Gregg Gonsalves: So I am in New Haven. I teach at Yale. I’ve seen the protests here. I’ve also been in demonstrations from New York City to South Africa over the years. 1/

So I am in New Haven. I teach at Yale. I’ve seen the protests here. I’ve also been in demonstrations from New York City to South Africa over the years. 1/

At Yale, the protests have been peaceful, relatively low-key (remember I was with ACT UP 30+ years ago), friendly. 2/

Some have decided to caricature what is happening here as some hell-hole of Jew-hatred. 3/

The truth is the demonstrators are a diverse bunch, with many Jewish students among them. 4/

Think about though what is gained politically by stoking this narrative of rabid anti-semitism on campus. 5/

First, it feeds into the right-wing’s campaign to crush higher education. It is no surprise that Bret Stephens and John McWhorter are on the case here: they see this as a chance to uproot the culture of “wokeness” on American campuses. 6/

For demagogues like Elise Stefanik, going after universities is to build her cred with the far right and also gain national attention for her political ambitions. 7/

This has it all for them. Split the left, attack higher ed, and find a way to push back against racism label.

There is another gain for the right wing: trying to convince Jewish students that they should not attend these institutions, & presumably also convincing all ppl who are not White Christians to go away so elite institutions can be reclaimed for/by their original beneficiaries.

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