Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) has joined 20 fellow congressional Democrats in demanding that Columbia University leaders either confront the anti-Israel protests on their campus or quit.
It’s the strongest language yet from a New Hampshire Democrat regarding the chaos spreading across American college campuses.
In a letter to the elite university’s board of trustees on Monday, Pappas and his colleagues expressed their “disappointment that, despite promises to do so, Columbia University has not yet disbanded the unauthorized and impermissible encampment of anti-Israel, anti-Jewish activists on campus.”
“For the past week, this encampment has been the breeding ground for antisemitic attacks on Jewish students, including hate speech, harassment, intimidation, and even threats of violence,” the Democrats added.
The letter was organized by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) point out that the campus chaos has been “supported by some faculty members.” It also lists specific incidents of protest leaders calling Jewish students “Nazis,” saying they have no right to live, and chanting “from the river to the sea,” which, according to Pappas and his colleagues, “is a cry to eliminate Israel and all Jews within its borders.”
The members of Congress wrote the chaos on campus violates federal law protecting the rights of Jewish students, adding, “It is ultimately the responsibility of the Board of Trustees to act. If any Trustees are unwilling to do this, they should resign so that they can be replaced by individuals who will uphold the University’s legal obligations under Title VI.”
Tracy Richmond, board chair of the New Hampshire Jewish Federation, issued a statement endorsing Pappas’ efforts.
“Several protesters, including those who are participating in the encampments or have demonstrated in support of the encampments, have expressed explicit support for Hamas terrorism and urged Hamas to commit further violence against Israel. Many protestors have called for ‘Zionists’ to be excluded from campus communities,” Richmond said.
“The Jewish Federation of New Hampshire agrees with these members of Congress that it is way past time for the removal of these unlawful encampments from our colleges and universities.”
The Granite State’s Jewish leaders haven’t always been happy with Pappas’ stance on issues involving Israel.
Last November, Pappas voted against a bipartisan, stand-alone bill to provide $14.3 billion in aid to war-torn Israel. And earlier this month, he told a left-leaning radio talk host that America needed to “push” Israel to be concerned about civilian casualties as it waged its war on Hamas in Gaza. He also said Israel might have been intentionally “targeting” civilians when a group of aid workers were killed in an IDF attack. (Israel’s military said it was a mistake and immediately took responsibility.)
However, Pappas also broke with his party — including Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.) — to support a February funding package for Israel and vote for a resolution censuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib for antisemitic comments.
Just last week, Pappas took the lead in a bipartisan letter asking the Biden administration to intervene and protect humanitarian aid to Gaza from “an unvetted flotilla” out of Turkey that planned to refuse to allow Israel to inspect the goods it delivered.
“The flotilla, led in part by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) – which has close ties with the Turkish government and has previously raised funds for Hamas – intends to bypass established aid channels and refuse to allow Israeli inspection of their cargo, casting doubt on the nature of the mission,” Pappas and his colleagues wrote to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
While supporters of Israel may cheer Pappas’ recent actions, the same can’t be said of progressives in his own party. A University of New Hampshire survey released last month found a majority of Granite State Democrats believe the U.S. is doing too much to support Israel, with a third saying America shouldn’t be aiding Israel at all.
A whopping 83 percent of Democrats said the Israeli army “is going too far” in its war against Hamas.
And just last week, 200 anti-Israel protesters gathered at UNH to chant “from the river to the sea,” along with “U.S., Israel, go to hell!”
Pappas, who is seeking his fourth term in Congress, is the only prominent Democrat to explicitly condemn the antisemitic campus protests. The two Democrats running to replace Kuster—Colin Van Ostern and state Sen. Becky Whitley (D-Hopkinton)—have declined repeated requests for comment, and the issue doesn’t appear in their social media feeds or campaign messaging.
Former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, who are running in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, have also remained silent on the issue.
