Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs
WASHINGTON — President Biden had his own “both sides” moment Monday, condemning “antisemitic” campus protests across the US after several days of mayhem at Columbia University — before swiftly moving to a defense of the Palestinian cause.
“I condemn the antisemitic protests, that’s why I’ve set up a program to deal with that,” Biden told reporters following a Virginia event marking Earth Day, without specifying to what program he was referring.
“I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
The 81-year-old’s remarks were a mirror image of then-President Donald Trump’s assessment of deadly unrest in Charlottesville, Va. following a white supremacist rally in August 2017.
“You look at both sides. I think there is blame on both sides. I have no doubt about it,” Trump said at the time. “You also had some very fine people on both sides.”
Biden has repeatedly cited the 45th president’s equivocation as a key moment in his decision to run for president in 2020.
Democrats have long feared Biden’s early pro-Israel posture in the Jewish state’s more than six-month-old war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip may alienate crucial voting blocs ahead of a likely rematch against Trump Nov. 5.
Biden made his Monday comments after speaking with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) at an event touting the launch of a website for the new American Climate Corps.
While introducing Biden, the Bronx and Queens rep shouted out “the leadership of those peaceful student-led protests on campus like Columbia, Yale, Berkeley, and many others.”
When Biden took the microphone, he told his audience: “Representative Ocasio Cortez of New York, you know, I learned a long time ago, ‘Listen to that lady. Listen to that lady.’ We’re going to talk more about another part of the world too, real quickly.”
After returning to Washington Monday evening, Biden briefly met at the White House with Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), all proponents of the radical Green New Deal plan. It was not immediately clear whether additional topics, such as the Middle East war, were discussed.
Monday marked the fifth day of anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations at Columbia University, during which protesters have openly voiced support for Hamas and verbally and physically attacking counterprotesters and bystanders they perceive to be Jewish.
In one video taken Saturday night, a man waiving a Palestinian flag shouted “go back to Poland” at a group of Jewish students leaving the Morningside Heights campus.
In another video shot Friday, a protester could be heard shouting at police that “the seventh of October is going to be every day” and happen “10,000 times” — referring to Hamas’ surprise terror attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, including 33 Americans.
Other footage from Saturday night showed a demonstrator standing in front of a pro-Israel counterprotest holding a sign saying “Al Qasam’s Next Targets” with an arrow toward the group. Al Qassam is the official name of Hamas’ armed wing.
Columbia responded to the unrest by canceling in-person classes Monday, heaping criticism on university president Minouche Shafik.
Among the more than 100 students arrested when cops cleared an initial tent city Thursday was Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s 21-year-old daughter Isra Hirsi, who was suspended from Barnard College for her role in the protests.
Many of New York’s largest demonstrations against the Israeli government since the war began have been staged by the group Jewish Voices for Peace, which receives funding from a variety of left-wing groups, including those linked to billionaire George Soros.
Polls show younger voters, Arab Americans and Muslim Americans strongly disapprove of Biden’s support for Israel, potentially tipping the balance of swing states such as Michigan.
