Biden brings up Islamophobia amid the worst antisemitism outbreak in decades
President Biden broke his silence and condemned violent protests shaking college campuses across the U.S. amid the worst antisemitism outbreak in decades and added that Islamophobia has no place in America.
"There should be no place on any campus, no place in America for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students," Biden said. "There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind, whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia or discrimination against Arab-Americans or Palestinian-Americans. It’s simply wrong. There’s no place for racism in America. It’s all wrong. It’s un-American."
Law enforcement sources indicated to Fox News Digital there has not been a spike in Islamophobia across the U.S., so when Biden summoned Islamophobia during his speech, it had some observers scratching their heads, including Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz.
"Why can’t President Biden simply denounce antisemitism without pandering to Muslims and Arabs," Dershowitz posted on X, before later saying the crisis at hand was about antisemitism, discrimination and violence against Jews, not other groups. "Why won’t he just condemn Jew hatred?"
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Mobs of anti-Israel agitators have invaded college campuses and set up encampments, demanding the schools completely divest in supporting war efforts in Gaza. Jewish students report feeling threatened at Columbia, and a Jewish student was blocked from entering UCLA's campus.
On Tuesday morning, anti-Israel agitators at Columbia University in New York City continued to call for the "intifada revolution," chanting, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," as a mob invaded and occupied an academic hall. That chant calls for the eradication of Israel.
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It was not until the next night that university officials permitted the New York Police Department to enter university grounds and remove the agitators.
Agitators at the University of Chicago have also called to globalize the intifada.
Hugh Hewitt, host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show," called Biden out in a social media post for taking two minutes and forty seconds to get to the hatred displayed against Jews before mixing in Islamophobia.
"It is a teleprompter, of course, but his writers are spent," he said. "They don’t have the ability to compose, nor he to deliver, a forceful speech."
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Hewitt told Fox News Digital Islamophobia "is real and a cause for concern" as is hate speech of all sorts.
He also addressed antisemitism on college campuses.
"Jew hatred is the ancient evil, and it’s on dozens of campuses right now," Hewitt said. "That should be the president’s exclusive focus today, tomorrow and for as long as antisemitism is sweeping the country and would be if he wasn’t concerned with his re-election."
Shortly after Biden made the remarks, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., called the president "impotent" on social media.
"President Biden still won’t forcefully condemn the Hamas mobs on campuses. He’s terrified of them," the senator said. "A complete lack of leadership from an impotent president."
Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., issued a statement to Fox News Digital on Biden's remarks.
"To have any chance of winning Michigan in November, Joe Biden has made the political calculation that he needs to equivocate on Israel, equivocate on defending American Jews and equivocate on protecting Jewish students at universities," Zeldin said. "Hamas sympathizers have taken over college campuses across this country calling for the death of Jews. Weak leadership is the play call at the White House, demonstrating an incredible lack of moral clarity and courage. This is a time to singularly, emphatically and powerfully condemn antisemitism."
The FBI declined to comment about a rise in Islamophobia in the U.S., directing all questions on the matter to the White House.
The White House defended the president's comments, backing them with instances in the news where Muslims were attacked.
"In Chicago, a 6-year-old child was brutally killed and his mother stabbed. Three college students of Palestinian descent, two of whom are American citizens, were shot in Vermont – paralyzing one," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. "The FBI has sounded the alarm about rising crime and threats against Muslims, Arab Americans and Palestinian Americans in recent months. Appalling language, threats and violence have targeted the Muslim community.
"President Biden cares about the rights, dignity and safety of all Americans," Bates added.
But others would not hold back, including Rich Goldberg, senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a nonprofit, non-partisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.
"What people need to understand is that the Biden administration itself is like one of these college campuses. You have a protest movement inside the government with leaks, anonymous letters, [protesters] outside the White House wearing masks, resignations, threats of resignation, shouting, staffers at town hall meetings and more," Goldberg said. "And Biden is sort of like that weak college president who is afraid of the Hamasniks on his campus. So, when he condemns antisemitism, he makes sure to balance it out, so his own Hamas encampment doesn’t get agitated."
When Biden condemned the violence at school campuses on Thursday, he said "order must prevail."
"We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent. The American people are heard. In fact, peaceful protest is the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues. But neither are we a lawless country. We’re a civil society and order must prevail," Biden said.
Biden had been facing mounting media and political pressure to speak out against the violence.
"Throughout our history, we've often faced moments like this because we are a big, diverse, free-thinking and freedom-loving nation. And moments like this there are always those who rush in to score political points. But this isn't a moment for politics. It's a moment for clarity," Biden also said.
"So let me be clear ... violent protest is not protected. Peaceful protest is. It's against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It's against the law. Vandalism. Trespassing. Breaking windows. Shutting down campuses. Forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations. None of this is a peaceful protest," Biden continued. "Threatening people. Intimidating people. Instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest. It's against the law."
The protests have continued despite the president condemning the actions of anti-Israel agitators against Jews.
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Former FBI Special Agent and Fox News contributor Nicole Parker said FBI leadership in June 2021 stated hate crimes were "the highest priority of the FBI’s civil rights program," mainly due to the devastation they cause to communities and individuals. The FBI also made it the highest priority because there is no tolerance for hate in the U.S.
"The FBI vowed to use their full resources to reduce the hate crime threats and protect all Americans," Parker said. "Based on what I have observed on college campuses nationwide in the past couple of weeks, I believe this vow to protect is more relevant now than ever as individuals live in fear for their lives and are unable to go about living freely and peacefully because of their religion or country of origin. This cannot be tolerated."
She also spoke about how free speech is embraced in the U.S., but terroristic threats, destruction and violence are not. They are instead serious crimes.
"I hope the deafening silence from AG Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray in the face of what appears to be rampant violations of federal civil rights and hate crimes across college campuses nationwide in the last couple of weeks is not an indication of a lack of resources and effort being spent to address the threats," Parker said.
"Americans have observed the federal criminal justice system in the last few years. … Typically, they make it very clear to the public when they are interested in addressing the matter."
She also urged anyone who believes they may be a victim of a hate crime to contact the FBI.
"If you believe you have been the victim or witness of a hate crime or a violation of your civil rights under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, I encourage you to report it."
Greg Norman of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.