Leland Vittert’s War Notes: Cowards on Campus

NewsNation Chief Washington Anchor and On Balance host Leland Vittert was a foreign correspondent for four years in Jerusalem. He gives you an early look at tonight’s 7 p.m. ET show. Subscribe to War Notes here.

Cowards on campus

The lack of overwhelming response to the Nazi-like protests at major Ivy League institutions speaks volumes.

The language — just a brief glossary so everyone is clear what the words of the “protesters” mean:

“Long live the intifada” as seen at the University of Michigan.
- “Intifada” refers to the violent uprising by Palestinians to murder Jews and replace Israel with a Muslim state.
“Hey, hey, ho, ho, Israel has got to go,” as chanted at Northwestern University.
- You are no different than Hamas.
  - Spotted: A Northwestern dean reportedly showed up to one similar protest.
“From the river to the sea.”
- This is a demand for a Palestinian state from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, effectively eliminating the state of Israel.
“Al Qasam’s next targets,” written on a sign held in front of Jewish students waving Israeli flags.
- “Al-Qasam” is the al-Qassam Martyrs Brigade, responsible for suicide bombings and rocket attacks.
“Freedom for Palestine means death to America,” written on a pamphlet at the University of Michigan.
“Ya Qassam [Hamas] make us proud, take another soldier out” and “Burn Tel Aviv to the ground,” chanted at Columbia University.

Bari Weiss said it best in The Free Press: “For a second, imagine that black students at Columbia were taunted: Go back to Africa. Or imagine that a gay student was surrounded by homophobic protesters and hit with a stick at Yale University.”

The very university presidents who coddled and incubated neo-Marxist oppressor versus oppressed ideology now can’t figure out how to deal with it.

Reportedly, Columbia blocked a Jewish professor from coming on the grounds for fear of a violent confrontation.
The university president said she wanted a dialogue with the protesters. Would they want a similar dialogue with Klan members or Proud Boys? Of course not.
To be fair: The oppressed versus oppressor ideology, where those of less privilege or means are justified in any and all violence against those of greater privilege, came from the universities in the first place.

Side by side: Aviva Klompas points out the similarities between Yale protesters barring Jewish students in 2024 and the University of Vienna barring them in 1938.

Bill Ackman rightly points out on X that universities will face an existential crisis if they continue to allow this type of behavior:

“Imagine that you and your family borrowed the $360k it costs for four years at @Columbia plus interest at today’s rates. Regardless of your religious or ethnic background, is this what you signed up for? Private university mismanagement also begs the question as to why private universities should have the benefit of a tax exemption. Why should Americans who don’t go to college or who attend lower cost public universities be subsidizing high-cost private universities, their endowments, and their poisonous ideologies?” he writes.

Cowardice in practice: MIT moved Jewish students for Passover seder rather than the protesters, who are currently situated next to the Hillel building where it would normally be held.

Look forward: What happens on campus will end up on the streets, like in D.C. for this weekend’s White House Correspondents dinner.

Charlottesville vs. Columbia

The protests dwarf the 2017 Charlottesville tiki torch march in scale and fervor. Yet the response is one of equivocation and nuance rather than righteous horror at what’s happening.

Remember, President Biden said his decision to challenge Trump was in large part because of the events at Charlottesville.
Yet over the weekend, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates put out a milquetoast statement.
- Inside baseball: Almost all of the statements on antisemitism come from Bates … it keeps press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre from criticizing the progressive Left.

And the same media who spent weeks on Charlottesville now cover for those shouting Nazi-esque slogans.

For example, Antonia Hylton, an NBC correspondent, writes on X, formerly Twitter, “I didn’t see a single instance of violence or aggression on the lawn or at the student encampment. The student-led protest was peaceful and often very quiet…”
- So Antonia … all those Nazi parades in the 1930s were peaceful and nonconfrontational … so there’s no problem there?

Bottom line: As the NYPD pointed out, Columbia and most of these universities are private institutions, and the “protesters” aren’t committing crimes. The university presidents bear full responsibility and authority for what is happening.

Here we go again: Iran is attacking American troops

Iran-backed militias fired five rockets at American bases in the Middle East.

Ground truth: Without an aggressive response from the U.S. military, like last time, it is only a matter of time before the bad guys get lucky.

It’s only a matter of time before Americans die.

Iran knows Biden is in a domestic political pickle, and it loves it.

Inexplicably, Biden is sanctioning an Israeli army unit to placate the Left.

The Israeli defense minister warned, “Any attempt to criticize an entire unit casts a heavy shadow on the actions of the IDF, which operates to protect the citizens of Israel. Damage to one battalion, affects the entire defense establishment – this is not the right path for partners and friends…I call on the U.S. Administration to withdraw its intention to impose sanctions on the Netzach Yehuda battalion.”

Thought bubble: Back in the day, Iran attacking U.S. troops would be a HUGE story, but somehow, the commander in chief has allowed it to become commonplace.