The  lens through which Abdi Nor Iftin sees the college protests in his Forecaster column the week of May 9 (“College protests in U.S. a ray of hope for Gazans“) provides him quite a myopic view.

He sees the protests as very positive and a morale booster for the people of Gaza and sees very little downside or problem with the protests other than a broken window being an example of taking things a little too far.

How he could have missed the occupation of buildings, the chants of “10,000 October 7ths!”, the denial of Jewish students their rights to attend classes, the desecration of statues and the need to cancel graduation ceremonies is quite interesting.

To be sure, the Gazans are heartened by the anti-Israel demonstrations. And let’s be clear; that’s what the protests have become. They have gone far afield from merely calling for a cease-fire. Iftin concludes his column: “Despite the challenges and uncertainties, our colleges can serve as a beacon of hope for a brighter future, not only for Palestinians, but for all those yearning for peace and freedom in the region.”

But how can there be peace and freedom in the region with Hamas in charge? “The Hamas covenant (of 1988) is a comprehensive manifesto comprised of 36 separate articles, all of which promote the basic Hamas goal of destroying the State of Israel through Jihad (Islamic Holy War).”

By the way: Who broke the cease-fire that was in effect on Oct. 6?

Gerald Caruso
Falmouth