Join the UNC fraternity brothers this semester to combat campus hate

As university students arrive on campus for the new academic year, let’s give them one simple piece of advice: Be a Frat Boy.

I don’t mean just any frat boy, and I am not talking about parties, beer pong or Greek life in general.

What I mean is: Be like the fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina, who this spring courageously stood up to an anti-Israel mob trying to tear down an American flag.

These students did not just defend the Stars and Stripes — they defended the most basic American values of liberty, patriotism and opposition to terror, in the face of those seeking to undermine these ideals in the heart of academia.

Following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, the most heinous attack against Jews since the Holocaust, hundreds of pro-Hamas rallies swept American cities and universities.

AFP via Getty Images

Observers of Jewish history experienced a collective feeling of déjà vu. In short order, Jewish shops were vandalized, Jewish youth were chased by thugs in Brooklyn, and synagogue-goers in Los Angeles were assaulted on their way to services.

As antisemitic incidents spiked in American cities, pro-terror ”encampments” popped up on college campuses across the country.

The vicious protests were spiraling out of control as violent anti-Israel demonstrators crossed one line after another, creating no-go zones for Jewish students, destroying property, assaulting police officers, and openly lionizing Hamas’ brutal attacks.

A prominent element of these anti-Israel protests was the desecration of American flags and the demonization of the United States.

It seemed like nothing could stem the tide of these demonstrations — until the pro-Hamas rioters arrived at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

As they vandalized the campus and intimidated fellow students, they also tore down the American flag from a campus flagpole and replaced it with a Palestinian one.

At this point, the frat boys of UNC stepped in: They saw a wrong and chose to right it.

A large group of fraternity brothers ran to the flag and held it aloft to keep it from touching the ground and to defend it from desecration at the hands of the pro-Hamas rioters. For nearly an hour, they were assaulted by flying objects as demonstrators screamed and cursed at them.

But they stood strong in a display that many considered a heroic act of patriotism, and the pro-Hamas, anti-America rioters gave up in the face of the young men’s strength and moral clarity.

What we have known to be true since middle school remained true at college: Bullies left unchecked continue to bully, but standing up to bullies makes them back away.

Countless members of Congress, mayors, university board members and others tried to bring order to the chaos wreaked by the pro-Hamas rioters, with little or no success.

All of these leaders failed to grasp what the courageous young men of UNC knew intuitively: That an attack on Jewish people, merely because they are Jews, is an attack on the America they were raised to cherish.

Their defense of American values inherent in their defense of the flag has become a symbol of courage and determination in opposition to antisemitic hate.

These frat boys have become unlikely heroes of Western civilization, honored at the Republican National Convention and by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his speech last month before a joint session of Congress, and featured in a Trump campaign ad.

These young men recognized that genocide against the Jews does not depend on context. Calling for that genocide on their campus is anti-American, and they would not stand for it.

Their brave act made a clear statement: Those attacking the Jews are not simply attacking Jews, but attacking the United States itself. The riots and violence that have threatened Jews on college campuses, synagogues and subways are not only anti-Jewish acts, but anti-American ones, too.

So as students return to campus this fall, let’s encourage them of course to focus on their studies and to enjoy all that makes the college experience so unique.

But they should also be prepared to emulate the frat boys of UNC and stand up for America by standing up to antisemitism, hooliganism and pro-terror hate.

For too long, colleges have been places where students are coddled and pushed to see themselves as victims — or as oppressors.

Dear students, that isn’t America, and you can make sure that it isn’t your university, either.

Aryeh Lightstone, executive director of the Abraham Accord Peace Institute, was senior adviser to Ambassador David Friedman during the Trump administration.