Biden Condemns Violence At Colleges Amid Gaza Protests

Joe Biden yesterday condemned the unrest and violence that has disrupted college campuses over the last week, while stressing the importance of the right of Americans to protest peacefully in support of the Palestinians’ treatment during Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.

- ANDREW FEINBERG

The US president said peaceful protest is “in the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues” because the US is “not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent”. He said the images of police clashing with protesters put the “fundamental American principles” of free speech and the rule of law “to the test”, as he pointed out the importance of maintaining the latter principle to allow the former.

“Peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues, but neither are we a lawless country. We’re a civil society, and order must prevail,” he said. Mr Biden also condemned actors who are using the campus unrest and protests to “score political points” and called the protests “a moment for clarity”.

“Let me be clear ... violent protest is not protected, peaceful protest is,” he said. “Destroying property is not a peaceful protest – it’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations. None of this is a peaceful protest; threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest. It’s against the law.”