Staff Editorial: Protest for peace

By The Lookout Staff

Lately there has been an eruption of pro-Palestine protests on college campuses across the country, but The Lookout worries these protests are becoming increasingly violent and accidentally anti-Semitic. 

The 2023 Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7 when a Hamas-led attack was launched on southern Israel. Approximately 1,200 Israelis were killed and over 200 more individuals became hostages.

Since then, the Israeli Army has responded with a barrage of attacks, killing over 35,000 Palestinians.

While this statistic should absolutely be taken into consideration, it should also be noted that Hamas is internationally recognized as a terrorist organization, and is operating from an unbelievably complex system of underground tunnels that runs directly under civilian cities, making precise execution near impossible.

Columbia University was the first to protest America’s involvement in this conflict, beginning its protest earlier last month. Since then, a movement seems to have started. According to an AP News article, since April 18, just over 2,600 people have been arrested on over 50 campuses country-wide.

While The Lookout speculates there could be an underlying reason for America’s undying support of Israel, the public reason given is America supports the Jewish people, and that is something that should never be protested.

It is important that students remember they can be pro-peace and that’s all. Obviously, we don’t want to be a country that supports the blind execution of an entire population, but do we do not want to project anti-Semitism either.

In summary, The Lookout is not protesting the protests, we are just asking that everyone remember there is a lot more to foreign relations than the average American is told, so act accordingly.

Most importantly, we all must remember that if Martin Luther King Jr. could further his cause non-violently, so can we.