Current:Home > InvestAs Netanyahu compares U.S. university protests to Nazi Germany, young Palestinians welcome the support -MoneyTrend
As Netanyahu compares U.S. university protests to Nazi Germany, young Palestinians welcome the support
View
Date:2025-04-18 05:03:41
As pro-Palestinian protests spread on university campuses across the United States, leading to hundreds of arrests, young Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip have told CBS News they appreciate the support from America. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has condemned the demonstrations as antisemitic and even compared them to rallies held in Germany almost 100 years ago, as the Nazi party rose to power on a wave of anti-Jewish hate.
Fida Afifi had been attending Al Aqsa University in Gaza City before the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers sparked the ongoing war with their bloody Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel. The war forced her to flee her home to Rafah in southern Gaza, along with some 1.5 million other Palestinians.
She told CBS News on Wednesday that she welcomed the support for the Palestinian people's cause from young people almost 6,000 miles away in the U.S.
"I salute them, the American university students who are protesting against Netanyahu's government and the American government. That's kind of them and I admire them for that. I am calling on the world's students to rise against the government," she said.
Before the war, Essam el-Demasy said he was on the verge of earning his business degree. Speaking with CBS News next to a tent in a camp for displaced people in southern Gaza, he said he'd lost his "hopes and dreams."
"We thank all the students and everyone who stands with us in these times. We thank all the students all over the world and especially in the U.S. We thank every student who thinks of doing anything to help us," el-Demasy said. "We are living this war, which is like a genocide on all levels."
There have been hundreds of arrests on campuses from New York to California and, while most of the protesters stress that they are demonstrating against Israel's war in Gaza and its decades-long occupation of Palestinian territory, Jewish student organizations say incidents of antisemitism have left people afraid to even venture onto their campuses.
In a video statement released Wednesday evening, Netanyahu, speaking in English, lambasted the protests in the U.S. as "horrific" antisemitism — even equating them to anti-Jewish rallies in Germany as the Nazi party rose to power in the decade before World War II and the Holocaust.
"What's happening in America's college campuses is horrific. Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities," Netanyahu claimed. "They call for the annihilation of Israel. They attack Jewish students. They attack Jewish faculty. This is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s."
"It's unconscionable," said the veteran Israeli politician who, to secure his current third term in office two years ago partnered with some of his country's most extreme, ultra-nationalist parties to form Israel's most far-right government ever.
"It has to be stopped," Netanyahu said of the widespread U.S. protests. "It has to be condemned and condemned unequivocally, but that's not what happened."
That couldn't be further from how young Palestinians, trapped in the warzone of Gaza, see the support of so many American students determined to make their voices heard despite the risk of arrest.
"The aggression is committing a genocide, killing, and hunger," Ahmed Ibrahim Hassan, an accounting student displaced from his home in northern Gaza, told CBS News. "We hope these pressures will continue until the aggression against us stops."
- In:
- War
- Hamas
- Israel
- Protests
- Palestinians
- Gaza Strip
- Protest
- Antisemitism
- Nazi
- Benjamin Netanyahu
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Everything Simone Biles did at the Paris Olympics was amplified. She thrived in the spotlight
- Retirement bites? Almost half of Gen Xers say they'll need a miracle to retire.
- Apple kills off its buy now, pay later service service barely a year after launch
- China blames Philippines for ship collision in South China Sea. Manila calls the report deceptive
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Celine Dion tearfully debuts new doc amid health battle: 'Hope to see you all again soon'
- Jessica Alba Reveals the Ultimate Tip to Avoid Getting Bored in the Gym
- Stock market today: Asian shares mostly gain after Wall St rallies to new records
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- McDonald's ends AI drive-thru orders — for now
Ranking
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Rebellious. Cool. Nostalgic. Bringing ‘The Bikeriders’ to life, and movie theaters
- Ashley Benson Calls Out Speculation She Used Ozempic After Welcoming Baby
- Arkansas lawmakers advance tax-cut bills and try to stave off shutdown of hunting, fishing agency
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- RHOBH's PK Kemsley Shares Sobriety Journey Milestone Amid Dorit Kemsley Breakup
- In 1983, children in California found a victim's skull with a distinctive gold tooth. She has finally been identified.
- Supporters of bringing the Chiefs to Kansas have narrowed their plan and are promising tax cuts
Recommendation
Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
Serena Williams Says Her Confidence Is Coming Back While Getting Stomach-Tightening Procedure
India train crash leaves at least 8 dead, dozens injured as freight train plows into passenger train
Self-funded political newcomer seeks to oust longtime Republican US Rep. Tom Cole in Oklahoma
Jury finds man guilty of sending 17-year-old son to rob and kill rapper PnB Rock
Business owners increasingly worry about payment fraud, survey finds
HBO's 'Hard Knocks' to feature entire NFL division for first time, will follow AFC North race
Israeli leader dissolves war cabinet after political rival walks out, citing lack of plan for Gaza's future