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The statement came after two tumultuous weeks in which pro-Palestinian protests spread to campuses across the country in the wake of a police crackdown at Columbia University. Students opposed to Israel’s actions in Gaza since the October 7 attack by Hamas have set up encampments and, in many cases, maintained them after participants were suspended or arrested.

Overnight from Monday to Tuesday, Columbia protesters took over a building on campus. Protesters have similarly increased at two other universities, Portland State University and California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt.

The statement denounced MAGA Republicans and many other lawmakers for defaming all protesters as hateful. He condemned the growing incidents of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia saying: We find all calls for violence, such as those against Jewish and Muslim students, wrong; those who spread hate have no place in the peace movement, but they added: Calling for the freedom of the Palestinians is not anti-Semitic, nor is opposing the genocidal acts of the extreme right-wing radical Israeli government.

And he criticized Mr. Biden and many other elected Democrats for not rallying behind calls for an immediate and permanent cease-fire accompanied by the release of all hostages held by Hamas and a swift push to reach a settlement. of two states that recognize an independence. Palestinian state

It was a surprising rebuke by an organization that has historically worked closely with the Democratic Party and who runs it.

As college Democrats, we are committed to re-electing President Biden and Democrats through down-ballot races in every corner of our nation, the statement said. However, as representatives of the youth across the country, we reserve the right to criticize our own party when it does not represent the voices of the youth.

He continued: As young voters, we are well aware that in November, our votes will determine who wins the White House. The White House has taken the wrong route of a bear hug strategy for Netanyahu and a cold shoulder strategy for its own base and all Americans who want to see an end to this war.

Mr Biden has called for a temporary ceasefire and said he supports an eventual two-state solution. But while he has been increasingly critical of the Israeli government, he has made no substantial changes to US policies and has continued to provide weapons to Israel without conditions.

The White House, the campaign of Mr. The Bidens and the Democratic National Committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sunjay Muralitharan, vice president of the University Democrats and a student at the University of California, San Diego, said the decision to release the statement stemmed from a change in the organizations’ understanding of their own role.

We realized that our duty as college democrats is to be representatives of college students in the party, and not the other way around, Muralitharan said. As it stands, young people clearly differ on the Palestine/Israel issue from the Democratic Party establishment. And across the country, we watched Joe Biden, Democrats down the ballot, lose scores of young voters on this issue.

The statement was largely written by Muslim Caucus organizations. Caucus Chairman Hasan Pyarali, a senior at Wake Forest University, said dissatisfaction with Biden’s Israel policy had been simmering for some time, but that the immediate push to make a public statement it had been Columbia administrators’ decision to call the police. to break up the campus protest and arrest the participants.

Mr. Pyarali, 22, said he and his fellow Democrats were dedicated Democrats who were invested in Biden winning the election and worried about the possibility of him losing to former President Donald J. Trump, whom he called a great threat

But we thought it would be a disservice, not only to the Democratic Party but to the country, not to speak out against the president on this particular issue, and we hope he will listen to us, he said, arguing that the election won’t. win the same way as the president right now.

The statement had the majority support of the 10-member executive board of the University Democrats, but two members voted against it.

Joshua Martin, the organization’s director of political affairs and a junior at the University of Houston, was one of them. He said he was unhappy that the statement did not condemn Hamas and that it was inappropriate to compare the current protests, which he considers largely anti-Semitic, to the civil rights movement.

By publishing the statement, you are telling Jewish students at the University of America Democrats that, frankly, we don’t care what you say, and we would just do whatever we want to complete a narrative, Mr. Martin, 21: And he added that he did not support putting conditions on aid to Israel and considered Hamas to be the whole root of the problem.

In addition to calling for a permanent ceasefire and a two-state solution, the statement written in consultation with members of the Columbia and Yale chapters of the College Democrats and student activists at New York University and Indiana University endorsed the calls from student protesters at universities. divest from Israel.