College Republicans Condemn Hamas Terrorist Attacks and Growing Anti-Israel Violence and Compelled Speech on CA Campuses

The California College Republicans (CCR) condemn the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel and the growing anti-Israel violence and compelled speech emerging on California’s college campuses.

On October 7th, Hamas, officially the Islamic Resistance Movement, which governs the Gaza strip in Palestinian territories, launched an attack against Israel and killed more than 1,400 men, women, and children. The attack took Israel by surprise, and they have responded by launching war on Gaza to defend their country.

Sam Fleyshman, Director of the Jewish Caucus of the California College Republicans, says the attacks were deeply concerning.

“The attacks by Hamas against Israel constitute clear terrorism, and we are keeping the innocent people that have been killed or injured in our thoughts and prayers during this tragedy,” said Fleyshman.

In the wake of these attacks, college campuses in California have made headlines for attacking or supporting attacks against Jewish students and Israel. At Stanford, a lecturer “called out individual students in class based on their backgrounds and identities,” according to a statement by the school. The instructor alleged that “Israel is a colonizer” and that more people have been killed by colonization than the 6 million Jews in the Holocaust. They also had Jewish students raise their hands and move away from their personal belongings, claiming that was an example of what Israel was doing to Palestinians.

At UC Berkeley last week, the university endorsed instructor Victoria Huynh’s plan to offer extra credit to students for watching an anti-Israel documentary or attending an anti-Israel protest, called the “​​National walkout against genocide, settler-colonialism and the siege of Gaza."

“These incidents involving California college instructors represent clear and disgusting discrimination against Jewish students and wade into the waters of compelled political speech — and we fully condemn these actions,” said David Chan, chairman of the California College Republicans.

“This is even more evidence to show that our college campuses are turning into indoctrination centers that teach students what to think, rather than how to think — and the California College Republicans stand ready to protect and advance freedom of speech and freedom of expression for all students and their diverse viewpoints,” continued Chan.

The tensions on campuses have also caused multiple pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protests and rallies to break out across the country, sparking violent confrontations. One rally at Tulane University in Louisiana developed into a serious fight where three students were assaulted.

“We appreciate the passion by many students on campus to defend Israel and the Jewish people in the wake of the Hamas attacks and discriminatory incidents, but we urge caution in attending rallies and protests during this time for the safety of all involved,” said Sam Fleyshman.

Chan agreed, stating that “the safety of all students and especially all CCR members is of our highest priority, and with tensions and violence as high as they are in a state where Democrat politicians have tied the hands of police officers and do not enforce the law, we urge members to show their support for Israel and the Jewish people via donations to humanitarian charities or through statements of solidarity.”

“Should any violent confrontations or violations of free speech occur against CCR members, we are glad to have the aid of Party officials and resources that can help — a huge thank you to officials like Republican National Committeeman Shawn Steel for their support,” continued Chan.

Members of the public concerned with the assault on the First Amendment on campus can help fight back by contributing to our campaign to defend free speech.