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Escalating protests at American universities are forcing President Joe Biden to walk a careful line of denouncing anti-Semitism, while simultaneously supporting the right of young Americans to protest and trying to limit the long-term political damage.
As violent police crackdowns and counter-protests spread across American college campuses, President Biden is facing fierce criticism of his policy toward Israel from both the left and the right.
Students at dozens of universities have camped out in recent days to protest Israel's war on Gaza, demanding that educational institutions cut ties with companies with ties to Israel.
Protests against the war and Mr. Biden's strong support for Israel have put the US president in a difficult position since late last year and caused divisions in his Democratic Party. On Wednesday, 57 Democrats in Congress asked President Biden to cut off aid to Israel in an effort to stop a planned attack on Rafah.
Senior advisers to Mr. Biden have privately dismissed the idea that the protests or their supporters could deny Mr. Biden a second term in the White House in November's presidential election. They cite the relatively small number of participants in the protests, compared to the estimated 41 million young people who will be eligible to vote in the 2024 elections.
The White House has implemented a number of young voter-friendly policies recently, issuing new announcements on student loan forgiveness, long-planned steps to reduce penalties for marijuana use and condemning a ban on abortion after the week of six pregnancies, which went into effect Wednesday in Florida.
President Biden has spoken rarely and carefully about protests at American universities. "I condemn the anti-Semitic protests," he said on April 22. "I also condemn those who do not understand what is happening to the Palestinians."
But, at least as long as the academic year continues, the protests do not seem to stop. Republicans and conservative media are using this issue to criticize President Biden.
Some senior Democrats warn that young voters, already unenthusiastic about Mr. Biden's candidacy, may abandon him because of support for Israel.
More than 34,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, according to local officials, in Israel's offensive, which followed the Hamas terror attack on October 7 last year. Israel says 1,200 people were killed in the October 7 attack by Hamas militants, which the United States has designated as a terrorist organization.
The United States is the main supplier of military aid to Israel and has defended it in critical UN votes.
Research by Mr. Biden's campaign team shows that most voters in 2024, including young people, will choose the president based on issues like the economy, not Gaza.
His youth-friendly policies are not enough to guarantee their support, says Elise Joshi, executive director of Gen-Z for Change, an online group of young political activists.
"I welcome the policies for reforming marijuana laws and forgiving student debt, but the president has not weighed well these protests, which have priority for young voters across the country," says Elise Joshi. "The White House is punishing the student protesters, but we haven't heard anything against those who attack the protesters."
CRITICISMS OF THE REPUBLICANS TO THE PROTESTS
Meanwhile, Republicans have used the protests to label some Democrats as anti-Semites.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday praised New York police officers who removed protesters from a Columbia University building occupied by pro-Palestinian students and called the protesters "crazy and rabid."
Biden, Mr. Trump added, "is nowhere to be found."
Republican candidates' campaign teams are accusing Democrats of supporting "anti-Semitism" and "pro-terrorist protesters."
Mr. Biden has not visited any university campuses where the protests are taking place, but will deliver commencement speeches later this month at several universities, including Morehouse College in Atlanta, where some students and faculty have called for the withdrawal of invitations to President Biden.
Nsé Ufot, founder of the organization "New South Super PAC", said that Democrats risk support from young voters if they do not listen to their anger about the situation in Gaza.
"The situation has changed," said Nse Ufot, who has worked to energize young black voters in the state of Georgia. "They need to listen to their base."
In a Quinnipiac University poll last month, 46% of respondents said they support US aid to Israel in the fight against Hamas, and 44% oppose it. But among voters aged 18-34, only 25% supported aid to Israel and 66% opposed.
A Reuters news agency and Ipsos poll in March showed that President Biden has a three percent lead over former President Trump among Americans aged 18 to 29. That's a much smaller margin than the 24% lead Mr. Biden won the youth vote with four years ago.
Asked Wednesday if Mr. Biden was worried he might lose the youth vote in November's election given the protests, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre pointed to actions on student debt forgiveness and those on climate change.
"The president has undertaken many political actions, which he knows have priority for young people, and many of those actions are popular among young people," she said./ VOA
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