The brazen acts of arson claimed by pro-Palestine groups at the University of California, Berkeley, reveal a troubling escalation in so-called “activism” into outright criminality. These incidents, reportedly in response to perceived grievances against the university’s supposed connections with Israel, are nothing short of Antisemitic and an affront to the rule of law and civil discourse.
Firebombing buildings and police cars, looting, and the general chaos described are acts of violence that undermine any legitimate concerns about university policies or international affiliations. Claiming such destruction as “mutual aid” in retaliation for student arrests or to punish the university for its alleged support of Israel perverts the concept of aid and cannot be tolerated in a society that values legal and peaceful means of expression.
The named operation, CAMPS FLOOD, chillingly echoes the rhetoric of Hamas‘ Al-Aqsa Flood invasion on October 7th—a grim reminder of the violence occurring against Israel, now being symbolically mirrored in university protests. Such radical action, accompanied by threats of further retaliation unless the university severs ties with Israel, goes to show what happens when Americans support a terrorist organization. They become like them.
University campuses, heralded as bastions of free thought and speech, are being turned into battlegrounds not by the exchange of ideas, but by the exchange of threats and acts of vandalism. When groups like these claim “glory to the martyrs” while engaging in activities that endanger the lives and safety of students and staff, they must be unequivocally condemned by all.
Moreover, this situation demands a robust response not just from campus security but from federal law enforcement. If such actions were motivated by any other ideology, there would likely be an immediate and forceful response. It’s a sad day for academia and for civil society when halls of learning become scenes of crime, perpetrated by Antisemitic, pro-Hamas protestors.
