Rockland Lawmakers Pass Resolution On Campus Anti-Israel Protests

NEW CITY, NY — Rockland County legislators unanimously adopted a resolution May 7 affirming the right to free speech while condemning behavior taking place as part of some protests on some U.S. college campuses.

Both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests have taken place since Oct. 7 when Hamas, which governed Gaza, attacked Israel and Israel responded militarily to destroy Hamas infrastructure and rescue any hostages still alive.

Rockland County Legislative Majority Leader Alden H. Wolfe, the main sponsor of the resolution, was joined by co-sponsors County Legislators Paul Cleary, Beth J. Davidson, Thomas F. Diviny, Toney L. Earl, Joel Friedman, Lon M. Hofstein, Jay Hood Jr., Douglas J. Jobson, Will J. Kennelly, Jesse M. Malowitz, Aney Paul, Raymond W. Sheridan, Philip Soskin, Aron B. Wieder, and Itamar J. Yeger as sponsors.

“The reality of what is taking place on our college campuses can’t be ignored,” Wolfe said afterward in a news release. “We all stand in support of the right to peaceful protest, to civil discourse on any issue, even those issues on which we may strongly, vehemently disagree. That’s the American way and quite frankly, it’s the human way.

“However, unfortunately, in many instances, that civil discourse has transformed into something much uglier,” he said. “It has transformed into illegal activity, to threatening activity, to conduct that is blatantly and boldly anti-Semitic. As a body I think it is important that we stand up for the right to free speech and also condemn conduct that is not the type of conduct that we want to see on our college campuses.”

Legislators expressed concern that early protests were mostly peaceful but included some arrests and the display of signs calling for violence, including “Death to America,” “Burn Tel Aviv to the Ground,” and “Final Solution” — a reference to the Nazi policy of exterminating Jews.

They also expressed concern about the tenor of pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses, which began April 17 and have since spread, with encampments of students and non-students on more than 40 campuses across the United States.

The lawmakers noted that protests expanded from calls to end the war, to calls for a halt to U.S. military support, to demands that universities divest from all business and financial ties with Israel; and that on some campuses, protesters began occupying buildings and refusing lawful orders to disperse.

They deplored a long list of reports and allegations of disruption and intimidation:

• Jewish students have been assaulted.
• Protestors have set up checkpoints and prevented Jewish students and faculty from entering spaces and buildings, and thereby prevented them from attending classes.
• Classes have been cancelled and/or changed to remote learning due to an inability to ensure students’ safety.
• Jewish students were specifically advised not to return to campus after the Passover holiday due to fears for their personal safety.
• Public buildings have been broken into, damaged, and barricaded.
• Graduation ceremonies have been cancelled due to the inability to ensure students’ safety, with some universities negotiating with the protestors to ensure no disruption to commencement activities.
• Campus and student life have been completely upended, with students unable to do classwork or get to libraries to study.

Legislators said they also urged college and university administrations to actively work to provide and to ensure a safe learning environment for Jewish and all other students.

“We remain committed to the fundamental right to free and peaceful protest and exchange of ideas, but we absolutely condemn the anti-Semitic rhetoric, disruptive tactics and criminal behavior that has grown out of legitimate protest,” Yeger said.