If you don’t like the tenor of the demonstrations, the best way to deal with them, in my opinion, is to force the students to stare directly at the long term implications of their position, not to make them shut up. Here are some questions that should be asked of them:
- Do you realize that a cease-fire, without more, only leaves Hamas in charge of Gaza? If that happens, what makes you think we won’t be doing this all over again a few years from now? And what makes you think Hamas, by engaging in terrorist activities and then hiding behind the populace, has any interest in the well-being of the residents of Gaza?
- What is the kind of state you envision for the Palestinians? Is it a secular liberal democracy in which Jews and Arabs have equal rights? If so, how does supporting a group that supports a Muslim theocracy get you to Point B? And what examples can you provide of secular liberal democracies in Arab states anywhere in the Middle East? If you were an Israeli Jew, would you feel comfortable in such a state?
- If you don’t support a secular liberal democracy in which Jews have equal rights, what are you proposing for the Jews? Are you saying that Jews should be killed or forced to leave Israel, and that a rancid, reactionary theocracy should replace Israel? How is that opinion progressive, and why isn’t it antisemitic?