Unpacking Biden’s Lies About the Student Encampments for Gaza
Totaling only four minutes, it was truly remarkable how many lies and distortions Joe Biden was able to pack into his White House speech attacking student protesters this morning. Insisting that “we are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent”, Biden went on to defend the actions of police who have been doing exactly that – because, in his words, “order must prevail”.
His speech focused on creating a false dichotomy between peaceful protest and the supposedly violent activities of the Gaza solidarity encampments. Last night and every night since the wave of occupations began, the violence has in fact come from the police, not protesters. There has not been a single documented instance of a violent attack carried out by protesters against anyone.
But Biden apparently did not consider it violent when an army of cops invaded Columbia University, beating people and pushing protesters down a flight of stairs. Or when a mob of police in riot gear and on horseback stormed the protest at the University of Texas at Austin. Or when cops rained down a barrage of flashbang grenades on the encampment at the University of California – Los Angeles.
And then there is the much greater violence going on in Gaza. More than 35,000 people have been killed in less than seven months, over 14,000 of them were children. Hospitals have been raided, schools have been bombed and demolished, and people lining up for food aid have been gunned down. Biden is so undisturbed by this type of violence that he just secured over $14 billion from Congress to finance it.
Biden accused student protesters of “forcing the cancellation of classes and graduation… threatening people, intimidating people.” This is a regurgitation of right wing talking points that turns reality upside down. For one thing, it is university administrators, not student protesters, who are making the decision to cancel classes or graduation ceremonies. In the case of the University of Southern California, the graduation speech by valedictorian Asna Tabassum was canceled simply because she held pro-Palestine views.
There is of course a complete lack of any evidence of protesters threatening fellow students, so the “intimidation” that has been such a key part of the false corporate media narrative has come to mean chants like “from the river to the sea” that express support for a free Palestine. The idea that in the name of safety pro-genocide students must be shielded from the view that their favorite apartheid state is not a legitimate entity is almost beyond parody. What’s anti-semitic is the idea that the racist, colonial regime of Israel is indistinguishable from Judaism. The participation in the encampments by large numbers of Jewish students who stand against genocide is further evidence of how nonsensical this smear is.
Biden also claimed to be “standing up for the rule of law”. Does the “rule of law” apply to the pro-Israel mob that repeatedly assaulted the UCLA encampment for hours the night of April 30 using weapons like bear spray and fireworks while the police stood by and watched? Does the rule of law apply to Israel? The Internationcal Court of Justice has found enough plausibility to the charge that Israel is committing genocide that it issued emergency orders instructing the regime to cease its killing of Palestinians and allow the delivery of aid to Gaza – both of which have been completely ignored.
But Biden saved his most absurd lie for the very end. After finishing his prepared remarks, a reporter asked him if his policies would be affected by the student protests, to which he flatly answered “No”. The truth is that the courage and determination of students across the country has shaken Biden and the whole political elite to the core. They are deeply disturbed at the prospect of an entire generation turning against the U.S. empire, and Democrats are terrified that young people will abandon Biden in November and deny him reelection. The longer this struggle continues, the greater the pressure becomes on Biden to end the genocide in Gaza. We salute all the students who are keeping up the fight!