The American media has been brimming over with hot takes regarding the anti-Israel protests erupting at college campuses all over the country.
With reactions ranging from bemusement to incredulity to full-throated support, suffice to say these protests have sparked a passionate, national conversation, if they’ve done nothing else.
And, obviously, the ladies of “The View” likewise had to throw in their two cents, despite being utterly unequipped to comment on this issue intelligently.
On Monday’s show, co-host Sunny Hostin — apparently angling for Whoopi Goldberg or Joy Behar’s position as worst commentator on “The View” — couldn’t resist contributing her woefully uninformed opinion.
Hostin began by saying, “I think we need to shift the framing of these college protests.”
If by that she meant calling them festering cesspits of anti-Semitic and pro-terrorist activity, most ordinary people could probably get on board with her.
Unfortunately, Hostin’s ideas were quite different.
“College campuses have been the place for anti-war protests for as far as I can remember,” she said.
Considering Hostin notably did not remember that almost every political figure, Democrat and Republican, opposed gay marriage up until the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, perhaps she can forgive viewers for not trusting her memory.
Do you stand with Israel?
Regardless, her mention of “anti-war” in regard to the current protests was not a promising start.
Hostin said that she thought that “recent protests haven’t even reached the scale of the major student protests we saw in the late ’60s against the Vietnam War or even the 1980s against the South African, South Africa’s practice of apartheid.”
She then moved on from the past to the present protests.
“I think these are anti-war protests, and I think it’s very distressing that we are framing these as pro-Palestinian protests, or pro-Israeli protests,” Hostin said. “These are anti-war protests.”
Where to even begin?
For one, no one ever called these protests “pro-Israel.”
Indeed, it should be quite difficult to make that argument considering “Death to Israel,” and “From the River to the Sea” (a poetic way of saying the same thing) have been chanted at these campus protests.
For another, some of the demonstrators have shown explicit support for terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah flag at Princeton. Hamas Abu Obaida sweatshirt at Northwestern. It is dangerous and unacceptable to call them protestors. https://t.co/E69DiSTID5 pic.twitter.com/gr02jHOLAo
— Richard Goldberg (@rich_goldberg) April 26, 2024
Of course, this being “The View,” Hostin had more misinformation to spew, repeating the story about the Emory University professor in Atlanta who, in her words, “was thrown to the ground simply for asking the police, ‘What are you doing to these peacefully protesting students?’”
Never mind that the professor admitted that she “impulsively hit [a police officer] on the head very lightly.”
Here’s that Professor of Economics who was arrested at Emory university and everyone seems to think is some poor victim of police repression. Caroline Fohlin ADMITS she hit a police officer on the head. Even professors are not allowed to assault cops. Yes, even professors. pic.twitter.com/YK5TrZokPD
— Heidi Bachram 🎗️ (@HeidiBachram) April 27, 2024
Further, these demonstrations have not been completely peaceful.
Although no one has yet been killed, a protest at Northwestern University was broken up after protesters shouted “kill the Jews,” and at Columbia, Jewish students were urged to go home for their own safety. On Monday, the protesters there broke into and took over a campus building.
These are criminals, not protestors.
The entire problem is schools have pretended like they can’t tell the difference. pic.twitter.com/aKGcu5KcYy
— AG (@AGHamilton29) April 30, 2024
Hostin’s claims, then, were utterly absurd.
These protests have disrupted daily life for many people (remember the anti-Israel protesters who blocked traffic for hours on the Golden Gate Bridge?).
Even worse, they have brought terror to American Jews.
The college protests have not been anti-war but anti-Israel.
Hostin should have been ashamed for spreading such wanton and easily disprovable misinformation.
But, considering she is a host on “The View,” she has long been free from any stirrings of shame.
