'If You're Getting Endorsed By Hamas...': Speaker Johnson Calls Out Pro-Palestine Columbia Protests

5 months ago

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) discussed his visit to Columbia University on Thursday.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00 by what happened?

00:02 Well, there was a sea of students who apparently have been involved in the protests here,

00:06 and I'm not surprised that they didn't welcome our visit because we're calling out their activities.

00:10 The point we tried to make today is that this is not who we are as Americans.

00:14 This is not an expression of the First Amendment.

00:17 This is not an exchange of ideas.

00:19 This is threats and intimidation of violence against Jewish students for who they are, for their faith.

00:25 And that's a terrible trend that's going on in the country right now.

00:28 These similar types of activities and what are becoming violent protests on campuses around the country,

00:34 and members of Congress, I believe, have an obligation, a responsibility to speak about this

00:39 and to demand that it come to an end because it's not good for us.

00:43 The main thing they were chanting was "Free Palestine."

00:46 Right.

00:47 How is that anti-Semitic?

00:48 Well, what's anti-Semitic is that Hamas endorsed this protest today.

00:52 Within the last two hours, they issued an endorsement statement

00:55 and heralded the students here and said this is the next generation of leadership in America.

01:00 If you're getting endorsed by Hamas, that's not a good look.

01:03 It's not a good sign.

01:04 Some of these students apparently are unaware of the atrocities of October 7th, or they're denying it.

01:09 They deny that women and children were brutally raped and murdered,

01:13 that infants were placed into ovens and cooked alive.

01:16 The things that happened there are unspeakable,

01:18 and yet they're out there waving flags for the very people who committed those atrocities.

01:22 This is not who we are.

01:24 Speaker, in those early days,

01:26 I was in some of the kibbutz and you could smell the death and the bodies.

01:31 It was horrific, and yet what's happened since has been horrific, too.

01:35 There's a student here, a PhD student at Columbia.

01:38 I wanted to quote him.

01:39 He is Jewish.

01:40 He has written a testimonial about what's going on here right now, his experience on campus.

01:44 He says, I'll read it to you,

01:46 "The most pressing threats to our safety as Jewish students do not come from tents on campus.

01:51 We should be focusing on the material reality of war,

01:54 the munitions our government is sending to Israel,

01:56 which killed Palestinians by the thousands,

01:58 and the Americans participating in the violence."

02:02 Do you think that protesting the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,

02:05 protesting the tens of thousands of innocent people who have died there,

02:09 is anti-Semitic in and of itself?

02:11 I think there's always a place for debate and the free exchange of ideas,

02:14 but let's not equivocate on what's happening in Hamas, with Hamas and in Gaza.

02:19 This is a battle, as Netanyahu said, Prime Minister Netanyahu said,

02:22 between good versus evil, light versus darkness, civilization versus barbarism.

02:26 This isn't a close call.

02:27 We have terrorists who preyed upon and attacked viciously and killed many innocent Israelis.

02:34 And the idea that they would be out here in support of that--

02:37 Hamas is using civilians as shields for themselves.

02:42 They put their operations under hospitals and schools.

02:45 They are using civilians in a theater of war.

02:48 And so it's difficult--why would someone blame Israel

02:51 for trying to stamp out the very terrorist threats that are right there on the doorstep?

02:54 We should not be dictating to Israel their military strategy.

02:57 We should be supporting our ally, which is the only stable democracy in the Middle East.

03:00 Is there anything Israel could do that would be over the line for you?

03:03 Because when you talk about stamping it out,

03:05 I mean, many innocent children have died and are dying at Israel's hands, and the idea--

03:12 They have. There have been civilians murdered, but that is not the fault of Israel.

03:16 It's the fault of the terrorists, the Hamas operators and soldiers,

03:21 the terrorists who have used these people and put them into harm's way.

03:26 Israel, I'm convinced, is doing its very best to prevent civilian casualties,

03:30 but this is a war, and they're fighting for their very existence,

03:33 and they are not the aggressors. It is the other side.

03:36 Some of the people here seem not to understand that, and I think that's a real problem.

03:39 We can debate the merits of all these things,

03:42 but what they're doing here is intimidating Jewish students.

03:45 That's the thing that is so problematic.

03:47 All right, so let me ask you about that, because when it comes to the NYPD,

03:50 at least as of Monday, said they have not received a single call

03:54 from Columbia University of reports of any physical harm.

03:57 No physical harm.

03:59 Right, but you have to speak to these Jewish students who are in fear of their lives,

04:02 who are cowering in their apartments right now, who are not coming to class.

04:06 In fact, the administration recognized the threat was so great, they canceled classes.

04:10 Now they've come out with this hybrid idea.

04:12 If you're Jewish, maybe you do want to stay at home. Maybe it would be better off for you.

04:15 But it's so discriminatory. It's so wrong in every way.

04:18 The responsibility of a university administrator is to keep peace on campus

04:23 and ensure the safety of students. Job number one.

04:25 If they're incapable of doing that, then you need different leadership.

04:28 I think this is time for a really strong hand.

04:31 I'm trying to understand, though, why, as Speaker of the House,

04:33 this is an issue you would want to get involved with.

04:35 It's a private university. It's an issue happening here.

04:39 Why is this something that you are choosing to get involved in

04:41 and calling for the removal of the president of a private university?

04:44 Well, they receive federal funding as well,

04:46 and Congress is looking at all of these aspects to determine how they're using those funds.

04:51 Is that appropriate?

04:52 If they can't fulfill their basic obligations,

04:55 I don't think the American taxpayers want to be funding this kind of thing.

04:58 We know that professors are engaging in this as well, some of the professors.

05:02 Some have been supportive of the Jewish students,

05:04 but I believe it's a small subset, from what I'm told.

05:07 They've allowed this to go on, and it is not okay for the American people.

05:11 This isn't a partisan issue.

05:13 This is about right and wrong, and we've got to call it for what it is.

05:16 And so when people talk about genocide and say that Israel is engaging in genocide,

05:22 do you think that that is a legitimate conversation that they should be allowed to have

05:25 as part of First Amendment rights here?

05:27 Well, of course.

05:28 Look, I was a First Amendment lawyer for 20 years.

05:30 I went into the courts and defended our First Amendment freedoms,

05:33 religious expression, the right of free speech on campus.

05:36 I litigated those cases.

05:37 Of course the university is supposed to be the free marketplace of ideas,

05:41 but when you shout down and physically threaten with intimidation

05:45 and threats of violence at the other side,

05:47 that is not a peaceful expression and a peaceful exchange of ideas.

05:52 That's something very different, and that's what we're saying they need to get control of.

05:56 When they camp out around the campus and they prevent students from exercising their rights,

06:00 that's the problem.

06:01 Before you go, obviously we're here in New York,

06:03 as there's been threats to your speakership back in Washington.

06:07 What does it say about your standing as speaker that you are here at Columbia University

06:11 dealing with this issue right now?

06:13 The Speaker of the House has a very important constitutional responsibility.

06:18 It's an officer listed in the Constitution.

06:21 The Speaker speaks for the House of Representatives,

06:24 and I felt it was very important for that voice to be heard,

06:27 not just about what happens at Columbia, but about what is happening right now around the country.

06:32 And we have to stand unequivocally for the right and the good,

06:36 and I'm calling on all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to speak out against this,

06:40 not to endorse it, not to coddle these people, but to say this has to stop.

06:46 We have to treat every single person with dignity and respect,

06:49 and that's not happening here, and it's an atrocity.

06:52 Speaker Johnson, thanks very much for your time.

'If You're Getting Endorsed By Hamas...': Speaker Johnson Calls Out Pro-Palestine Columbia Protests

Category

Transcript

Recommended