Republican Senators Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley have urged President Joe Biden to deploy the National Guard to Columbia University. The call comes in response to the recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus, which resulted in the arrest of over 100 individuals.
The senators have made an appeal for federal action, coinciding with the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover on Monday. In response to the heated protests, a prominent rabbi at the school advised Jewish students to leave the Upper Manhattan campus. In line with this, Columbia University has announced that classes will be conducted remotely.
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According to a social media post by Cotton (R-Ark.) on Monday morning, he believes that the protests are the result of the Democratic Party’s base, which he claims has always included radical anti-Israel protestors.
“The ongoing outbreaks of violence at Columbia must come to an immediate halt, for the sake of our Jewish community celebrating Passover Seder tonight,” expressed Cotton. “If Eric Adams fails to deploy the NYPD and Kathy Hochul neglects to send the National Guard, it is the responsibility of Joe Biden to intervene and dismantle these unruly groups.”
Cotton’s suggestion to deploy the National Guard to the college campus brings to mind a similar incident from almost four years ago. At that time, the Arkansas Republican wrote an op-ed in The New York Times advocating for the use of military force against the numerous protesters who were demonstrating against police brutality following the tragic killing of George Floyd. This opinion piece, published in 2020, received immediate backlash from readers and employees of the newspaper. Consequently, James Bennet, the editorial page editor, resigned, and an editor’s note was added to the article, acknowledging that it did not meet the publication’s standards and should not have been published.
The Insurrection Act allows the president to activate the National Guard at the request of a state in order to uphold federal laws or safeguard civil rights.
In his own post, Hawley (R-Mo.) referenced President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1957 order to the National Guard, in which they were tasked with protecting the “Little Rock Nine” in Arkansas following the Supreme Court’s ruling to desegregate schools.
On X Monday, Hawley emphasized the need for Biden to take action by pointing out that Eisenhower had sent the 101st to Little Rock. According to him, it is now time for the National Guard to be called out at our universities to protect Jewish Americans.
Jonathan Greenblatt, Director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, has also recommended the deployment of the National Guard to campus. He emphasized the urgency of taking action from both local and federal officials, stating that it should be done before it becomes too late.
Democratic Representatives Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, and Dan Goldman of New York took a walk through the Columbia University campus. They held a press conference on Monday, where they urged Columbia President Minouche Shafik to prioritize the safety and well-being of its students. On the other hand, Republican New York Representatives Mike Lawler and Anthony D’Esposito also voiced their concerns outside the campus, demanding Shafik’s resignation.
In a statement released on Sunday in connection with the approaching holiday, President Biden emphasized the pressing need to address the concerning rise of Antisemitism across various domains, including schools, communities, and online platforms.
In a statement, Biden expressed his firm stance against Antisemitism, stating that “Silence is complicity.” He condemned the recent incidents of harassment and calls for violence against Jews, emphasizing that such blatant Antisemitism is both reprehensible and dangerous. According to Biden, there is no room for such behavior on college campuses or anywhere in the country.
