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THE UNIVERSITY PROTESTS: DISCOMFORT AND DISRUPTION by Bill Lee

 We’re hearing a good deal of “Oh mying!”, “Tch Tching” and seeing a lot of hand wringing among the Right and some of the “reasonable Left” these days about the various blockades, encampments and other forms of protest, against the genocidal war waged by the State of Israel and its abettors among Western governments. The blockades of course are primarily demanding that the universities make public their investment portfolios and then divest in whatever part of them involves Israeli stocks.


Two issues seem to be the most prevalent in all the sturm und drang. One of the concerns is that some people, many of them Jewish, feel uncomfortable in the atmosphere of the events. The second concern is that the protests have caused, within the physical boundaries of the universities, significant disruption.
It seems to me that there are two things to be said about the first concern. First, relative to Jewish people, many of them are clearly not feeling uncomfortable with the challenges to the State of Israel. Indeed, members of Jewish Voice for Peace are not only comfortable but in many cases are playing a central part in the protests. Certain Orthodox organizations are also foursquare against the collective punishment (a war crime) that Bibi Netanyahu and his gang of right-wing Zionist, true-believers have been preaching and perpetrating on the civilian populations of Gaza.

Second, while it would be foolhardy to deny that antisemitism is unfortunately alive in our society, there is precious little evidence to support the idea, often suggested in mainstream media, that the protesters are motivated by that vile hatred of Jewish people. While Bibi and many Zionists might wish to conflate “Jews” with the State of Israel, that is simply not the case. If one has difficulty accepting this position, I would suggest reading the excellent article by Pankaj Mishra in the London Review of Books. We hear of individuals who have heard threatening comments or slogans but, at least as far as I’ve seen and heard, there is no concrete evidence of that kind of reprehensible bilge going beyond individuals and small groups. That of course doesn’t mean there are no incidents, but if I, an inveterate news junkie, haven’t seen or read of it, I suggest that it is not in any way the norm among the protesters.

The other major concern that we are seeing and hearing about, is the disruption that the protesters are clearly causing to at least some aspects of life on campus. There are two responses I would like us to consider relative to this issue. First, there are a significant number among those in the academy (full disclosure, I am a retired academic) that see the “disruption” as a legitimate aspect of free speech which is, supposedly, a major value, a pillar even, of the university. I don’t suggest that the overwhelming majority, and it is probably a very small percentage of the administrative class, but the fact is, we do not see a groundswell, even a small one, of academics across North America, descrying the actions of the students in the protests.

There is a second response that I suspect will not go down well with some individuals. However, as I confessed above, I am a retired academic; but I am not only that, my area of study, teaching and research has been focused on community organization and social movements. (More disclosure, prior to life in academia, I was, among other things, an organizer and I continue to consult with various social justice groups). To put it simply, protests have three essential purposes. The first is to confront a particular institution as to its failure to live up to the laws and or values of our democratic society. The second is to gain the attention, not only of the institution which is being challenged, but of the public, as to that failure. The third, if the first two are inadequate in bringing about the necessary change, is to engage in strong, focused protests which in some cases disrupt the functioning of the institution as in a work stoppage, i.e., a strike. The notion that the effort to attain social justice with large and strong institutions without, at some points, requiring disruption is the stuff of fairy tales. But let us be clear, we are not talking about violence here. Disruption can involve violence, the attempt to block the 2020 US election results is an example, with the blockade in Ottawa being another. Civil non-violent resistance as preached and exemplified by those like Sylvia Pankhurst, Mohandas Ghandi, Gene Sharp, Cesar Chavez and many others, forbids violence. But they understood that gaining the attention and ultimate co-operation of the powerful can require disruption of the smooth working of the system that is involved in causing or abetting the oppression of the weak. And this may sometimes involve, and indeed require, the attention of the public if justice is to be served.

I think it is more than fair to suggest that what we are seeing on a number of the campuses in North America has resulted in some of us feeling uncomfortable and our lives being somewhat disrupted. In neither case however, does it equate with the injustices - death, unspeakable injury, famine and displacement – being experienced by the civilian population in Gaza. Indeed, the discomfort and disruption should be understood as a positive and necessary aspect of public discourse in a free, democratic, and just, society.

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Resource
Mishra, P. (2024). “The Shoah after Gaza”. London Review of Books. March 21. Pp. 5-8, 10.

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