In January 2024, AP News reported that a secret tunnel was found in a New York City synagogue. It was built illegally and risked diminishing the structural integrity of the building. A cement truck was sent out to seal the tunnel. This led to members of the congregation getting rowdy and eventually brawling with local police.
The fact that this kerfuffle was over the existence of a secret tunnel naturally led to some Hamas jokes. It was all in good fun, a welcome moment of levity.
Come April 2024, we had another situation in New York, albeit very different from the tunnel story and not very lighthearted. Things were fiery on the campus of Columbia University. Students had camped out on campus grounds to protest Israel’s genocide against Palestinians and to call for their school to divest from weapons manufacturers and other companies that profit from Israeli apartheid and military occupation in Palestinian territories.
Seems like a noble cause, right? By this time in the war, tens of thousands of Palestinians had been killed, while tens of thousands more were injured. Young, idealistic people of different faiths and backgrounds came together to peacefully protest something they saw as horribly wrong. They were acting as people of conscience and taking action to make the world a better place. This is something that should be celebrated by places of learning and growth, isn’t it?
So what happened? Wealthy donors of this elite school were none too happy about students supporting Palestine. They pressured the university, and police were called to arrest students. Some students were even suspended. But rather than dissuade students from protesting, even more students and outsiders came to protest in a show of solidarity.
In the midst of all this mayhem, one of Columbia University’s professors, Shai Davidai, went on i24News (an Israel-based channel) to complain. Here’s some of what he said:
“What we’re seeing now at Columbia — and I don’t use this word lightly — we’re not seeing ideological war, we’re not seeing support for terrorism. We are seeing terrorism… We are seeing Khamas [sic] on campus, and this makes President Minouche Shafik a Khamas [sic] supporter.”
Yes, this is real. This university professor literally equated student protestors with Hamas! Because they called for peace over war. This is not some parody. This is not The Upside Down. This is real life here, folks. We are apparently living in some bizarre, dark comedy.
The whole scenario is kind of funny if you think about it…
We have kids going to this fancy private school, living cushy lives in safety and security, not having to worry about Israeli jets or drones flying overhead and shooting missiles at them. Daddy’s probably paying for college. They’ll eventually get high-paying jobs thanks to their (or likely their parents’) connections. But they feel unsafe on campus because other students want their school to divest from unethical companies.
We have an unhinged professor with a six-figure salary accusing his own students of being Hamas members. How can one expect such a professor to treat students in class with dignity and grade them fairly? If he doesn’t like people with differing opinions to have the right to protest and freedom of speech, may I recommend a one-way ticket to North Korea?
We have a college that charges $65K per year — just for tuition — calling the police to arrest its own students for speaking up about an issue they care deeply about. Smooth move. Nice way to de-escalate. Even some professors walked out to support student protestors.
And all the while civilians — mainly women and children — continue getting massacred in Gaza by Israeli air strikes. Palestinian kids have been torn to pieces. People have died slow deaths under tons of rubble from collapsed buildings. People have literally starved to death as Israel used food as a weapon. Every university in Gaza has been destroyed.
But college students who speak out against these atrocities are “terrorists”? Tone deaf is too mild a term to describe Davidai.
Maximum Intifada 
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