Reject the Left’s Gaslighting: Campus Antisemitism is not Caused by ‘Outside Agitators’

Far-left and pro-Palestine extremists gathered at Columbia University last week for a campus occupation that has resulted in shutdown.

These extremist proponents of “direct action” expressed explicit support for Hamas, urging the Palestinian group to “Burn Tel Aviv to the ground.”

During the weekend, pro-Israel counterprotesters encountered a woman wearing a keffiyeh who displayed a sign pointing to “Al-Qasam’s next targets.”

The Al-Qassam Brigades, which carried out the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, were referenced.

These occupations have now spread to numerous universities across North America, escalating in violence and organization.

Left-wing politicians are deflecting criticism in response to the negative publicity.

Representative Ilhan Omar tweeted, “Throughout history, protests were co-opted and made to look bad so police and public leaders would shut them down.”

Her daughter, a communist activist, was arrested at Columbia last week.

New York City Councilman Chi Ossé condemned anti-Semitic incidents by external perpetrators in the area.

Blaming outsiders was a common tactic during the George Floyd riots in 2020 that resulted in destruction and casualties.

However, these individuals are not outsiders but rather part of the same movement with similar goals.

Since October 7, Nazi symbols, left-wing justifications, and Islamic extremism have been prominent in protests.

Through my reporting on Antifa and Black Lives Matter, I tried to warn the public, especially liberals, about the normalization of political extremism and violence that would harm everyone.

As a result, I was ostracized by liberals and labeled as “far right.”

CNN host Jake Tapper received backlash from his left-wing followers for showing solidarity with me after I was assaulted by an Antifa mob in 2019.

Today’s anti-Israel extremism is a continuation of the same trend seen in the 2020 violence, the anti-MAGA riots, and previous campus social justice movements.

In fact, many of the individuals and tactics are the same.

The campus occupations are reminiscent of Seattle’s 2020 “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” where far-left militants took over urban land and created a separate society.

Similar to CHAZ, the leadership in Seattle and Washington State allowed the autonomous zone to operate, mirroring the current stance of university administrators.

Extremists are utilizing platforms like Venmo, GoFundMe, and Cash App to raise funds for supplies, food, tents, and bail money.

Journalism professor Steven Thrasher, based in Chicago, described Columbia’s camp as a place where students experiment with self-governance and community care.

However, CHAZ quickly descended into chaos with violence, criminal activities, and tragic incidents, like shootings resulting in casualties.

The violence and authoritarian practices seen in CHAZ are now apparent in campus encampments.

A Jewish student was assaulted at Yale last week.

Photographers are facing restrictions on identifying themselves and covering events.

At Cal Poly Humboldt, extremists clashed with police, resulting in the closure of the campus.

In Boston, extremists assaulted police officers with umbrellas, resulting in injuries, showcasing a tactic used in the 2020 riots.

Umbrellas became tools for both shielding identities and assaulting individuals.

In Portland, police apprehended an Antifa rioter with a bladed umbrella tip.

The violence against police officers aims to escalate confrontations that could lead to costly civil lawsuits against cities.

Militants are taking advantage of loosened COVID mask mandates to conceal their identities during criminal activities.

Masking has become a defining feature of American leftist direct actions.

Beyond violent tactics, far-left extremists view the occupations as an opportunity to recruit and radicalize individuals through propaganda supporting terrorism against America and Israel.

In 2020, distributing texts became a common practice during Antifa riots, aiming to radicalize sympathizers and incite violence.

One of the distributed texts at the University of Michigan camp includes “10 Anarchist Theses on Palestine Solidarity in the United States,” accompanied by an image of a man holding a rifle.

The instructions in the booklet are clear: “Freedom for Palestine means Death to America.”

Another text references “Operation Al Aqsa Flood” as an act of decolonization, supporting terrorism as a form of decolonization and advocating for similar attacks domestically.

Lack of response from liberal leadership, legacy media, and Democrats to address far-left extremism in America is concerning, given their responsibility to educate the public about extremism.

Existing counter-extremist groups have primarily focused on right-wing extremism, potentially ignoring the threat posed by far-left extremists.

Some individuals within these groups may even be implicated in far-left extremism themselves.

For instance, a Southern Poverty Law Center attorney was charged with domestic terrorism over an Antifa-linked attack on Atlanta police.

The left’s denial of the identity of extremists and scapegoating of “outside agitators” is ignoring the reality of the situation.

It’s time to acknowledge the extremism within our own ranks and take action.

Andy Ngo is a senior editor at The Post Millennial and author of The New York Times bestseller “Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy.”