whip holds a GOP House leadership position. “There should be zero tolerance for antisemitism on our college campuses, in our communities or anywhere across our country.”
Emmer also said, for more than a week, the nation has watched as “pro-terrorists and antisemites” at U.S. universities have “exuded some of the clearest acts of bigotry against Jewish students on campus since the late 1930s in Nazi Germany.”
Protesters have chanted slogans and carried signs some have found to be antisemitic and offensive. But it seems they represent a minority of demonstrators, who, like the University of Minnesota protesters, want their schools to cut financial ties and academic ties to Israel.
Demonstrations continued Tuesday at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus, a week after nine protesters there were arrested and held briefly for criminal trespass.
Protesters set up a new encampment and were warned by campus law enforcement to disperse. But, so far this week, the Twin Cities campus has been peaceful, with none of the clashes between students and law enforcement that are occurring at an increasing number of schools that have gripped the nation’s attention.
“Every time that they gave us dispersal warning, the people who were planning on getting arrested locked arms in the middle, and then we formed a human barrier around the encampment,” said Merlin Van Alstine, a senior and member of Students for Democratic Society.
An attempt to censure Omar
Omar’s office pushed back against Emmer’s comments, which have intensified over the past week and helped make the Democratic congresswoman a lightning rod for those critical of the campus unrest.
“Congresswoman Omar clearly condemned antisemitism and bigotry for all Jewish students,” said Omar spokeswoman Jacklyn Rogers. “Attempts to misconstrue her words are meant to distract from the ongoing violence and genocide occurring in Gaza and the large antiwar protests happening across our country and around the world.”
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., on Tuesday said he is drafting a resolution to censure Omar for referring to some Jewish students as “pro-genocide.”
During her visit to Columbia University last week, where her daughter is a student in the school’s Barnard College, Omar said, “We should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide.”
The U.S. House Republicans took other steps to advance their efforts to equate support to for Palestinians and criticisms of Israel with antisemitism.
A new resolution condemning antisemitism is expected to be voted on Wednesday. Progressives and other Democrats are expected to reject the resolution as overly broad, saying it is aimed at policing all criticism of the conservative Israeli government. The House also plan to expand its investigation into universities and colleges that have had campus unrest, with an eye toward withholding federal funding from schools that in its view don’t do enough to stop the protests.
“We’re here to deliver a message to Hamas and members of ‘The Squad’ including my Minnesota colleague Ilhan Omar who have all endorsed these antisemitic protests that enough is enough,” Emmer said.
But the demonstrations don’t show any sign of slowing down.
At the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus, Van Alstine estimated that 50 individuals stayed at the encampment overnight Monday into Tuesday. Van Alstine was encouraged by the strength of the protests. Forty people were willing to get arrested of the 750 people gathered in support of Palestinian people, the organizer said.
“There’s definitely power in numbers,” said Van Alstine.
Organizers have received an email from University of Minnesota Interim President Jeff Ettinger requesting a meeting. A meeting is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
The university has closed about a dozen buildings around the Northrop Mall, including Walter Library, one of the largest libraries on campus and a space students say they would normally use to study for upcoming exams. In a statement, the university said the closures were to “ensure the safety of those who work and study on our campus.”
However, Van Alstine called the closures an “overreaction” and said the university is implying danger where it doesn’t exist. Protesters emphasized that the movement by students and community members has remained peaceful.
“They keep talking about safety with the buildings being closed, but nothing here has been violent or will ever be violent,” Van Alstine said Tuesday. “Last night, we were having a dance circle. How is that violent? People have been making art. So many people have brought food and water. This is not a violent thing in any way.”
In response to statements made by some implying pro-Palestine protesters are antisemitic, organizers emphasized that they do not want harm done to anyone, including their Jewish peers.
The demands of the University of Minnesota protesters include:
- The university disinvest in all companies “complicit in genocide and war crimes.”
- Banning weapon manufacturing companies like Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, Boeing and General Dynamics, from recruiting on campus.
- Divestiture from universities that work with Israel, such as university connection to Tel Aviv University, where the university does plant pathology work around cereal crops and Haifa University, of which the university is an affiliate.
- Transparency about university investments and spending.
The students also seek a statement from the university in support of the school’s Palestinian student body and recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people. They are also seeking amnesty for all students, staff, community and faculty who have faced “political oppression” for their advocacy of Palestinian liberation.
Ana Radelat
Ana Radelat is MinnPost’s Washington, D.C. correspondent. You can reach her at aradelat@minnpost.com or follow her on Twitter at @radelat.
Winter Keefer
Winter Keefer is MinnPost’s Metro reporter. Follow her on Twitter or email her at wkeefer@minnpost.com.
