Friday, April 19th, 2024

You know those Hollywood thriller movies with continuous plot twists? You hate the bad guy, but the bad guy succeeds and the good guy is in trouble, then it looks like the bad guy is going to get his comeuppance, but then the good-guy is in danger again, and back-and-forth, and back-and-forth. You sit at the edge of your seat, never knowing how it will turn out (although deep down you know that the good guy will be okay in the end — after all, it’s a movie). That’s kind of how the world seems right now.

On October 7, the world was horrified at the Hamas massacre. Within days, though, the tide turned. The narrative changed as people started justifying the barbarism, our enemies got more followers, Israel retaliated, some Hamas leaders were killed, some hostages were returned, most hostages were ignored by politicians and the media, political leaders flexed their muscles and told Israel what to do. Here in Toronto, the pro-Palestinians had a field day, or more precisely a six-month celebration of hatred. The angry crowds got angrier. The violent crowds got more violent. 

On university campuses everywhere, it became scarier and scarier for the Jewish students. At my alma mater, Columbia University, an Israeli professor spoke out on campus in what became one viral video after another, warning parents that it was dangerous for them to send their Jewish children to Columbia, because Columbia couldn’t and wouldn’t protect them. The president of the school was silent. This week, pro-Palestinian students created a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” with tents set up on the central campus lawn, all to protest against the genocide that they claimed Israel was committing. (This group included members of “Jewish Voice for Peace” an organization that partly infuriates me and partly saddens me because I know many of these kids may come from good Jewish homes but have simply been influenced and brain-washed by everything around them on campus.)

Finally, though, finally the president of Columbia woke up. I think. This week she testified at a hearing of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, saying in no uncertain terms that anti-Semitic behaviour would absolutely not be tolerated on campus. Good to hear that she was taking this seriously. Good to hear that they fired an outspoken pro-Hamas professor. So what did the students do when they were removed from the campus lawn? They walked outside of the gates of Columbia and protested there. I don’t know if anyone expected what next happened — I certainly didn’t. The New York Police Department showed up with buses to arrest and cart away 108 students. Woo hoo!  The NYPD! Here comes the Cavalry. I can hear the trumpets blaring as the underscore to this film.

Unfortunately, my triumphant feeling was short lived. I just now read that students at universities across the USA are announcing solidarity rallies after those 108 Columbia students were arrested. As I said, the world feels like a Hollywood thriller, with all the ups and downs. We know who the good guy is.  We know the good guy has to succeed in the end. But for heaven’s sake, can’t we get there already? Can’t the next scene be the release of the hostages?!  That’s really how this real-life thriller should end. And then, maybe we can talk about the sequel: Peace.

Am Yisrael Chai.