Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) on Monday told The Recount it is fair to compare the ongoing pro-Palestine encampment at Columbia University to the 2017 white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“You mentioned Charlottesville, and several in recent days, including the White House, have invoked the protests, the attack in Charlottesville. in relation to what's going on at Columbia. Others have responded that nobody here has been killed, as happened at Charlottesville. Some have accused that comparison of being insensitive. Others have said it's perfectly apt. Do you think that comparison is appropriate?” The Recount Senior Politics Producer Steve Morris asked the congressman just outside the Columbia campus.
“I think the comparison is appropriate,” Goldman responded. “I'm not sure the fact that there was one vicious actor who ran over a woman and killed her means that the scenarios are either the same or different.”
“The reality is that there was horrible antisemitic rhetoric in Charlottesville, and there is now horrible antisemitic rhetoric being espoused and spoken by either students or agitators at Columbia University,” he continued. “Both of them are unacceptable, and I will call out both of them because that is what those of us who care about antisemitism are focused on.
“I do think there are similarities in the sense of the absolute despicable antisemitism of antisemitic tropes, of antisemitic statements, and having just spoken to a bunch of Jewish students who have been told to go back to Europe, have been called a ‘k***,’ have been called an ‘f*****g Jew,’ have been the subject of serious harassment, just like in Charlottesville, where they marched to “Jews will not replace us.” This is equally as unacceptable.”
Goldman and fellow Jewish Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Kathy Manning (D-NC), and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) visited the Columbia campus as Jewish students have expressed concerns for their safety as a pro-Gaza protest encampment is held on the campus. Several other elected officials, including Republican New York Reps. Mike Lawler and Anthony D’Esposito, as well as Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), also visited.
