By Trevor Hunnicutt and James Oliphant
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Escalating campus protests force US president to Joe Biden taking a cautious line in denouncing anti-Semitism while supporting the right of young Americans to protest and trying to limit long-term political damage.
As violent police crackdowns and counterprotests greet demonstrations that spill over onto U.S. campuses, Biden faces sharp criticism of his policies toward Israel from both the left and the right.
Students from dozens of schools have rallied or camped in recent days to oppose Israel’s war in Gaza, demanding that institutions stop doing business with companies that support the war.
Protests against the war and Biden’s strong support for Israel have dogged the president since late last year and divided his Democratic Party. On Wednesday, 57 Democrats in Congress called on Biden to withhold aid to Israel to try to stop a planned attack in Rafah.
Biden’s top aides privately reject the idea that the protests or their supporters could cost Biden the White House in November’s presidential election. They highlight the relatively small number of participants, compared to the estimated 41 million eligible “Generation Z” voters in 2024.
The White House has implemented a series of policies favorable to young voters in recent days, releasing new student loan relief announcements, long-planned measures to reduce marijuana criminal penalties and condemning a new ban six-week abortion law came into effect Wednesday in Florida.
Biden spoke rarely, and cautiously, at campus protests. “I condemn the anti-Semitic demonstrations,” he declared on April 22. “I also condemn those who do not understand what is happening with the Palestinians.”
But at least as long as the school year continues, the protests won’t go away. Republicans and conservative media have seized on the issue to criticize Biden.
Some rank-and-file Democrats warn that young voters, already enthusiastic about Biden, could abandon him because of Israel.
More than 34,000 people have died in Gaza, according to local officials, after Israeli attacks in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack that Israel says killed 1,200 people.
The United States is a major provider of military aid to Israel and has shielded the country from critical United Nations votes.
Research by the Biden campaign shows that most 2024 voters, including young people, will choose a president based on issues like the economy, not Gaza.
His youth-friendly policies implemented in recent days aren’t enough to guarantee support, said Elise Joshi, executive director of Gen-Z for Change, an online youth political activist group.
“I welcome policies on marijuana reform and student debt, but the president has not weighed in on these protests, which is a priority for young voters across the country,” Joshi said. “The White House condemns the student protesters but we have no news regarding those who attacked the protesters.”
“THE rabid madmen”
Republicans, meanwhile, have used the protests to characterize some Democrats as merchants of chaos and…
