Michael Brown regularly buys into right-wing political narratives (even as he claims we shouldn’t get too wrapped up in politics), so it’s no surprise that he would do so about the campus protests regarding the Israel-Hamas war. His April 24 column was filled with a lot of grandstanding against anti-Semitism:
Today, when university protesters celebrate the death of Jews, shouting, “We are Hamas,” it is time for Christians across the nation to speak up on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people.
Today, as these same protesters chant, “Hamas make us proud, kill another soldier now,” Christians must shout even louder, “This must stop on our campuses, and it must stop now.”
[…]Today, when your life is not at risk for standing with the Jewish people and when concentration camps, torture,and starvation are not awaiting you for sheltering Jews, today is the time to stand up in every way you know how, from social media to the streets and from your place of business to the campuses, raising your voices to say to the Jewish people, “You are not alone! We are standing with you! Never again!”
Can I count you in, today?
Then do whatever you can, whenever you can, wherever you can, however you can. And by all means, regardless of cost or consequence, do not be silent!
Brown offers no evidence that all protesters are anti-Semitic, nor does he explain why Israel should be exempt from criticism for how it has prosecuted the war — especially concerning civilian casualties — or why any criticism of Israel is automatically anti-Semitic. Besides, Brown’s own record on anti-Semitism is hardly stellar; witness his reluctance to fully denounce the anti-Semitism of fellow right-wing activist Candace Owens.
Brown served uop more broad-brush smearing of any critic of Israel as a Jew-hater in his April 26 column:
It is not so much that our elite universities have allowed a spirit of vile Jew hatred to take root on their campuses. Instead, they have cultivated that very spirit, fueling its fires and fine-tuning its ideologies. The universities are complicit.
[…]The universities are complicit. They helped create the monster, and now it is out of control. Nothing less than a comprehensive, top to bottom and bottom to top ideological overhaul will do.
It seems that Brown wants to indoctrinate students with pro-Israel narratives. He ranted further in his May 1 column:
No, I don’t believe for a split second that suddenly, college students all over America really care about the plight of the Palestinians. I don’t believe this anymore than, a few years ago, people around the globe were suddenly concerned about the plight of black Americans when they marched for BLM. Not a chance. Instead, this is just the latest manifestation of raging against the machine, of standing up to “the man.”
[…]So, on the one hand, as I and others have argued, these protests are just the latest manifestation of anti-Semitism and have little or nothing to do with compassion for suffering Palestinians.
But there is something else going on, and these protests represent something larger, as did the BLM protests of 2020.
Back in the ’60s and ’70s, it was wearing the Che Guevara T-shirts. He became an iconic, god-like figure, often pictured side by side with Jesus on hippie garb. He made rebellion chic, even violent rebellion. He stood up to the man!
After that, it was the latest iteration of LGBTQ+ Pride, with each wave surpassing the previous wave (accordingly, trans pride now takes precedence over gay pride, which in turn took precedence over black pride or feminist pride, etc.).
In 2020, it was the BLM logo. Now it’s the keffiyeh or the colors of Hamas.
Terrorism is cool, as long as it’s against the machine, represented by the white European Jew in particular and the university establishment in general.
As Matt Walsh wrote, “Instead of race riots, right on cue, we have this insurgent movement to ‘Free Palestine.’ Which is really just a race riot, repackaged, and draped in a green, black and white flag.”
Fitting that Brown would cite a right-wing homophobe like himself (as he has before) to inveigh against a movement he doesn’t like.
Brown ended by ranting: “Enough, then with the pious platitudes of the protesters (putting aside those who sincerely care). They are standing with evil. They are playing with fire. Eventually, they will be burned.” Again, Brown is painting all protesters with the same broad brush, something for which he presents no evidence to support.