I do not even pretend to be an expert on the topic of antisemitism in progressive circles and education. So I cannot comment on that. I am not on college campuses of today, and as a woman in her 50s, I am far removed from my own college days, and I imagine it was quite different back then in any case.

However, as an outside observer, not in the midst of those present conflicts on campus, I do see many people talking past each other. Few actually listening to anybody, only waiting for their turn to speak (or shout as the case may be) and looking for a fight.

I listened to a focus group, talking to Jewish students on one hand who spoke of their concerns, and Palestinian students on the other who spoke of their concerns. But neither group would agree sit down in the same room together. That is a problem on a college campus. And that problem needs to be solved before anything else can even begin to be addressed.

There are forces in this world who have long worked diligently to try to set off a "race war" in America (Putin's Russia, primarily, but China also working to destabilize and weaken us from within in this way through their online trolls). Those forces immediately recognized an opportunity to leverage the Israel-Hamas war for the same purpose. The people who deliberately go around pouring gasoline on fires-- they are the enemy we must first shore up our democracy against.

And then, hopefully, we can address the facts of vile antisemitism and racism in our country and work constructively to combat them.

But that is impossible so long as there are people pouring gasoline on fires. People like Rufo.