The president of the United States, Joe Biden, affirmed this Thursday that “order must prevail,” referring for the first time to the student protests against the war in Gaza that are shaking the country’s universities. In a speech broadcast on television from the White House, he said anti-Semitism and other hate speech “has no place” on campuses.
The 81-year-old Democrat – who will seek re-election in November – assured that it is necessary to balance the right to peaceful protest with the need to prevent violence. “We are not an authoritarian country that silences people or stifles difference,” Biden said. “But we are not a lawless country either,” he added. “We are a civilized society and order must prevail,” he said.
The US president said that protests cannot be allowed to interrupt the classes and graduation ceremonies of thousands of students across the country.
Biden faces criticism from several political fronts for the protests, many of which have been broken up by the police and ended with numerous arrests in recent days.
Representatives of the Republican Party accuse him of being too soft on protesters who, according to them, show anti-Semitic sentiments, while in his own ranks Democrats criticize him for supporting Israel’s military campaign.
“There should be no place on any campus or anywhere in America for anti-Semitism or threats of violence against Jewish students,” Biden added. “There is no place for hate speech or any type of violence, whether anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or discrimination against Arab-Americans or Palestinian-Americans,” she said.
“It’s just wrong”
His comments come after Israeli President Isaac Herzog said American universities are contaminated “by hate and anti-Semitism.”
When asked whether the National Guard should intervene to disrupt the protests, Biden responded “no.”
He also denied that the demonstrations would change his policy of staunch support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
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