As violent police crackdowns and counter-protests greet spreading demonstrations across U.S. campuses, Biden faces sharp criticism of his Israel policy from both the left and right.
Students at dozens of schools have rallied or camped out in recent days to oppose Israel’s genocide in Gaza, demanding institutions stop doing business with companies that support the genocide.
Protests over the genocide, and Biden’s strong support for Israel, have dogged the president since late last year and divided his Democratic Party. On Wednesday, 57 Democrats in Congress asked Biden to withhold aid to Israel in an attempt to stop a planned assault in Rafah.
Senior Biden aides privately dismiss the idea that the protests or their supporters could cost Biden the White House at the presidential election in November. They point to the relatively small number of participants, compared to some 41 million eligible ‘Gen Z’ voters in 2024.
The White House has rolled out a series of young voter-friendly policies in recent days, issuing fresh student loan relief announcements, long-planned steps to lower criminal penalties on marijuana and condemning a new six-week abortion ban that took effect on Wednesday in Florida.
Biden has spoken rarely, and carefully, on the campus protests. “I condemn the antisemitic protests,” he said on April 22. “I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
All while supplying the very bombs that are used in Gaza and funding the regime that is allegedly committing war crimes, while threatening the International Criminal Court with consequences if they proceed with their justified investigation of Israeli and Palestinian war crimes. It is clear that Biden is driving dual wagons, and the voters do see it too. AIPAC’s presidential elections campaign funding could very well become Biden’s downfall.
And, at least as long as the school year continues, the protests are not going away.
