Fun (well, not so fun) fact: I happen to know that Princeton student personally.
…I am just saying that CC members may pause before delving too deep into this particular topic.
And if we all agree—as I am sure we do—that this attack is clearly both illegal and immoral, and that its perpetrator, who has been promptly arrested, should be brought to justice in the court of law, then there’s not too much discussion about it to be had.
Can you elaborate given how diverse opinions on this thread have been?
Suspect in the Vermont shooting has been arrested and charged with 3 counts of attempted murder.
However, evidence regarding any possible motive appears to be sparse.
After doxxing trucks started to appear outside Columbia back on October 25, a member of Turath ominously had expressed concerns for the general safety of Arab and Muslim students on campus:
“It’s already not easy being an Arab or Muslim here, and then your name being out there publicly for supporting Palestine,” the member said. “You’re put at risk because you could get attacked. You very well could. They know what you look like, they know who you are. It’s a scary thing.”
Not taking bullying and intimidation silently,
…hours after the truck began driving around the Morningside campus, protestors gathered at the pedestrian gates at 116th and Amsterdam Avenue to condemn the truck, holding signs saying “stop doxxing our students.”
Protesters also gathered in front of the truck carrying balloons and umbrellas to block the names and faces displayed on the truck.
A suit has since been filed:
Student intimidation continues elsewhere, with doxxing trucks defaming students names and faces outside GWU.
An editorial in the Georgetown Voice reports that
Georgetown’s chapter of JVP and other anti-Zionist Jewish organizations have worked tirelessly to dispel false narratives that pro-Palestine activism is antisemitic, as well as to illustrate how Palestinian liberation and Jewish safety go hand-in-hand.
Commentary deleted.
Repost:
Please keep the focus on college responses.
There is certainly a wide range of opinions in the Jewish community on any number of issues (as an old adage goes, two Jews - three opinions). Tolerance—and fostering—of diverse views is a long-standing intellectual tradition of the Jewish people going all the way back to the Talmud, and it definitely includes varying positions on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Having said that, I will also say that while the likes of JVP are in the news a lot lately with their loud “ceasefire now” protests—on college campuses and elsewhere—and their “not in my name” t-shirts, and although they are very vocal in siding with the likes of SJP, they do not represent anything close to the mainstream of Jewish opinion in America, Israel, or anywhere, and I would go as far as to suggest, nay, insist, that centering their position as if they somehow speak in the name of, or represent any sort of a moral authority for, a significant portion of the Jewish community is nothing short of tokenism.
This is Haaretz—a left-wing Israeli newspaper—in 2017:
“To many mainstream, moderate and even left-wing groups – and certainly for the Israeli government – JVP is beyond the pale, aiding and abetting those who would harm, or even eliminate, Israel if it were possible.”
…and circling all the way back to the OP about Harvard:
“Harvard will become the first university in the world to screen the IDF spokesman’s film documenting Hamas atrocities of October 7. The film, made up of clips of the atrocities taken from the body cams of the Hamas terrorists, will be shown to faculty and students at an event that will take place early next week at the initiative of Chabad on campus and Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, the prestigious university has become one of the biggest centers of tension between supporters and opponents of Israel. The president, Professor Claudine Gay, is one of the three heads of academic institutions summoned to a congressional hearing in view of the increase in expressions of hatred for Jews and Israel on campuses.”
This may seem odd - coming from me. But - a big thanks to the moderators for allowing this difficult thread to remain open/public, despite many/my indiscretions/tangents.
Over the course of the past weeks, I was often forced to examine my position on a variety of facets, and while trying to sharpen my arguments or precisely define my thoughts before posting, started to appreciate previously unconsidered concerns that others have raised.
Along the way, I had to give up on some seeming “absolutes”, and definitely allowed for some previously (to me) “impermissible” lines of thinking.
You’re welcome
Including this one 
That is a very selective (deceptive?) quote in a long article which is far from a condemnation of the group. It is worth reading by anyone who wants to better understand the JVP. While the group may not represent the “mainstream,” I don’t believe the posters condemning it here do either.
Another quote from the same article:
One thing she does know: Until liberal Zionists change their approach of downplaying Israel’s darker side – she cites a recent Peter Beinart column, in which he explains why he’s teaching his kids to love Israel first and to tell them the truth about the occupation later – JVP will continue to grow and attract young members from the ranks of liberal American Jewry, looking for a different kind of political and spiritual Jewish home.
Here is another more recent article from the same columnist:
If ADL is insufficiently mainstream, I do not know who is.
"On October 7, 2023, the day Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and killed 1,400 Israelis, and kidnapped at least 203 people (including Americans), most of whom were civilians, JVP released a statement claiming that “the source of all this violence” was “Israeli apartheid and occupation — and United States complicity in that oppression.” In interviews, JVP Executive Director Stefanie Fox and JVP Action Political Director Beth Miller both said that Israel was the “root cause” of the violence. Prominent JVP activist Ariel Koren said she believed Hamas’s actions were consistent with “Palestinians’ right to resist.”
In the weeks following the invasion and brutal attacks on Israelis, JVP chapters have been active on social media and have sponsored or co-sponsored dozens of anti-Israel rallies across the United States. In several instances, JVP or attendees/speakers at its rallies have expressed explicit support for terror against Israel or even overt antisemitism:
For example, JVP DC Metro shared a post on Instagram promoting Resistance News Network, a radical anti-Zionist English-language channel on Telegram and Instagram that promotes violence and terrorism against Israel."
Do you have any data to suppport your view that such group (JVP) does not represent “mainstream Jewish opinion”, at least among younger Jewish people? It certainly seems popular on college campuses.
ADL’s general position on JVP (from the link above, highlighting is mine):
"Jewish Voice for Peace is a radical anti-Israel activist group that advocates for a complete economic, cultural and academic boycott of the state of Israel. JVP rejects the view that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a tragic dispute over land which has been perpetuated by a cycle of violence, fear, and distrust on both sides, in favor of the belief that Israeli policies and actions are motivated by deeply rooted Jewish racial chauvinism and religious supremacism.
JVP considers supporters of Israel, or even critics of Israel who do not hew to JVP’s own extreme views, to be complicit in Israel’s purported acts of racist oppression of Palestinians. JVP leaders believe that expressing support for Israel, or not challenging mainstream Jewish organizations that support Israel, must also be viewed as an implicit attack on people of color and all marginalized groups in the United States. JVP’s energetic proselytizing of this view – especially among other social justice groups – has created a hostile environment for many progressive Jews. In a sense, JVP is extending its boycott agenda to include not just Israel but its American supporters as well.
More troubling, JVP’s dissemination of the view that Israel and its U.S. supporters are fundamentally racist oppressors of non-Jews has the effect of perpetuating the classic anti-Jewish stereotype of Jews as self-centered elitists, disdainful of non-Jews, who are focused on their own interests, sometimes at others’ expense. Additionally, JVP’s ongoing insistence that virtually all criticism of Israel cannot be anti-Semitic gives cover to anti-Semites who couch their malice toward Jews as mere anti-Zionism.
Many of JVP’s Jewish activists say they are motivated by the age-old Jewish ideals of supporting the oppressed and making the world a better place. In the vast majority of cases, there is no reason to doubt their sincerity. But their fixation on what they consider Israel’s uniquely evil role in the contemporary world leaves them blinded to the damage they wreak on efforts to enhance intergroup relations, both in Israel/Palestine and in the United States. Their ideologically inflexible view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict leaves them unable to recognize the legitimate concerns of both parties, which can only make peace harder to attain.
JVP often links Israel to prominent social justice issues in the U.S. – like police brutality – in an attempt to implicate Israel in violations or offenses committed here. For example, after the alt-right rally in Charlottesville in August 2017, JVP called Zionism akin to white supremacism and compared Richard Spencer’s white nationalism to Jewish nationalism. JVP’s so-called “Deadly Exchange” campaign seeks to blame Israel for police brutality on American streets. This strategy has allowed JVP to establish common ground with activist groups dealing with American social justice issues, while also demonizing Israel among new constituencies. But it has also distracted from advancing progress on underlying and important civil rights issues, such as police-community relations in the U.S.
All of these themes will be explored in greater detail in the following chapters of this report."
No love lost there.
Yes, ADL is clearly against it. But American Jewish students often support it. Generation gap, I suppose
It’s possible that some college students may not be extremely sophisticated about what it means to support JVP. “Jewish voice for peace… sounds good… I’m Jewish and I want peace!”
It is also very possible that in an environment that is incredibly hostile towards Israel and Jews in general, visibly supporting JVP and similar/related groups (such as the BDS movement, etc) may make many Jewish college students feel more comfortable / safe among their classmates.
You asked for evidence supporting my (pretty Jewishly mainstream, thankyouverymuch) view that JVP doesn’t represent mainstream Jewish opinion.
In the Jewish world, ADL is as mainstream as it gets.
But ok, you don’t like ADL. Fine.
How about Hillel?
“Language espoused by JVP has attempted to sever Zionism and Zionists from any left-wing movements for social justice. JVP activists and rally-goers have compared Zionists to Nazis; equated Zionists with terrorists; alleged that one cannot be Zionist and anti-racist; and called for Hillel, the premier Jewish student organization in the U.S., to be “boycotted and isolated” due to its embrace of Zionism.” (from that same ADL link above; highlighting is, again, mine)
…Yes, there are indeed college students that support JVP. I don’t want to begin to speculate on causes in this non-political thread. But “often” is a very subjective term. I am honestly surprised anyone would even think they are anywhere near mainstream.
Not in my mainstream Jewish opinion they aren’t!
…perhaps there are other Jewish posters here that feel otherwise?