The past week has illustrated that “pro-Palestinian” protesters aren’t just delusional enough to think they are protesting against a “genocide.” They are also delusional enough to think that they are above the law in every way.
Demonstrators in Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Oakland, California, illegally blocked traffic on Monday, protesting against Israel after Iran launched an attack on the country. The Golden Gate Bridge was backed up for hours, and around 40 people were actually arrested in Chicago. This is not the first time that these activists have blocked traffic to oppose the existence of the world’s only Jewish state and accuse it of genocide for daring to defend itself against antisemitic terrorists. Los Angeles previously arrested 75 people after protesters illegally blocked the 110 Freeway in December.
Meanwhile, activist students at the University of California, Berkeley, thought that they were allowed to trespass at a private residence to disrupt events as part of their protests, and Vanderbilt University students were shocked to be met with suspensions, expulsions, and criminal charges for trespassing and assaulting a police officer.
And then, there is the wild video out of Bakersfield, California, of activist Riddhi Patel telling members of the Bakersfield City Council, “We’ll see you at your house. We’ll murder you.” Patel was demanding that the city of Bakersfield issue a ceasefire resolution because, as we all know, Israel really cares what a moderately sized California city has to say about its very existence in the face of genocidal terrorists. Patel then found out the hard way that threatening to go to people’s houses and kill them is actually not OK, catching 18 felony charges.
All of these protesters think they are above the law, or at least should be above the law, because they think their cause is righteous. Given that their cause is demanding that Israel agree to a ceasefire with terrorists who do not want a ceasefire, they want Israel to be attacked without ever once defending itself in a war that started when 1,200 Israeli civilians were slaughtered by those terrorists.
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Even if their cause was truly righteous (rather than ignorant and despicable), their means are absurd. Threatening to murder public officials is never justified. Invading people’s homes or assaulting police officers is never acceptable. You could maybe come up with excuses for blocking traffic for a truly just cause were it not a terrible form of protest that only makes your cause more unpopular while also being highly dangerous for everyone involved.
It is bad enough that these “pro-Palestinian” protesters think their ignorant and hateful cause is actually morally righteous. It is far worse that they believe, regardless of their cause, that they should be able to break the law to such extremes that they are assaulting police officers, trespassing, and making death threats. They think they are above the law and above having to answer for the immorality of their cause. Even if they can’t be held responsible for the latter, law enforcement must disabuse them of the former.