Internet divided as 'Morning Joe' crew condemns antisemitic rhetoric at Columbia University protests

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Following a series of pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, 'Morning Joe' hosts took a stand against what they described as blatant anti-Semitic sentiments among some demonstrators.

The protests escalated to a point where classes had to be conducted virtually due to safety concerns for Jewish students on campus.

On the show, contributors Donny Deutsch and Rev Al Sharpton condemned the extremist factions that had infiltrated what initially began as peaceful protests.

Addressing violent rhetoric toward Jewish individuals

According to Mediaite, Deutsch, in particular, emphasized the urgency of addressing the violent rhetoric aimed at Jewish individuals, highlighting disturbing chants such as "Burn down Tel Aviv" and "Tel Aviv genocide."

Deutsch didn't hesitate to highlight the hypocrisy in how hate and violence directed towards other minority groups would be promptly condemned and suppressed, while similar sentiments towards Jews appeared to go unchallenged.

He emphasized the seriousness of the situation, expressing his dismay that in 2024, Jews in New York City were being advised by their rabbis to vacate certain areas for their safety.

"It’s sad. We’re in 2024, and on the Upper West Side of New York City, Jews are told by their rabbi, or suggested, that they should leave because it’s unsafe. And these are not protesters. These are violent hatemongers. The things that are coming out of their mouth, 'Burn down Tel Aviv,' 'Tel Aviv genocide,' 'October 7th — we did it once, we’ll do it ten times, we’ll do it 100 times, we’ll do it a thousand times, we’ll do it 10,000 times.' This is an atrocity," he said.

Unveiling anti-semitic motivations

Furthermore, Deutsch emphasized that the protests weren't solely about supporting Palestine but were rooted in anti-Israel sentiments, which he contended were fundamentally anti-Semitic. He called for immediate action to quell the hateful rhetoric and violence emanating from certain segments of the protesters.

"And I’m going to say the quiet part out loud. If there was any group spewing hate and violence against any other group — Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, gays — it would be shut down. And this needs to be shut down immediately because, and once again, those groups are back, those tents are back up. And this cannot go unanswered," he stated.

He continued, "It’s very simple. And, you know, there’s a continuum of protesters. There are heinous, anti-violent ones that [are] spewing hatred, spewing death if you will. And then there’s the less malignant that say 'ceasefire.'"

"But even 'ceasefire' doesn’t have the word 'peace' in it. Never do you hear the word 'peace' because this site doesn’t want peace. It wants a jihad. And this is not pro-Palestinian, this is anti-Israel, and anti-Israel is a misnomer because it’s really anti-Jew. And it makes me sick and it’s terrifying," Deutsch added.

Rejecting exploitative agendas

Sharpton echoed similar sentiments, drawing attention to the trend of external actors exploiting legitimate concerns about humanitarian aid to Gaza and the pursuit of a two-state solution to promote anti-Semitic agendas.

He emphasized the importance of disassociating from such elements and denounced any form of discrimination based on religion or ethnicity.

"You know, I think that, and I have people that are members of National Action Network that go to Columbia… the problem that we’ve seen in a lot of movements where people infiltrate come from outside, where there’s a legitimate concern about humanitarian aid to Gaza and a legitimate stand for a two-state solution that others come in with 'kill Israel, kill Jews,' … And we’ve had that in various movements that we’ve been connected. "

He further added, "And I’ve learned, which is why I had to sever some ties and start National Action Network. You got to denounce that. The people there that are legitimately protesting or start protesting nonviolently, concerned about Gaza, should say 'We’re not part of that.' Because they’re being used by people that don’t want to see something happen for the people in Gaza."

"They use them as props for their own ways and to come with hate, anti-Semitism, to denounce people because of their Jewish faith, to denounce students because on campus is Jewish, is just as bad as if you did it if they were Black or if they were Palestinian. You cannot have a convenient moral code. You either have to stand for morality for everybody or nobody."

Diverse reactions on social media

After the 'Morning Joe' segment discussing the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, social media platforms became a forum for a variety of reactions.

One user wrote, "They seem to be digging their heels in both sides. Palestinians need to oust Hamas and Israelis need to oust Netanyahu and his government. Looks like that’s not going to happen for a while."

Another added, "I think if I was Jewish I would not want the Israeli government representing me."

One user wrote, "I enjoyed the 90-second discussion."

Another replied, "somehow, I could see this guy marching people to boxcars?" [sic]

One user said, "These protesters aren’t paying attention to the destruction on their own soil. Where was this outrage with the overturning of Roe? Women & babies are now dying in the US. Where is the outrage over our democracy falling into the hands of a far-right, dangerous propagandist party?"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online